We can progress from tough World Cup group, says China's Wu

CANBERRA -- China's midfielder Wu Chengshu said she has confidence to help the national team progress from a tough group including European champions England in the 2023 Women's World Cup this summer.

Wu, who completed her first overseas season in Australia's top-division soccer league earlier this month, played ten matches since joining Canberra United last November.

During the five months at the Australian capital club, the 26-year-old missed eight club matches due to injury and international friendlies but still developed as a regular starter in different positions such as defensive midfielder, second striker, and winger, scoring two goals.

Canberra United, who failed to score a fourth goal in the 3-3 draw with Melbourne City in the last round, finally finished fifth in the 2022-2023 season, narrowly missing a top-four place to enter the end-of-season finals.

"That match was very crucial and held in the same stadium as the men's A-League match in Melbourne," Wu told Xinhua recently.

"We were excited and everyone did their best. But the result was a pity. The coach praised our efforts made this season and believed we could reach the top-four next season."

Usually playing as a wide midfielder, Wu has emerged as a major attacking force for China's national team, scoring the first goal against Japan in the Asian Cup semifinal in 2022.

After her first season in the women's A-League, Wu said she can feel the improvement in her career.

"I took this step to experience an overseas league for the first time. I think it was a good decision. I didn't quite adapt to the rhythm here in the first two rounds, and then I played match by match until the last one, getting used to it," she said.

"My teammates and I have gradually become familiar with each other. I think I made some progress, as this is a physically strong league, which is very competitive."

Wu said the club praised her contribution and hoped that they could bring in another Chinese player next season.

"Playing overseas means you have to look after yourself, including daily cooking, which was difficult for me when I first came here. Because when I played for Jiangsu in the Chinese league, the club had a chef and canteen, meaning you didn't need to think about what to eat today," she said.

"But after a month, I became familiar with cooking and shopping in a market here. You can feel life in Canberra is also convenient. Looking back this season, it was a good experience."

Before the interview with Xinhua, Wu had just returned from a training camp with the Chinese national team in Europe, where they drew 0-0 with Switzerland and were defeated 3-0 by Spain in two warm-up matches ahead of the World Cup, which is set to be held in Australia and New Zealand from July 20 to August 20.

"The European teams have really improved in recent years. We can feel the gap," said Wu.

"Take Spain, for example, not mentioning their physical advantage, they were also very calm and relaxed in the match. They were very confident playing their possession control game at their tempo."

Placed in Group D with England, Denmark, and Haiti at the World Cup, China, though having clinched the Asian Cup title last year, was not regarded as a favorite.

Only the top two teams from eight groups can enter the last-16 round as it is the first time the biggest tournament for women's soccer has expanded into a 32-team format.

Despite the challenge, Wu said she hoped to continue improving in the following months and would try to show their own style with teammates on the world stage.

"We still have a lot of room for improvement. Although the gap is huge, I think as long as we face up to it and narrow it step by step in daily training, we still have great opportunities," she said.

"At group stage, each team has different characteristics. We will analyze the opponent well before each game and stick to our strategy.

"I think the first goal must be to qualify for the knock-out stage. After that, I hope we can go further. Confidence is a must," Wu added.?