China coach sets his sights on victory against Vietnam

At the pre-match press conference in Sharjah on Wednesday, he said: "Our one and only goal is victory, whether it's Vietnam or any other team. We respect Vietnam just like other opponents. Therefore, the team have put so much effort into training and we are expecting a good result.

"I cannot deny that Vietnam have improved a lot, but we are here to fight for three points. All players have the desire to win."

After losing 0-3 to Australia and 0-1 to Japan, China need to win against Vietnam to retain any hope of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup.

But their preparations for the match did not go well as planned.

They landed in the UAE a month before the game to get used to the weather and conditions, but could not play as many practice matches as they wanted.

"At first we planned to play like four friendlies," Li said. "But due to the pandemic and other reasons, we could only play one with Syria."

After training for a month the players’ stamina and coordination have improved a lot compared to the last two games, but he was not too happy with the weather, he said.

"The weather here is so extreme. We can only train in the evening after the sun has set. For the past month, the players have not gone out during the day and only saw the sky through the hotel window. This is a tough time but we have to cope."

The match kicks off at the Sharjah Stadium at midnight Hanoi time, and will be reported live on VnExpress International.