China national football team to train in Guangzhou in November, warm-up opponents likely Asian Cup teams

Hupu Football News | July 22nd

According to a report from Beijing Youth Daily today, the Chinese men's national football team will hold a training camp in Guangzhou in November, with warm-up opponents expected to be teams participating in the upcoming Asian Cup.

Upcoming Schedule and Preparations

As planned, the national team will begin a new training camp after the 26th round of the Chinese Super League (scheduled for September 6th). During the international match window from September 21st to October 6th, the team will host four international A-level friendly matches against representative teams from other member associations in Chongqing.

To support the national team's preparation for the new Asian Cup early next year, the Chinese Football Association—based on the target range proposed by the coaching staff—has contacted and confirmed multiple Asian Cup participating teams as opponents for this window. The warm-up opponents for the November international match window will also fall within this range.

Opponent Selection Strategy

Beijing Youth Daily reporters learned that even before the start of the World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, the Chinese Football Association began contacting potential warm-up opponents to meet the national team's Asian Cup preparation needs.

With the new Asian Cup set to kick off early next year, and the Chinese team drawn into a group with Iran, Syria, and Kyrgyzstan, the national team coaching staff—led by head coach Shao Jiayi—decided to use the remaining two international match windows this year to warm up against Asian (AFC) teams. Specific opponents have been chosen to be tactically similar to the national team's Asian Cup group opponents. The coaching staff even compiled a shortlist of preferred warm-up opponents.

Confirmed Opponents for September Window

As of now, the opponents for the next international match window have been roughly confirmed:

• Uzbekistan
• North Korea
• Tajikistan
• Palestine

All four teams are among the 24 Asian Cup participants.

Venue Details

While selecting warm-up opponents, the Chinese Football Association has also accelerated the venue selection process. It is understood that the Chongqing Longxing Professional Football Stadium—which successfully hosted the national team's final 2026 World Cup Asian Qualifiers match against Bahrain last year—is likely to be the venue for all four matches of this invitational tournament.

November Window Plans

During the November international match window, the national team will play two additional international friendlies. Although the opponents have not yet been finalized, the specific targets are likely to be Asian Cup participating teams. Barring any surprises, the national team and the warm-up location will likely be arranged in Guangzhou, which offers relatively favorable climate and competition conditions.

Impact on Domestic League and U23 Team

The schedule shows that the Chinese Super League will enter a break of over a month after the 26th round on September 6th, partly to accommodate the Chinese U23 national team (Asian Games team) in preparing for the Nagoya Asian Games. Including overage players, several national team players will also support the U23 team.

It is reported that, as required by the Asian Games Organizing Committee, both the Chinese women's and men's Asian Games teams have finalized their 23-player squads. In other words, the coaching staff of the national team and the U23 team have communicated about the squad composition for the next training camp, and there are no obstacles in player selection.

Source: Five Star Sports