By Chai Zhi: The Chinese men's soccer team arrived in Sharjah smoothly and ushered in an intensive training session of two practices a day. In this first outdoor training session, 27 players, including the famous Wu Lei, were fully engaged.
Wu Lei arrived at the team at 2:00 a.m. local time on November 8, and he could not hide his regret when talking about not being able to play in his hometown: "I was looking forward to enjoying the cheers of the fans in my hometown in the next two World Cup qualifiers for the Asian Zone Top 12 matches, which would have been a great support for us, especially with the atmosphere at the home stadium. However, since we are here in Sharjah again, let's put all our hearts into the next matches and do our best to fulfill our goals, Sharjah is a blessing for me as well!" Referring to the climate in Sharjah, Wulei said that the temperature is not as hot as it is now and that "I can still feel comfortable playing at night." The international players were under great pressure during the isolation period, Wu Lei revealed that he kept communication with his teammates: "I can understand that everyone was under great pressure in the first few days, the isolation time was too long and the environment was monotonous. But after arriving in Shanghai a few days ago, everyone made good adjustments, and the mindset recovered well after arriving in Sharjah." In the face of the national football team in the group stage points situation and the upcoming face of Oman and Australia, Wu Lei calmly responded: "The current points situation is not the focus of our attention, no matter who the opponent is, we have to go all out. After so many years of playing soccer, no matter what the public opinion is, we can understand. For the team, doing our own thing is the key. In difficult times, it's even more important to have confidence in ourselves, and all we can do now is try to score goals and win in the remaining matches of the Round of 12." It is reported that the next two home matches of the national football team will be played in Sharjah, and the Chinese Football Association (CFA) has formally applied to FIFA and AFC to open up 50 percent of the seats, or 6,000 people, for the two matches. FIFA has now agreed to the CFA's proposal. In order to attract more fans to cheer for the national football team, the ticket price for the match between the national football team and Oman is set at 50 dirhams (about 87 yuan).
