August 15th.
China Super League (soccer league)
The first phase of the league campaign is coming to a close, followed by the drums of battle for the World Preliminary 12.
national soccer team
Joy in the Top 40 is history, and in the run-up to Qatar
World Cup
Before launching the final round, the Chinese team also had to deal with a potential new challenge: a major change in the format of the tournament. The knock-on effect of this change naturally falls on court selection.
The latest tournament information released on FIFA's official website shows that in Group B of the first round of the 12-team tournament, China will challenge Australia away from home at 14:00 on September 1, with the venue set to be the Western Sydney Stadium. However, given the Australian government's anti-epidemic policy, it is still unknown whether the match can be successfully played at the Western Sydney Stadium.
Unlike the dilemma faced by our Football Association, the home field proposal put forward by the Australian Football Association has been approved by the relevant authorities and the team has been granted the right to play at home, but has not been granted an exemption from quarantine, and all incoming players will have to undergo a two-week quarantine as stipulated.
With the majority of the national team playing overseas, the AFL is consulting with the government to create a "safety bubble" for the team to ensure they can compete during their preparations. A spokesperson for the AFL said, "Strong containment measures to ensure the health of the team, officials and the wider community are at the heart of our planning and discussions with the government." Once the "safety bubble" is in place, the Chinese team will not need to be quarantined for two weeks to allow the tournament to go ahead in a relatively unbiased environment.
In order to avoid the quarantine, the head coach of the Australian team, Graham Arnold, flew directly to Dubai after completing his mission for the Tokyo Olympics, and he is also waiting for a "quarantine exemption" granted by the Australian government. But with the recent epidemic in Australia, this request has not yet been answered. On Thursday, five million residents of Sydney, the city that hosts the Western Sydney Coast Stadium, were required to stay home for six weeks, and the state of New South Wales, where the city is located, saw 262 new infections on Thursday, the highest number of new infections in a single day since the outbreak began.
Also affected by the outbreak, the likelihood of Football Federation Australia activating neutral venues as home grounds for matches against China is increasing. According to the current situation, there are big variables in the location of China's first round away match with Australia and the second round home match with Japan. In the coming period of time, China's Football Association will also negotiate with the Australian Football Association and the Japanese Football Association on matters related to the time and place of the matches, so as to minimize the negative impact of the epidemic.
