The Chinese national team completed their two-week training camp in Shanghai on Tuesday after a flu strike had disrupted their preparation for the Asian Cup qualifier against Syria.
China lost 1-0 to second division club Wuxi Zhongbang on Monday, a loss their caretaker coach Yin Tiesheng blamed on the flu which had struck down six players.
"I never expected the flu virus could cause so many troubles. Obviously it had badly affected my training plan," said Yin, who also caught a cold like six of his players.
Yin was upset with his players' performance in their loss to Wuxi Zhongbang, fearing they were not geared up for the forthcoming Syria match.
"Considering their lack of commitment and positive mentality, I now feel very much uncertain about the Asian Cup qualifiers against Syria and Vietnam," he said.
The team will jet off to Tehran, Iran on Tuesday night for a warm-up game with Iran on January 9. Then in five days they will play away against Syria in their first Asian Cup qualifier.
"We hope our players could recover physically and mentally before they take on Iran," said team manager Wei Shaohui, a Chinese Football Association official.
"The unexpected flu strike had left six players unable to work out normally, and we'll find ways to make up for the training backlog caused by the flu," he said.
(Xinhua News Agency January 7, 2009)
