Hope Powell's England side have arrived in Guangzhou ahead of the Four Nations Tournament as the build-up to the World Cup later this year begins in earnest. The FA's Alex Stone has been travelling with the squad and sent back this first-hand report of the early stages of the trip to China.
"After an 11-hour flight from London Heathrow to Hong Kong Airport on Sunday evening, the players, and thankfully the kit, arrived at Guangzhou Airport at 10pm local time on Monday night. After a supper, which included options as diverse as fish soup, Cantonese pork, chips, rice and cattle jaws, the players retired for a well earned sleep with, for many, the stadium visible from their bedroom windows.
"The 60,000-seater stadium was built six years ago for the China Games and towers high into the sky, complete with a huge concrete canopy adjoined to the hotel where England, the USA and Germany will all stay during the duration of the tournament.
"Tucked away from the hustle and bustle of the city, the Three Lions had their first training session at the complex this afternoon, followed avidly by the state owned China National Television network that has a national broadcast reach of 1.3 billion.
"Whilst not a venue for the World Cup in September, Guangzhou has hosted this annual tournament since 1998 and there is great anticipation amongst the England players as to the size of the crowd that may seem them in the open the tournament against China on Thursday.
"Guangzhou dates back to the third century BC, becoming China's first sea port. The city straddles the Pearl River, which links it to the South China Sea and boasts a population of over seven million."
FIXTURES
26th Jan USA v Germany
26th Jan China v England
28th Jan England v USA
28th Jan China v Germany
30th Jan Germany v England
30th Jan China v USA
