National team camps in China [Archives:2004/779/Local News]

By Adel Al-Khawlani
Yemen Times Staff
The national football team is leaving for China today to hold an external practice match there with the participation of 22 players under the Algerian Coach Rabeh Sadan. The team is preparing to meet its North Korean counterpart in the away match of the fifth Asian group qualifiers for the World Cup 2006 in Germany.
The North Korean team is leading the group with 8 points, followed by the UAE that has 7 and Yemen that raised its credit to 4 points after defeating the UAE. Thailand is ranked last in the group with 3 points.
The 22 players also staged an internal training camp in Sana'a that lasted for 6 days and was concluded on Wednesday October 6th after being summoned by the Coaching Staff of the team led by Sadan to represent Yemen in the North Korean capital.
The external camp in the Chinese capital Beijing will last for 4 days during which the team is due to stage two practice matches and then set off to face Korea on October 13th.
The national team harvested 4 points in the Asian eliminations for the World Cup through its win over the UAE, and draw with North Korea in the opening game.
One month after this game, the team will play against Thailand in the last encounter in Bangkok.
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