Steel roses look to bloom

Shui took over the coaching role for the Steel Roses in 2021, following the team's disappointing group-stage elimination from the Tokyo Olympics. The 56-year-old made an immediate impact, by steering the team to Asian Cup glory last February, which ended a 16-year wait, and then to victory at the East Asian Football Championship five months later.

Team China's best result at the World Cup was as runner-up in 1999.However, with the rapid development of women's soccer, especially in Europe, China's team is no longer a dominant force on the world stage.

The Steel Roses' last-16 finish at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in France showed just how far Chinese women's soccer has fallen behind the game's elite nations. Some tough challenges await Shui's squad in the coming World Cup, as its Group D rivals include current European champion England and a highly rated Denmark team.

"This time we are certainly hoping for a better performance. We set a higher goal of reaching the last eight, as it will give us more motivation. There will be no easy game. We will have to give it our all in every game, no matter the opponent," Shui added.

A key focus of Shui's coaching team over the past few months has been improving the team's physical strength, in a bid to give her players a better chance against their streetwise European rivals.

"We watched many matches of the recent European Championship and previous World Cup. Our players' sprint ability on the pitch is weaker than our European rivals, as well as our players' strength. Our players are smaller and we have no advantage in physical contact," Shui told China Central Television.

"We have had some training in these aspects, but it is far from enough. At the very start of winter training, it's normal for the players to have a hard time during training. Our job is to give them guidance and encourage them.

"They will be happy and have more confidence when they realize that their legs are stronger and they have greater physicality... I still remember the first day when our fitness coach arrived at the training camp, and he instantly pointed out that our players were not strong enough and that there was a lot of room for improvement. Some of our players weighed just over 40 kilograms."

An effective way to facilitate the growth of the women's game in China is to encourage more young talent to play in more competitive foreign leagues. Currently, a total of 14 Chinese women's players are plying their trade in foreign leagues, and for this week's friendlies, five of them reunited with Team China. The priority for the head coach is to make sure that all the players cooperate well, and as quickly as possible.

"Some of our players, due to travel and club procedures, have not had systematical training recently. I do worry about their condition. It's a test for us whether or not they can fit into the team and be a positive influence," said Shui.

"However, I have no regrets in encouraging them to go and play abroad. This is what I believe is right and it will benefit the sport's development in the future."

Another area of focus for Shui is using the friendlies to assess the potential of the younger players in the squad.

"Certain young players excelled in the practice, but they need to overcome the anxiety caused by the upcoming matches. If they can perform well, these youngsters will have a chance to go to the World Cup. I hope that we have more young faces in the squad when we go to Australia, it will be good for the team," Shui added.