体坛英语新闻：2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup kicks off Friday with China up against Thailand

AMMAN, April 5 (Xinhua) -- The 2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup will kick off in Jordan on Friday with the first match on tap to see China play against Thailand.

Jordan, the host country, will play against the Philippines after the opening match at the same pitch, the Amman International Stadium.

The four teams are in Group A of the tournament, while Japan, Australia, South Korea and Vietnam stay in a much tougher Group B.

In a press conference in Amman on Thursday, Coach of the Chinese team Sigurdur Ragnar Eyjolfsson said that "preparations were very good and we are happy to be here."

"We are very excited about the tournament and we hope that the Chinese team will be among the top teams at the end of this tournament," Eyjolfsson added.

"Our group is an exciting group to be in. We are looking forward to the first match tomorrow against Thailand," continued Eyjolfsson.

Thai team coach Nuengrutai Srathongvian said the team had "completed preparations for the match on Friday against China."

"We hope that we will be among the five teams that will make it to France," Srathongvian added.

Thailand has been preparing as a whole team for the match against China, Srathongvian said, adding that the Thai team will exert more effort in the upcoming battle.

"We have been training a lot and hope our performance will be much better," Srathongvian continued.

The tournament will run from April 6-20 in Amman, during which the top five will win the tickets to the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.

China, as the most successful side in the history of the AFC Women's Asian Cup with a record eight trophies to their name, whitewashed Thailand 7-0 in the previous tournament held in Vietnam in 2014.