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Wu Lei is benched. China must catch a Qatar side that has come out firing on all cylinders.

China will take on Qatar in the third Group A match of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) 2023 Qatar Asian Cup at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar, at 6 p.m. (local time) on Feb. 22. China is in second place with two draws, while Qatar is in first place with two wins. Qatar has already qualified for the tournament.

For China, Yan Junling, Zhang Guangtai, Zhu Tianze, Zhang Linfeng, Wang Xiangwan, Zhang Yuning, Wu Shi, Liu Yang, Wei Shihao, Liu Binbin, and Lin Liangming are named in the starting lineup. Li Lei, Wu Lei, Xu Xin, Jie Pengfei, Tan Long, Wang Direi and Wang Xueming start on the bench.

Wu Lei sits on the bench. After signature star Wu Lei missed a crucial chance against Lebanon, China's Soho reported, "Wu Lei refused to score into an empty goal," and "fans were furious, saying, 'This is a crime.'" It also quoted journalist Wang Minghao as saying, "Wu Lei can't score by himself, and now he can't score with an empty goal." Coach Aleksandar Jankovic has expressed his support, but criticism is still dominant.

Still, China believes in Wu Lei. "We have to believe in Wu Lei to win," Soho said, "The synergy between Zhang Yunying and Wu Lei is very good. Wu Lei's speed and agility can compensate for Zhang Yuning's shortcomings." With Wu Lei on the bench, Zhang Yuning, Wei Shihao, and others will be in charge of the offense.

Qatar start Saad Al Shib, Almahdi Ali, Abdulraiz Hatem, Ahmed Allah, Ali Assad, Yusuf Abdurisag, Khalid Munir, Bassam Al Rawi, Boualem Kooki, Sultan 안전놀이터 Al Break and Musafa Meshaal. Almoez Ali, Akram Afif, and Hassan Al Haidos are on the bench. Qatar have come out quite flat.

China is still scoreless. They drew 0-0 with Tajikistan and 0-0 with Lebanon. Not conceding a goal and not losing is encouraging, but not scoring a goal is shocking. If they beat Qatar, they'll advance, but if they lose and drop to third place, depending on the results of Lebanon and Tajikistan, they could miss the knockout rounds due to goal difference with the third-place team in each group.