In the late afternoon of the 3rd, the Chinese men's football team, carrying a strong determination, departed from Shanghai and embarked on a flight to the United Arab Emirates, destined for the follow-up showdown in Group A of the 40-team Asian qualifying tournament for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The match, which was originally planned to be held in Gusau, was urgently announced on May 31 to be moved to the UAE due to multiple factors including the epidemic.
It is reported that our men's soccer team took flight MU7119 from Shanghai Pudong International Airport at 13:00 Beijing time, and is expected to arrive in Dubai at 19:00 local time on the 3rd of UAE. Traveling with the team will be 29 players, coaches and staff, totaling 58 people. Upon arrival, they will be immediately transferred to Sharjah, the venue for the match.
It is worth mentioning that the organization and operation of the tournament is still undertaken by the CFA. Six working groups, totaling more than 30 people, including competition, business, epidemic prevention, media, etc., composed of CFA Vice President and Party Secretary Du Zhaocai and CFA President Chen Xuyuan, also flew to the UAE together to provide security. Also on board were Guam players, staff and AFC competition officials.
It is worth mentioning that due to the recent cases of epidemic infection in the Maldives and Syria teams, according to the relevant regulations on the prevention and control of epidemics among inbound personnel in China, the players of these two teams need to undergo strict quarantine, and they are unable to participate in the tournament on time. As a result, the remaining matches in Group A of the Forty World Cup had to change their plans and be moved from Gusau to the UAE at the suggestion of the AFC. In the 30th match in Gusau, our men's soccer team thrashed Guam 7-0.
