Zhang anticipating victory over Vietnam

Forward Zhang Yuning on Sunday said he is very confident Team China will defeat Vietnam in their forthcoming FIFA World Cup qualifier, citing his team’s intensive preparations in Sharjah, the United Arab Emirates.

After losing its opening two games — to Australia and Japan — in the final phase of Asian zone qualifying, China is in desperate need of a victory over Vietnam on Oct 7 to keep alive its slim hopes of reaching the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar.

“During the past few days, we have increased the training intensity and made physical preparations for the upcoming game,” Zhang said.

“I have a strong faith that we will play a good match and beat our opponent.”

Zhang came off the bench in a friendly match between the Chinese and Vietnamese Olympic teams in 2019. China lost 2-0 on that occasion, and Zhang vowed next month’s game won’t see a repeat result.

“I will spare no effort on the pitch and try my best to seize every opportunity. This is also what I told myself to do in training,” he said.