Chinese to Learn about Soccer in World Cup, Says Ace Chinese Defender

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, May 25, 2002

Chinese to Learn about Soccer in World Cup, Says Ace Chinese Defender

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All the members of the Chinese national team would try their best to learn more about the game bytaking the opportunity of the World Cup finals co-hosted by South Korea and Japan, Fan Zhiyi, China's Asian Footballer of the Year told Macao newspaper Macao Daily on Friday.

The Chinese team is in the Macao Special Administrative Region to play its final World Cup warm-up match later on Saturday, against Portugal.

"Brazil are the World Cup holders, Turkey are an up-and-coming side out of Europe and Costa Rica are a strong South American team.As new comers at the World Cup and set to play Brazil for the first time, we Chinese don't feel much pressure on us," the ace Chinese defender was quoted by the newspaper as saying.

China's qualification for the World Cup could help arouse widerawareness of Chinese football by more people in Hong Kong and Macao, Fan said.

Declined to give a definite answer to the question whether he would play overseas in the future, Fan said his goal now is to play well in the World Cup and take it an ordinary tournament. With such an attitude, Fan said, he would try to play to his best form.

Striker Yang Chen said that the Chinese team is in a good physical and moral state and he feels confident of his team. His ultimate target at the World Cup is first to score a goal, have a draw and then win a game, he told the newspaper.

Defender Sun Jihai told the Macao Daily that both Brazil and Turkey are strong. He predicted that China might play to a tie oreven win the opening game against Costa Rica. "But the most important thing for the Chinese team is to play to their best form," he was quoted as saying.

In an open letter to soccer fans nationwide prior to the team'sdeparture to South Korea, China's national team gave a clear and correct signal that the team had now a better understanding of themselves and each and everyone of them would give a best shot, Sun said.

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