China's men's football team to assemble in mid-May

BEIJING - The Chinese men's football team will set up a training camp in mid-May to prepare for their next World Cup qualifiers which have been delayed indefinitely due to COVID-19.

Li Tie, head coach of the Chinese side, said after his side finished a 34-day training camp early this month that they will assemble again in May.

His squad will probably meet in Shanghai to have a two-week training during which they will play at least two matches with some Chinese Super League (CSL) teams, according to a report by The Beijing News.

The training camp will close down before May 31, giving the players sufficient time to prepare with their respective clubs for the 2020 CSL campaign, which could kick off at the end of June with COVID-19 under control nationwide in China, the report said.

Li promised to call up more naturalized players into his team after he picked only one of them for the last training camp.

He also revealed that the coronavirus outbreak took a psychological toll on his side in March when they found themselves stranded in Dubai.

Some players reportedly complained of mental fatigue after staying together for 34 days including an obligatory two-week quarantine on their return to China from Dubai.