Chinese soccer team vows to win World Cup qualifiers against Iraq, Qatar

TIANJIN, China, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Vladimir Petrovic, head coach of the Chinese national team, said that his players, encouraged by the spirit of the Chinese people in battling the earthquake in Sichuan, will win the two upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Iraq and Qatar.

"It is the spirit of the Chinese people battling the natural disaster that has encouraged the whole team," Petrovic said.

"The players are in very good form and I believe that we can win the games for the people," the Serb said.

Last week's 8.0-magnitude earthquake centered in Wenchuan County in southwest China's Sichuan Province left more than 50,000 people dead, almost 30,000 missing, tens of thousands injured and more than 4.8 million homeless.

China will play Qatar on June 7 and Iraq match on June 14.