China will field the same team beaten by arch rivals South Korea seven days ago to tackle Bahrain in their second Asian Group B qualifying match for the Sydney Olympic Games in shanghai tomorrow.

　 Englishman Bobby Houghton, also in charge of the national squad, decided not to ring any changes to the Chinese Olympic side who lost their opening campaign and "the most difficult" one to South Korea 1-0 in Seoul on Oct. 3. The most notable factor in this unchanged line-up was center back Sun Jihai, who had been rumored to receive suspension due to his vigorous protests against the Malaysian referees after the Seoul match.

　 "I haven't got any clue," Houghton said when asked whether he could confirm Sun has gotten away with the punishment. "I have not been informed by FIFA on the matter."

　 The Group B opener, of which the visiting Chinese side apparently had the better game, was decided by a controversial 63rd minute drive from South Korean star player Sin Byung-Ho which hit the goal line and then bounced off.

　 Sun, who last season played for the English first division side Crystal Palace, was among the several unruly Chinese players chasing the Malaysian referee Abdullah Mohamed Nazri after the whistle and allegedly verbally abused him.

　 Houghton also defended his attacking line-up choice which suffered a barrage of criticism after the two marksmen Zhang Yuning and Li Jinyu managed an abject two shots at goal between themselves in the entire match. "Both of them had muscle problems before the game." Houghton said, "But they're looking very sharp in preparations for the Bahrain game. I'm sure they'll do well tomorrow."

　 Li Jinyu, a bench player on the French first division side Nancy last season, seemed to have something more for the pointing fingers.

　 "I consider myself playing well enough. I'm a professional player and you cannot expect a pro to be in-form at every minute," said a defiant Li. (Xinhua)