SHARJAH, UAE, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Assistant coach of the Chinese men's national team and the country's football legend, Sun Jihai, on Friday vowed that the team will improve its performance in the upcoming World Cup qualifiers despite already being eliminated from the tournament.
The 45-year-old Sun, who was a key player in China's only World Cup appearance in 2002, served as the national team assistant coach for the first time.
"This time my main task is to help the team prepare the trainings," he said after the team's first training session at Sharjah, the UAE on Friday.
"As a member of the Chinese football family, I don't want to stay away when the national team is in trouble. I watched their previous games as an ordinary fan and I could tell these young men were under huge pressure," the former Manchester City full back noted.
With only five points in eight previous games, China has already lost chances of qualifying for the 2022 Qatar World Cup despite two rounds of the qualifying match remaining.
"The Chinese football has been seriously affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and it has been hard for the players to keep a good physical and mental condition," Sun said of the team's early elimination. "Nothing is easy in the football world. We have to overcome the difficulties and improve ourselves for the next challenge."
"We played three friendly matches this month, and all the players worked very hard. The reality is that we have no chance to go to Qatar, but the players are still taking every game seriously and the team is in a good mood. I believe the team will improve its performance in the following matches," he said.
The young midfielder Dai Weijun, 23, also felt upbeat about the next two matches. "We are getting better and better. I believe we can play the two remaining matches well. We must play with confidence and don't be afraid of making mistakes."
"I want to score my first goal for the national team," Dai added.
China will play against Saudi Arabia at Sharjah on March 24, and then meet Oman in an away game five days later. ■
