According to the calendar released by FIFA, the third year of 2023, September 4-12 and October 9-17 set the fourth leg of the international match cycle. As the second stage and 36th round of the 2026 Asian Qualifiers will begin in the November international match cycle, China will use the September and October international match cycles to play four international warm-up matches in preparation for the tournament, including September, when the national soccer team will warm-up with Syria and Malaysia, initially scheduled to be held in Chengdu.
Some AFC member associations did not acknowledge their teams' warm-up plans until July 27, when the draw for the 36-team Asian group for the World Qualifiers was announced. For example, the Malaysian Football Association (MFA) sent a letter to the Chinese Football Association (CFA) last weekend to confirm its invitation and to send its team to China for the tournament, as did the Syrian Football Association (SFA), after the draw was completed.
China was placed in the same group as South Korea and Thailand in this year's World Qualifiers, and thus is similar to Syria and South Korea in terms of style of play. Malaysia is also from Southeast Asia and is somewhat similar in style to Thailand. Therefore, warm-up matches with these two opponents will be very beneficial for the Chinese team to do a good job in preparing for the world qualifiers.
