 |
China Needs Eight Points to Qualify for World Cup Finals
Chinese head coach Bora Milutinovic can feel the pressure easing off as his wards attempt to enter their first-ever World Cup finals next year.
The Serbian coach has praised his team's confidence and credited this as the reason for his side coming to within eight points of qualifying.
"I don't think my team has shown higher morale on the pitch before," said Milutinovic today before the Chinese team takes on the United Arab Emirates in a curcial game of the Group B this evening.
"We don't want to prolong our journey. We want to secure our place for next year's finals before our last qualifier against Uzbekistan in Tashkent on October 19," said Milutinovic who has the rare record of leading four different countries -- Mexico, Costa Rico, the United States and Nigeria -- into the World Cup finals.
China is two points clear of Qatar with a game in hand after their three wins and a draw at the halfway stage of the competition.
Another two wins and draws each, amounting to eight points, will see the Chinese team through to next year's finals co-hosted by Japan and South Korea.
The Chinese team will have to start without their talented goalkeeper Jiang Jing who is nursing a hand injury he sustained during the China-Uzbekistan encounter.
China beat the UAE 3-0 in a home victory in Shenyang last month.
In This Section
|