China’s desperation to improve on the international level is playing havoc with Guangzhou Evergrande coach Luiz Felipe Scolari’s Asian Champions League aspirations.
The 2002 World Cup-winning coach arrived in Guangzhou in June to succeed Fabio Cannavaro and, last week, took the big-spending club to Dubai for a 0-0 draw on Saturday against Al Ahli in the first leg of the 2015 Asian Champions League final.
The second leg takes place in Guangzhou on November 21. That would usually provide plenty of time to prepare, especially as the Chinese domestic season ended in October with a fifth successive domestic title for the star-studded Evergrande, but Scolari has a major headache.
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China coach Alain Perrin has included eight Guangzhou players in his 23-man squad ahead of two vital Group C World Cup qualifiers, against Bhutan in Changsa tomorrow and in Hong Kong five days later.
“After we return to Guangzhou, I must first wait 12 or 13 days for the players to come back from the national team as they must first play for the national team and then I will make adjustments then begin preparations for the second leg of the Champions Cup final,” Scolari said after the first leg in Dubai.
Guangzhou will also be without star defender Kim Yong-gwon, who was called up to the South Korean national team.
In this, the second and penultimate round of World Cup qualification in Asia, only the winner of each of the eight groups can be certain of a place in the final round. They will be joined by the best four runners-up. These 12 nations will compete for the continent’s four automatic spots at the 2018 World Cup.
China’s chances of finishing first look remote. They are already eight points behind group leaders Qatar, although they have four games remaining, one more than the 2022 World Cup hosts.
After hosting Bhutan in a game that even the unpredictable China are expected to win comfortably, Perrin takes his men to the former British colony of Hong Kong for a high-pressure, high-profile game at a time when political relations between the mainland and its Special Administrative Region are uneasy.
The teams drew 0-0 in China in September and tensions have risen after Hong Kong fans booed the Chinese national anthem at a number of recent games.
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THE LOWDOWN
Romeo Akbar Walter
Rating: 2/5 stars
Produced by: Dharma Productions, Azure Entertainment
Directed by: Robby Grewal
Cast: John Abraham, Mouni Roy, Jackie Shroff and Sikandar Kher
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SPECS
Engine: Two-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 235hp
Torque: 350Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Price: From Dh167,500 ($45,000)
On sale: Now
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Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now
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Australia World Cup squad
Aaron Finch (capt), Usman Khawaja, David Warner, Steve Smith, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Jhye Richardson, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Lyon, Adam Zampa
Gully Boy
Director: Zoya Akhtar
Producer: Excel Entertainment & Tiger Baby
Cast: Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Kalki Koechlin, Siddhant Chaturvedi
Rating: 4/5 stars
TOUCH RULES
Touch is derived from rugby league. Teams consist of up to 14 players with a maximum of six on the field at any time.
Teams can make as many substitutions as they want during the 40 minute matches.
Similar to rugby league, the attacking team has six attempts - or touches - before possession changes over.
A touch is any contact between the player with the ball and a defender, and must be with minimum force.
After a touch the player performs a “roll-ball” - similar to the play-the-ball in league - stepping over or rolling the ball between the feet.
At the roll-ball, the defenders have to retreat a minimum of five metres.
A touchdown is scored when an attacking player places the ball on or over the score-line.
Specs
Price, base: Dhs850,000
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 591bhp @ 7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 11.3L / 100km
