Hiddink plays down China's favourites tag in AFC U23 qualifiers

As one the powerhouses of traditional powerhouses in Asian football, China will undoubtedly go into the AFC U23 Championship qualifier as the heavy favourites to not only top Group J that also features Malaysia, Philippines and Laos with all the matches played in Kuala Lumpur.

However for the former Netherlands and South Korea head coach, Guus Hiddink is anticipating a more equal contest between the teams as he look to guide China to the finals in Thailand next year. China hosted the last finals in 2018 but suffered an embarassing exit in the group stage.

Having worked at the highest level of world football, Hiddink has once again taking the responsibility of guiding the next generation of players and for the 72-year-old, the opportunity to do so is one which makes him very pleased to have been given the role.

"One reason to be excited is that we are going to see the youngsters who are going to be the future of Asian football for their respective countries. Personally I'm very happy to work with very young players and work to get them to a very high level. Of course we like to go to the next stage."

"I don't know if China is the favourites because nothing from the past indicates that China is a favourite because when I started to scout back in September last year, the results were very poor. So there's no reason to be one and only oustanding favourites. The players have to make it happen and that's what they want to do. It's exciting to see how their development is and as it is for the other teams. 

"Pressure comes with the job and if we don't feel pressure or the players don't know how to handle the pressure then maybe they are not qualified to be in the future, top players. Because that's the process that the players need to go through for their development," said Hiddink in Thursday's pre-match press conference.

China open their account with an encounter against V. Sundramoorthy's Laos team before facing Philippines on March 24 and finally concluding their group match with a tie against host Malaysia. Only the winner of the group is guaranteed a spot in the finals with the runners-up needing to finish among the best four within that section.

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