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We can expect some fireworks when the Indian National football team takes on China at the Suzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium in Suzhou City on October 13. Loyal Indian fans will be anxiously waiting for the clock to strike 5 pm on Saturday as they know they have a good chance of witnessing history.
Stephen Constantine has handpicked a 22-member squad for the all-important International friendly. The Blue Tigers have never been able to overpower The Dragons in their entire history. 12 out of their 17 matches between the two neighbouring nations have been won by China while 5 ended in a stalemate.
Gurpreet Singh Sandhu is expected to guard the Indian goal, while there are a plethora of excellent options at the back -- with Pritam Kotal, Sandesh Jhingan, Anas Edathodika, Subhasish Bose, and Narayan Das all in the squad. Udanta Singh, Nikhil Poojary, Ashique Kuruniyan, Halicharan Narzary, and Rowllin Borges are some of the prominent names in the Indian midfield.
The attack is expected to be led by captain Sunil Chhetri with the Mizo sniper Jeje Lalpekhlua by his side. The Indian team will be seen in action after lifting the trophy of the 4-nation Intercontinental Cup -- in which they had squared off with Kenya, New Zealand, and Chinese Taipei.
The Indian squad is known to all and many can also somewhat predict the starting line-ups Constantine will go with. However, the unanswered questions in the back of the mind are -- How is the Chinese team ranked? Who are their prominent players? How has their performance been in the recent past? Who is their coach?
In this article, we will aim to answer all these questions.
Also Read: India vs China: 5 historic matches between the two neighbouring nations
Rank
China PR are currently ranked 76th in FIFA Rankings, sandwiched between Zambia at 75 and Lebanon at 77.
Who is China's coach?
The 76th ranked Chinese team is currently coached by Marcello Lippi, who took charge in October 2016. The former Italian footballer is one of the biggest names in the football coaching World.
He began his coaching career was back in 1982 and has since managed prominent clubs such as Napoli, Juventus, and Internazionale amongst many others. The highlight of his career came when he was the coach of the national team of Italy which went on to lift the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
The 70-year-old has led many clubs to multiple titles. Five Serie A titles, one Coppa Italia, four Italian Supercups, one UEFA Champions League, one UEFA Supercup -- these are just a glimpse of his achievements.
He is known to bring unity between the players of the team he manages and make them function like one large family. The world adores Lippi for his tactical prowess and coaching skills that impart a winning mentality to the team. Out of the 20 matches Lippi has managed The Dragons, they have won 6, drawn 6, and lost 8.
The most fundamental 4-4-2 formation is what Lippi likes to go with usually. However, there have been alterations made in the past according to the opposition and 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1 are some of the other formations the coach has experimented with.
Performances in the recent past?
Here are China's results in their previous 11 encounters:
- Defeated Thailand 2-0 in an International friendly on 2 June 2018.
- Defeated Myanmar 1-0 in an International friendly on 26 May 2018.
- Lost to Czech Republic (1-4) during China Cup on 26 March 2018.
- Lost to Wales (0-6) during the China Cup on 22 March 2018.
- Drew 1-1 with North Korea during the EAFF E-1 Football Championship on 16 December 2017.
- Lost to Japan (1-2) during the EAFF E-1 Football Championship on 12 December 2017.
- Drew 2-2 with South Korea during the 2017 EAFF E-1 Football Championship on 9 December 2017.
- Lost to Columbia (0-4) in an International friendly on 14 November 2017.
- Lost to Serbia (0-2) in an International friendly on 10 November 2017.
- Defeated Qatar 2-1 during the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification on 5 September 2017.
- Defeated Uzbekistan 1-0 during the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification on 31 August 2017.
Out of the previous 11 International matches played, China have won 4, drawn 2, and lost 5. However, the fact that they played against football powerhouses such as Serbia and Columbia is in itself a big deal.
The Chinese Super League -- which is the domestic league of China -- sees some of the biggest names in world football. The Chinese players are sure to learn a lot from players such as Oscar and Hulk as they bring invaluable experience to the table. The heavy investments made in the domestic league seem to have paid off improving the level of the national team -- which is a formidable unit now.
Players the Indian team needs to look out for
#1 Zheng Zhi
The 38-year-old midfielder is the oldest of the lot. Zhi loves to control the midfield and has earned a lot of success with both club and country. He has been with the 7-time title-winning Guangzhou Evergrande of the Chinese Super League. In 182 appearances for the club, Zhi has 15 goals.
He has 102 caps for the national team (only the 4th in history to have more than 100 caps) and also scored 15 goals for China. Zhi was also recently publically voted the best number 10 in the history of the AFC Champions League.
#2 Yu Dabao
This Chinese forward has been in great form recently. The 30-year-old has 47 national caps and has scored 17 goals for China. He is a versatile player who can play as a winger as well. It will be interesting to see how Lippi can make use of him.
#3 Wu Lei
The prolific right winger, who can also play as the second striker, has a knack for scoring goals. Wu Lei leads many of the attacks and is China's most impactful player on the pitch. He has been in terrific form in the recent past as well and is sure to give the Indian defenders a hard time in the friendly match.
The 26-year-old plays for Shanghai SIPG and is their all-time top goalscorer with 165 goals across all competitions. He made his debut for the national team when he was just 14 years old and since then he has netted 11 goals in 54 appearances for China.
#4 Gao Lin
The 32-year-old plays for Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao F.C. in the Chinese Super League, the side which has won the maximum times (7). Lin is one of China's most experienced players, with 100 caps to his name. The striker already has 20 goals in national colours and will hope he can find the back of the net again against India.
The current vice-captain of Guangzhou Evergrande, Gao Lin has maximum appearances for the club (304) and also found the back of the net 100 times, thereby holding the club record.
Chinese Team
Goalkeepers: Zhang Lu, Zeng Cheng, Yan Junling
Defenders: Feng Xiaoting, Yu Hai, Wang Tong, Linpeng Zhang, Li Xuepeng, Yu Yang
Midfielders: Wu Xi, Piao Cheng, Jin Jingdao, Yu Hanchao, Mirahmetjan Muzepper, Chi Zhongguo, He Chao, Zhao Xuri, Zheng Zhi
Strikers: Wu Lei, Xiao Zhi, Yu Dabao, Gao Lin
The Blue Tigers have to face Asian giants Syria and Saudi Arabia as well in the coming months so it will do them a lot of good to go into these friendlies with momentum by winning historically against China.
