NANNING, China, March 20 (Xinhua) -- The second edition of the China Cup International Football Championship will be held from March 22-26 here in Nanning. China, Wales, Uruguay and the Czech Republic are ready to lock horns over the next six days.
As the participating sides are busy preparing for the tournament, here are a few things that the fans can focus on during this year’s China Cup.
1. The performance of the Chinese men's national football team.
It will be the first major competition for China since the East Asian Cup last December.
The 27-man squad this year is basically the same one that took part in the World Cup qualifiers last year, with Peng Xinli and Tan Long the newcomers.
With the 2019 Asian Cup less than a year away, the China Cup is a great opportunity for China to improve their skills considering they will not be at the World Cup in Russia this year.
2. Plenty of stars on display
Fans can also take a closer look at the performance of the football stars in other teams. Luis Suarez, Edison Cavani and Gareth Bale will all be on display.
Of all the three visiting sides, Uruguay is expect to attract the most attention, and is the only team in this tournament that will play in the World Cup later this year.
To prepare for the World Cup, Uruguay's coach Oscar Tabarez has brought Suarez, Cavani as well as Diego Godin and Matias Vecino to China. For the players with peripheral roles, the China Cup will be a great opportunity to secure a place in the World Cup.
3. Coaching debut for Giggs
For the numerous Chinese fans of Manchester United, they certainly do not want to miss the debut of Ryan Giggs as the coach of Wales.
The United legend, who retired as a player at the age of 40, won 13 English Premier League and two European Champions League trophies and broke a number of records as a United player.
Compared with his great performance as a player, Giggs doesn't have much experience in his coaching career. Giggs was appointed as the coach of Wales in January, and he will face Marcello Lippi's team in his debut.
