Adelaide, Australia, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Chen Qiaozhu, a Chinese women's football defender who is training with the team in Adelaide, said in an exclusive interview with a Xinhua reporter on the 11th that she hopes to "pull the fullest state" through warm-up matches before the World Cup.
Chen Qiaozhu was interviewed
On that day, Adelaide ushered in a sunny day after the rain in winter, and the temperature in the afternoon training was around 16 degrees Celsius, which was the best day since the arrival of the Chinese team on the 8th. The training ground is located in Elise Park in the downtown area. Compared to the previous days, the players ran more in the warm-up session. According to reports, the Chinese team will fly to the Gold Coast on the 12th, play an internal teaching match with the traditional strong team Brazil on the 13th, and will return to Adelaide, where the base camp is located, after the game.
On July 11, the Chinese women's football team prepared for the World Cup in Adelaide. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Xie Sida)
Between training, Chen Qiaozhu, who participated in the World Cup for the first time in her career, was interviewed by reporters. Recalling the moment when she was selected for the 23-man list, the 23-year-old Guangdong girl said that she was quite surprised. When she played soccer as a child, she said, the World Cup was remembered as a "big tournament" and she didn't expect to one day play in the quadrennial event.
"I feel honored to be in the World Cup. I want to be able to play normally, go up a little under the premise of normal play, and then improve and learn. Chen Qiaozhu said.
On July 7, Chen Qiaozhu set off from Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport with the Chinese women's football team to embark on the journey of the 2023 Women's World Cup. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Ruan Yujun)
Chen Qiaozhu, born in 1999, and two "post-00s" teammates Wang Linlin and Dou Jiaxing are gradually becoming the backbone of the national team's backline. Chen Qiaozhu introduced that when they were in the national youth team and the national youth team, the three of them had cooperated with partners, and they all played full-back and central defender, "In fact, everyone has a tacit understanding."
In the first half of the European warm-up match, Chen Qiaozhu appeared in the left-back position of the Chinese team. She said that this is her favorite position, and by playing against European teams, she feels that her sense of position and technique have improved, and she has clearer goals in this position for passing and defending.
On April 11, Chen Qiaozhu played a warm-up match between China and Spain. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Meng Dingbo
Speaking of the next warm-up match, Chen Qiaozhu said that she hopes to adjust her condition to the best.
"[Find] the feeling of the game, get into the preparation for the big game, including the group stage [the first game] against Denmark, and the next game, try to get the fullest, the best." She said.
The 2023 Women's World Cup will be held in Australia and New Zealand from July 20 to August 20. For the first time since the expansion of the World Cup, 32 teams will participate. The top two from each of the eight groups advanced to the round of 16. The Chinese women's football team is drawn in Group D with England, Haiti and Denmark.
Source: Xinhua News Agency