China continue with their qualifying campaign for the 2018 World Cup. The PRC are practicing in Wuhan for their next contest early next month against Syria. Gao Hongbo's team are still seeking their first win of this phase of qualifying.

China kicked off the campaign with a 3-2 defeat at South Korea. They drew Iran in the second match, those teams seen as two of the strongest in the group.

This next match against Syria is a must-win for China. Apart from injured left back Li Xuepeng and Zhang Yuning who plays for Dutch league side Vitesse, Gao's men have plenty of time to prepare for the upcoming fixture. With six teams in the group, they need to finish in the top two in order to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.

China will host Syria in Xi'An on October 6th. They will then travel to Uzbekistan for their fourth match of the group. The Uzbeks are  on top of the group after beating both Syria and Qatar in their two matches.