China's bid to reach the 2018 world cup will continue on October 6th with a game against Syria in Xi'an. The PRC opened their campaign to reach Russia with a spirited 3-2 defeat away in South Korea which was followed by a nil nil draw at home to Iran and now Gao Hongbo's side will be heavy to take all three points against the middle eastern nation.

At the team's training base in Wuhan the team were visited by Cai Zhenhua, the head of the Chinese Football Association. He, no doubt, had some inspiriting words for the squad who are competing at this stage of world cup qualifying for the first time in 15 years. They are set to fly to the ancient city of Xi'an tomorrow for final preparations ahead of the match next Thursday.

"We are trying to win every game, it is the first time for us, as players to compete at this stage of qualifying, so we see ourselves as challengers to our opponents. There is a lot of pressure for the upcoming game and the atmosphere is really intense," China midfielder Hao Junmin said.