The East Asian Cup qualifiers kick off this week at the Taipei Municipal Stadium, with hosts Taiwan set to be tested by North Korea, Hong Kong and Guam.
Star midfielder Chen Po-liang, currently playing for Shanghai Shenhua in the Chinese Super League, is to captain Taiwan as they vie for top spot in the week-long competition to earn a ticket to next year’s East Asian Cup Finals in Wuhan, China, along with the hosts, South Korea and Japan.
Aside from Chen, Taiwan will be counting on another prominent talent in defensive midfielder Victor Chou, who was born in Madrid to Taiwanese parents.
Dubbed “The Kid from Spain,” Chou wowed fans and journalists at last month’s international friendly with Cambodia, although Taiwan lost 2-0.
During his teenage years in Spain, Chou gained experience playing for the junior teams at Atletico Madrid and Real Valladolid.
Taiwan’s hopes also rest on two other foreign-based players, Wen Chih-hao and Chen Hao-wei, who both play for Beijing Baxy in China’s second tier, especially after their most high-profile player, Taiwanese-Belgian Xavier Chen, announced last week that he would not play in the East Asian Football Federation tournament, due to a dispute with the national soccer federation.
Fan favorite Xavier Chen previously played for KV Mechelen in Belgium’s top flight and is now a regular starter in defense for Guizhou Renhe in the Chinese Super League.
The Cup’s opening games are scheduled for tomorrow in Taipei, with North Korea taking on Hong Kong at 4pm, before Taiwan look to overcome Guam at 7pm.
The second round of matches are due to take place on Sunday, with Guam clashing with North Korea at 4pm and the hosts reigniting their rivalry with Hong Kong at 7pm.
The final round of matches are set for Wednesday next week, with Hong Kong in action against Guam at 4pm and Taiwan taking on favorites North Korea at 7pm.
In the women’s East Asian Cup qualifiers, Taiwan are hosting South Korea, Hong Kong and Guam. The winners will join China, North Korea and Japan in next year’s finals in Wuhan.
The women’s games are set for 10:30am and 2:30pm at Hsinchu Stadium tomorrow and on Saturday, with the final round scheduled for 4pm and 7pm at the Taipei Municipal Stadium on Tuesday.
Tickets for all the games can be obtained through the exchange of five uniform invoice receipts dated between September and this month, which will then be donated to local charities.
Tickets will be available 90 minutes prior to kickoff, with a maximum of two available per person.
All the fixtures will be broadcast live on the ELTA Sports channel on multimedia-on-demand and will also be shown on the federation’s Web site: www.eaff.com.
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