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Trinidad and Tobago to play China on June 3rd
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Trinidad and Tobago’s Senior Men’s Team will have a third international match added to its slate of international fixtures scheduled to start on May 23rd after confirming a Friendly with China’s National Senior Team to be played on June 3rd in the City of Qin Huang Dao.

TTFA President David John-Williams disclosed on Tuesday that the game, which falls inside the international window, has been confirmed and the “Soca Warriors” will travel to China following its match against Uruguay on May 27th. T&T will also face Peru in Lima on May 23rd.

T&T has faced China only once before at the senior international level, losing 3-0 during a four-nation tournament on September 5th 2001 at the Shanghai Stadium under then head coach Rene Simoes.

Looking ahead to the encounter, T&T head coach Stephen Hart described the fixture as one which be a “telling” experience for the team.

“China has shown that they want to be an international powerhouse in the game. They have secured some high profile games just like we have and coming on the back of the Uruguay game, this will be a telling experience for us,”Hart told TTFA Media.

“We are grateful for the opportunity and this is one that may open new footballing doors to Asia for us in the future,” he added.

“Our line up of games is quite healthy and we now have a busy schedule beginning later this month as we continue our focus on the two World Cup qualifying games in September against Guatemala and the United States,” Hart said.

China has qualified for the final phase of Asian World Cup qualifying for the first time since 2001 when they went on to qualify for the 2002 World Cup. They defeated Qatar 2-0 in a World Cup qualifier on March 29th and are also preparing for a June 7th Friendly against Andorra. Their next World Cup assignment is against South Korea on September 1st and Iran five days later.

China’s National Development and Reform Commission released a plan a few weeks ago to have one of the world’s leading national teams by 2050. The first stage, already underway, is to introduce soccer in 20,000 schools, with 30 million children playing the game regularly by the end of the decade. The midterm stage, to take place from 2021 to 2030, is for the men’s national team to become one of the standout teams in Asia.

There has been a lot of action and progress in the Chinese Super League. After five years of rising spending, the league as a whole spent around $300 million over the winter to acquire players like Alex Teixeira of Brazil and Jackson Martínez of Colombia. Other names that have joined the Chinese Super League in the past include Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka and Frederic Kanoute. The League has several players from Brazil and Latin America. Among the managers who have had former jobs there include ex-Argentina coach Sergio Batista and Italian Marcello Lippi.