Steel roses look to bloom

Under coach Shui, women's players are honing their skills and mental qualities

China's women's soccer team is looking forward to making its mark at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup this summer in Australia and New Zealand, but the Steel Roses are well-aware of the challenges ahead.

The squad's head coach Shui Qingxia hopes the squad will find "its place" among the world's elite.

"I also hope friends from the media and our fans understand Team China's current position in the world. Being a top team in Asia doesn't mean we are strong enough to beat the world's top teams, but we are certainly capable of delivering a surprise result," Shui told Xinhua.

"The victory at the Asian Cup last year only proved that, with hard work, we give ourselves a better chance of victory. But, generally speaking, we are not among the world top teams. It is a long process of growth. There will be successes and there will be defeats. The most important thing for us, however, is to see the gap and move forward."

Team China started its training camp late last year. After a short break during the Spring Festival in January, the team regrouped in Guangzhou before leaving last weekend to play a series of friendly matches in Spain.

The Steel Roses won their first friendly 2-1 against Real Betis on Tuesday, after which they will play the Swedish national side on Friday, Sporting de Huelva on Sunday and the Republic of Ireland next week.

"We haven't played many international matches in the past year due to the pandemic. This is the first time for me, as the head coach of the Chinese team, to face European teams. Through these high-quality matches, we can find out if our preparations are sufficient enough for the World Cup and identify areas where we can improve. That is very important," said Shui.