Santiago, Jan 4 : Chilean coach Juan Antonio Pizzi has asserted that his team is determined to win the China Cup football tournament that will start on January 10 in the southern city of Nanning.
"We are going to compete and win the tournament. We have all the weapons for this," said Pizzi in a press conference on Tuesday, reports Xinhua news agency.
"We feel it will be a good learning experience for all, even more so for the players being selected. For many of them, it will be the first time they represent Chile."
The China Cup is a friendly international tournament, bringing together the national teams of Chile, China, Croatia and Iceland. Chile are being seen as the favourites, having won the Copa America in 2015 and 2016.
Pizzi said that Chile "is among the 20 best (teams) in the world. While we will not have our most featured players (at the China Cup), the football of this country has been a quarry for many talents."
"It will be a test to face off with players for whom we do not have much reference," the former Spanish international added.
All the matches of the China Cup will be played in Nanning, the capital of China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
China and Iceland will face off on January 10, while Chile will take on Croatia on January 11. The third-place play-off will take place on January 14, one day before the final on January 15.
