Chinese women's football team departs for 2022 AFC India Asian Cup

SHANGHAI, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese women's football team left here on Saturday night for Mumbai, India for 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup.

The tournament, which will be held from January 20 to February 6, has 12 participating team divided into three groups. China has been drawn in Group A along with Chinese Taipei, Iran and host India.

China will play its first match against Chinese Taipei on January 20, and then meet Iran and India on January 23 and 26 respectively.

The top five teams of tournament can qualify for the 2023 FIFA Australia-New Zealand Women's World Cup. The sixth and seventh finishers will enter the playoff round of the World Cup qualifiers.

The 23-woman roster of the "Steel Roses", under the leadership of new head coach Shui Qingxia, includes star forwards Wang Shuang and Tang Jiali. Veterans Li Ying, Zhao Lina and Li Jiayue have also returned to the squad.