SHENYANG, Northeast China-- Both China and New Zealand are hoping to score points in their Olympic men's soccer opener on August 7 to lay a solid basing for their berth in the knockoff stage.
The two sides have been drawn into the "Group of Death" together with Brazil and Belgium, and Brazil is tipped to sail further into the next round without much difficulty.
New Zealand's "Oly-Whites" have never qualified for the men's Olympic soccer tournament before, but became the confident qualifier of Oceania with Australia now competing in the Asian confederation.
China makes the tournament as host. After failing to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the team desperately needs to win back the hearts of fans at the Olympics.
Led by Chalton Athletic midfielder Zheng Zhi, local club Shandong Luneng striker Han Peng, and Shanghai Shenhua veteran defender Li Weifeng, China has beat Vietnam, Malaysia and Australia, and drawn with Serbia in four tune-ups running up to the Olympics.
Coach Yin Tiesheng set a target of reaching the semi-finals, and a berth in knockout stage the bottom-line. He took the opener with New Zealand as a life-and-death game.
"We have studied the opponents thoroughly and believed we have chance to advance to the next round. New Zealand is physically strong but they have fatal weakness in techniques. For example, they are slow to turn back," Yin said.
Despite losing out in a recent warm-up match to Australia, coach Stu Jacobs' side didn't regard them as the weakest in the group.
Jacobs' roster features Blackburn Rovers defender Ryan Nelsen, Celtic striker Chris Killen and former Fulham midfielder Simon Elliott. The trio lack no talent but the experience in international matches.
"China is going to be a difficult challenge for us, but we feel like we can get some sort of result from them, whether it is a draw or a winner. Belgium is another opportunity to get result," Jacobs told a press conference on Tuesday.
He believes that New Zealand will have weapons of their own to counter the home advantage of the Chinese. "Physically we are a dominant side. There is no secret that our main strength is the physicality. And I don't think we are slow."