World Cup qualifiers moved from China over virus cases

Matches in Group A of Asia's 2022 World Cup preliminaries will be played in an as-yet undetermined neutral venue after the Chinese Football Association announced the games could no longer be played in China, the Asian Football Confederation has said.

The remaining matches involving China, the Maldives, Syria, the Philippines and Guam were due to be held in a bio-secure bubble in Suzhou that would have allowed overseas players and officials into the Jiangsu Province city without quarantine.

But a series of positive tests among players from Syria and the Maldives meant teams travelling to China would have been required to isolate upon arrival in the country.

"The Asian Football Confederation has today decided to move the remaining centralized Group A matches of the Asian qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 from China PR to a neutral venue, which will be decided and announced in the coming days," the statement said.

"The decision was made due to the mounting challenges faced by several participating teams in travelling to China PR."

The AFC said it was working with the Chinese Football Association and the other participating nations as well as potential venues to determine the next course of action, with the aim of completing the qualifying schedule.

The CFA had said in an earlier statement the games would be played in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Reuters

According to China's Titan Sports, the Maldives and Syria are in Dubai and were denied permission to depart for China.

Maldives striker Ali Ashfaq tweeted that he had tested positive for the coronavirus and won't be playing in the qualifiers.

Only the group winners are guaranteed to advance to the next round of Asia's preliminaries along with the four runners-up across the eight groups with the best records.

China resumed its qualifying schedule on Sunday after 18 months without a competitive game due to the ongoing pandemic as Li Tie's side defeated Guam 7-0 in the former Everton midfielder's first game as coach.

Nearly 30,000 football-starved fans were in attendance in Suzhou for the match and watched Spain-based striker Wu Lei and naturalized forward Alan Carvalho both score twice.

China was scheduled to face the Maldives on Thursday, while Syria and the Maldives were set to play on June 7.

China is second in the group behind Syria and is fighting to keep its World Cup hopes alive. The games double as qualifiers for the 2023 Asian Cup in China.

"The Chinese Football Association will make every effort to prepare for the matches," the CFA said.

The AFC said it hopes to keep to the original schedule, with the final round of matches on June 15.