China captain Wu expects strong showing in World Cup qualifiers

BEIJING, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- China needs to fare well in the upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifiers to build up confidence in Chinese football, said the team's captain Wu Lei.

China will kick off its World Cup qualifying campaign on Thursday away to Thailand before hosting South Korea five days later.

Wu admitted that the odds are against the Chinese team, but its ambition of reaching the World Cup finals remains unchanged.

"We are aware that we are not favorites in Asia in consideration of our drop in strength," he said. "But that does not mean any drop in confidence. We will go all out no matter who we face."

"Given the situation of Chinese football, we need to put on good performances in the qualifiers in order to bring more confidence to Chinese football," he added.