Guus Hiddink, head coach of Chinese U23 team attends the press conference ahead of the AFC U23 Championship 2020 Qualifiers Group J match in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, March 21, 2019. (Xinhua/Chong Voon Chung)
KUALA LUMPUR, March 21 (Xinhua) -- As China's U-22 football team start its quest for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic with the qualifiers for the 2020 AFC U-23 Championship, Veteran Dutch coach Guus Hiddink insists on Thursday that his team is not the favorite.
China will face Laos, the Philippines and host Malaysia in Group J of the AFC U-23 Championship in Thailand next year, which itself will serve as the qualifier for the Tokyo Olympics.
Speaking in a joint press conference with coaches of three other teams, the 72-year-old coach of China's U-22 team insisted that "nothing in the past indicate Chinese is the favorite."
"When I first started to scout, it was in September last year in a tournament when the result was very, very poor," he said. "So there's no reason (China) to be the one and only outstanding favorite. The Chinese players have to make it happen here."
Most of his players are not playing enough games to be competitive, said Hiddink.
"80 to 90 percent of the squad is not playing frequently, that's the huge setback for the development of the young players," he said. "So for us, in the short time, we have to make them ready to compete in this tournament, that's the worry for manager of China whoever he will be."
Hiddink's team will play Laos on Friday. The 11 group winners and four best second-placed teams in the qualifiers will qualify for the Finals, with host Thailand receiving automatic qualification.
