On the night of June 2 in Beijing, the AFC revealed the exact times for China's final three matches of the World Qualifying 40 tournament. All three matches are scheduled to start at 9:00 p.m. local time, and given the four-hour time difference between the UAE and China, China's players will have to play at 1:00 a.m. Beijing time, which will be a tough test for their physical fitness and jet lag adaptation.
Although the Chinese team has traveled to West Asia many times in the past, it usually adjusts to the jet lag in advance, either arriving early to prepare for the game or starting to adjust their work and rest at home. However, this time, the situation has changed suddenly, leaving the international players to adjust the time is extremely tight.
According to the arrangement, the national team will take a chartered flight to Dubai at noon on June 3, with an expected flight time of about 10 hours. This means that the Chinese team will arrive in Dubai on the evening of the 3rd local time, with less than 96 hours left for the first match. According to experience, after flying from China to West Asia, a day or two of jet lag is the strongest feeling, daytime mental instability, difficult to sleep at night, a sleep up to 4, 5 hours, wake up is a common occurrence. Moreover, the more physically superior the player, the more pronounced the feeling of jet lag.
It is worth mentioning that China's game time is already in the late night of domestic time, which is the time of deep sleep for most people. Playing a high-intensity soccer match in such a time frame is undoubtedly a great challenge for the Chinese football team. The coaching team and logistical support staff will need to find ways to assist the players in adapting quickly. In contrast, opponents such as the Philippines and Syria have already assembled in West Asia, and jet lag is no longer a problem for them.
