Aug. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Chinese men's soccer striker Wu Lei was interviewed before training today to discuss the upcoming World Preliminary 18 tournament, Beiqing Sports reported.
Discuss the physical condition:
Wu Lei: "These days' training is mainly for recovery. Recently, I have participated in many league and AFC Cup matches. There is still some time before the match on September 5, so the focus of the training in these days is still the recovery of the body."
--Discuss the team atmosphere:
The atmosphere has been good," said Wu Lei. The head coach mentioned that although many of the players were selected for the national team for the first time, they are not actually young players in terms of age structure. At the age of twenty-four or five, they are in their best shape in Europe. After entering the national team, there is no distinction between young and old players, everyone needs to contribute their full strength to the team."
Please tell us your thoughts on the 18-team tournament, and in particular, what are your expectations or goals for the first match against Japan?
Wu Lei said, "In terms of strength, Japan is currently a world-class team. There is indeed a gap between us and them, but that doesn't mean we will give up. To be able to enter the top 18, we treasure the opportunity of this tournament, and to be able to compete with the strongest teams in Asia and even the world provides us with more opportunities to exercise. Therefore, we will definitely give our best and will not give up lightly. As the older player in the team, this is also my last chance to make an impact on the World Cup proper, and I hope to achieve good results."
