AFC U-19 Women’s Championship China 2017. China vs Uzbekistan | Preview

AFC: Host nation China PR will get the AFC U-19 Women’s Championship underway, sharing opening-match honours with Uzbekistan in a battle between nations with contrasting experience in the tournament.

The East Asians have not only appeared in every edition of the championship, they also won it in 2006 and are hosting it for the sixth time, while Uzbekistan are competing in the Finals for only the second time in over a decade following their 2015 appearance

Despite their relative lack of experience, Uzbekistan head coach Bahrom Norsafarov believes his team have what it takes to spring a surprise in Nanjing.

"We came to this tournament to win one of the tickets to the next World Cup,” he said on Saturday.

Norsafarov is under no illusions as to the difficulty of the task at hand if his team are to become the first Central Asian nation to reach the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.

“I can tell you that we understand that there are two Asian champions participating in this tournament (DPR Korea at U-16 level and Japan at U-19 level) and we understand they are very strong teams.

“The first match against China will be, of course, tough. We analysed the tournament they played against USA, Japan and Iran, and we will see what we can do.”

China emphatically beat Iran, drew with Japan and lost to the US in the tournament, and head coach Hesterine de Reus said she has brought a young group to the Finals.

“We expect very tough competition,” said the former Australia and Jordan senior boss.

“Everybody can see that China have a very young team with 17 and 18 year-olds so the challenge and competition for us will be even more. I think the team that make the least mistakes will be successful.”

A highly experienced figure in the global women’s game, Dutchwoman de Reus revealed her delight at being involved in the Chinese setup, and sees big things on the horizon for the game in the world’s most populous country.

“My passion is development. I develop the game, I develop coaches and I develop players. China has a huge potential in all these areas,” she said.

“I feel very honoured and proud that a country with such a rich history in women’s football asked me to help them develop the game.

“I believe that my experience and my knowledge can make a big difference in China and contribute to the ambition to become senior world champions again, and it’s my role to create the foundation for that.”

The host nation’s squad features a number of players originating from Jiangsu Province, where the tournament is being held, although de Reus is wary of the negative consequences of home comforts.

“I think they will be under more pressure with friends and family in the stands. They will be under pressure and make mistakes, so I think it will be a disadvantage," she warned.