China push to play crunch playoff clash in Sydney

Sydney could play host to China's key Olympic qualification playoff clash against South Korea with the team unable to play the match on home soil due to the outbreak of coronavirus.

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A report by Chinese news publication Xinhuanet claims the Chinese Football Association has listed Sydney as the preferred location for their home leg of the tie in a submission to the AFC.

China's players have remained in Sydney since they finished runners-up behind the Matildas in Group B of the AFC Olympic qualification tournament earlier this month and hope to use the city as their base until their match against South Korea.

"We prefer to remain in Sydney. We proposed to set up our home leg here, but it is up to the AFC to decide," a Chinese team source told Xinhuanet on Tuesday.

The Steel Roses will travel to South Korea for the away leg of the Olympic qualifying playoff on March 6 with the return leg to be played five days later on March 11. 

China have also had plans to bring more players into their squad, such as veterans Zhang Rui, Gu Yasha and star playmaker Wang Shuang, scuppered due to virus control concerns.

Shuang was one of four players who missed China's Group B matches after being forced to sit out due to exposure to the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak in the city of Wuhan.

The Chinese women's team were forced to endure a week-long quarantine in a Brisbane hotel after arriving in Australia in Early February and were not able to train. 

It did not stop them going undefeated in the Olympic qualifying tournament including a 6-1 win against Thialand and a 5-0 win against Chinese Taipei. 

However, a 1-1 draw against Australia meant they finished in second place in Group B.