2018 China Cup

The 2018 Gree China Cup International Football Championship (Chinese: 2018年格力中国杯国际足球锦标赛) was the second edition of the China Cup, an international football tournament held in China annually. It was played from 22 to 26 March 2018 in Nanning, Guangxi, China.

2018 China Cup

Tournament details
Host country	China
City	Nanning, Guangxi
Dates	22–26 March
Teams	4 (from 3 confederations)
Venue(s)	1 (in 1 host city)
Final positions
Champions	Uruguay (1st title)
Runners-up	Wales
Third place	Czech Republic
Fourth place	China
Tournament statistics
Matches played	4
Goals scored	14 (3.5 per match)
Attendance	116,201 (29,050 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Gareth Bale (3 goals)
Best player(s)	Edinson Cavani
← 2017 2019 →

The winning team was Uruguay, who beat Wales 1–0 in the final.^[1]

Participating teams

On 8 November 2017, it was announced that Czech Republic, Uruguay and Wales would participate in the 2018 China Cup.^[2]

Team	FIFA Ranking (March 2018)[3]
Wales	20
Uruguay	22
Czech Republic	43
China (host)	65

Mascot

With 65,554 votes, Longbao^[a] was elected as the official mascot for the 2018 Gree China Cup International Football Championship. Longbao’s design was drawn from a Chinese dragon (Long), an essential cultural symbol of strength, good luck and auspicious powers.^[4]

Venue

Nanning	Guangxi Sports Center
Guangxi Sports Center
22.767°N 108.388°E / 22.767; 108.388 (Guangxi Sports Center)
Capacity: 60,000

Match officials

The following referees were chosen for the 2018 China Cup.

Referees

• Chris Beath
• Amirul Izwan Yaacob
• Saoud Ali Al-Adba
• Salman Ahmad Falahi

Assistant referees

• George Lakrindis
• Mohammad bin Zainal
• Juma Al-Burshaid
• Mohammad Darman

Squads

• Age, caps and goals as of the start of the tournament, 22 March 2018.

China

China

Coach: Marcello Lippi No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club 1 1GK Zeng Cheng (1987-01-08)8 January 1987 (aged 31) 41 0 Guangzhou Evergrande 2 2DF Liu Yiming (1995-02-28)28 February 1995 (aged 23) 3 0 Tianjin Quanjian 3 2DF Zheng Zheng (1989-07-11)11 July 1989 (aged 28) 14 2 Shandong Luneng 4 2DF Li Xuepeng (1988-09-18)18 September 1988 (aged 29) 27 0 Guangzhou Evergrande 6 2DF Feng Xiaoting (captain) (1985-10-22)22 October 1985 (aged 32) 64 0 Guangzhou Evergrande 7 4FW Wu Lei (1991-11-19)19 November 1991 (aged 26) 48 8 Shanghai SIPG 8 3MF Cai Huikang (1989-10-10)10 October 1989 (aged 28) 20 0 Shanghai SIPG 9 4FW Xiao Zhi (1985-05-28)28 May 1985 (aged 32) 8 2 Guangzhou R&F 11 3MF Hao Junmin (1987-03-24)24 March 1987 (aged 30) 66 12 Shandong Luneng 12 1GK Yan Junling (1991-01-28)28 January 1991 (aged 27) 7 0 Shanghai SIPG 13 3MF He Chao (1995-04-19)19 April 1995 (aged 22) 2 0 Changchun Yatai 14 2DF Jiang Zhipeng (1989-03-06)6 March 1989 (aged 29) 23 0 Hebei China Fortune 16 3MF Huang Bowen (1987-07-13)13 July 1987 (aged 30) 43 3 Guangzhou Evergrande 17 2DF Fan Xiaodong (1987-03-02)2 March 1987 (aged 31) 3 0 Changchun Yatai 18 4FW Gao Lin (1986-02-14)14 February 1986 (aged 32) 97 20 Guangzhou Evergrande 19 4FW Wei Shihao (1995-04-08)8 April 1995 (aged 22) 3 2 Beijing Guoan 20 3MF Yu Hanchao (1987-02-25)25 February 1987 (aged 31) 50 9 Guangzhou Evergrande 21 2DF Deng Hanwen (1995-01-08)8 January 1995 (aged 23) 7 2 Guangzhou Evergrande 22 4FW Yu Dabao (1988-04-18)18 April 1988 (aged 29) 45 17 Beijing Guoan 23 1GK Wang Dalei (1989-01-10)10 January 1989 (aged 29) 26 0 Shandong Luneng 24 3MF Zhao Xuri (vice-captain) (1985-12-03)3 December 1985 (aged 32) 73 2 Tianjin Quanjian 25 2DF He Guan (1993-01-25)25 January 1993 (aged 25) 3 0 Shanghai SIPG 28 2DF Wang Shenchao (1989-02-08)8 February 1989 (aged 29) 4 0 Shanghai SIPG 29 4FW Tan Long (1988-04-01)1 April 1988 (aged 29) 0 0 Changchun Yatai 30 3MF Peng Xinli (1991-07-22)22 July 1991 (aged 26) 0 0 Chongqing Lifan 3MF Wu Xi (1989-02-19)19 February 1989 (aged 29) 47 3 Jiangsu Suning Source:[5][6][7][8][9]

Czech Republic

Czech Republic

Coach: Karel Jarolím No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club 1 1GK Tomáš Vaclík (1989-03-29)29 March 1989 (aged 28) 18 0 Basel 2 2DF Pavel Kadeřábek (1992-04-25)25 April 1992 (aged 25) 30 2 1899 Hoffenheim 3 2DF Tomáš Kalas (1993-05-22)22 May 1993 (aged 24) 11 0 Fulham 4 2DF Theodor Gebre Selassie (1986-12-24)24 December 1986 (aged 31) 45 3 Werder Bremen 5 3MF Lukáš Masopust (1993-02-12)12 February 1993 (aged 25) 0 0 Jablonec 6 2DF Michael Lüftner (1994-03-14)14 March 1994 (aged 24) 1 0 Copenhagen 7 3MF Antonín Barák (1994-12-03)3 December 1994 (aged 23) 7 5 Udinese 8 3MF Vladimír Darida (1990-08-08)8 August 1990 (aged 27) 49 4 Hertha BSC 9 3MF Martin Frýdek (1992-03-24)24 March 1992 (aged 25) 5 0 Sparta Prague 11 4FW Michael Krmenčík (1993-03-15)15 March 1993 (aged 25) 11 6 Viktoria Plzeň 13 3MF Jan Kopic (1990-06-04)4 June 1990 (aged 27) 9 3 Viktoria Plzeň 15 3MF Tomáš Souček (1995-02-27)27 February 1995 (aged 23) 8 1 Slavia Prague 16 1GK Tomáš Koubek (1992-08-26)26 August 1992 (aged 25) 6 0 Rennes 17 2DF Marek Suchý (captain) (1988-03-29)29 March 1988 (aged 29) 36 1 Basel 18 2DF Jan Bořil (1991-01-11)11 January 1991 (aged 27) 4 0 Slavia Prague 19 4FW Patrik Schick (1996-01-24)24 January 1996 (aged 22) 5 1 Roma 20 3MF Michal Trávník (1994-05-17)17 May 1994 (aged 23) 0 0 Jablonec 21 4FW Stanislav Tecl (1990-09-01)1 September 1990 (aged 27) 1 0 Jablonec 22 2DF Filip Novák (1990-06-26)26 June 1990 (aged 27) 12 1 Trabzonspor 23 1GK Jiří Pavlenka (1992-04-14)14 April 1992 (aged 25) 4 0 Werder Bremen 26 2DF Jakub Jugas (1992-05-05)5 May 1992 (aged 25) 0 0 Slavia Prague Source:[9][10][11]

Uruguay

Uruguay

Coach: Óscar Tabárez No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club 1 1GK Fernando Muslera (1986-06-16)16 June 1986 (aged 31) 94 0 Galatasaray 2 2DF José Giménez (1995-01-20)20 January 1995 (aged 23) 39 4 Atlético Madrid 3 2DF Diego Godín (captain) (1986-02-16)16 February 1986 (aged 32) 113 8 Atlético Madrid 4 2DF Guillermo Varela (1993-03-24)24 March 1993 (aged 24) 1 0 Peñarol 5 3MF Carlos Sánchez (1984-12-02)2 December 1984 (aged 33) 33 1 Monterrey 6 3MF Rodrigo Bentancur (1997-06-05)5 June 1997 (aged 20) 4 0 Juventus 7 3MF Cristian Rodríguez (1985-09-30)30 September 1985 (aged 32) 102 11 Peñarol 8 3MF Nahitan Nández (1995-12-28)28 December 1995 (aged 22) 9 0 Boca Juniors 9 4FW Luis Suárez (1987-01-24)24 January 1987 (aged 31) 95 49 Barcelona 10 3MF Giorgian De Arrascaeta (1994-05-01)1 May 1994 (aged 23) 12 1 Cruzeiro 11 4FW Cristhian Stuani (1986-12-10)10 December 1986 (aged 31) 38 5 Girona 12 1GK Martín Campaña (1989-05-29)29 May 1989 (aged 28) 1 0 Independiente 13 2DF Gastón Silva (1994-03-05)5 March 1994 (aged 24) 16 0 Independiente 14 3MF Lucas Torreira (1996-02-11)11 February 1996 (aged 22) 0 0 Sampdoria 15 3MF Matías Vecino (1991-08-24)24 August 1991 (aged 26) 19 1 Internazionale 16 2DF Maxi Pereira (1984-06-08)8 June 1984 (aged 33) 124 3 Porto 17 3MF Diego Laxalt (1993-02-07)7 February 1993 (aged 25) 3 0 Genoa 18 4FW Maxi Gómez (1996-08-14)14 August 1996 (aged 21) 2 0 Celta Vigo 19 2DF Sebastián Coates (1990-10-07)7 October 1990 (aged 27) 29 1 Sporting CP 20 3MF Gastón Ramírez (1990-12-02)2 December 1990 (aged 27) 42 0 Sampdoria 21 4FW Edinson Cavani (1987-02-14)14 February 1987 (aged 31) 98 40 Paris Saint-Germain 23 1GK Martín Silva (1983-03-23)23 March 1983 (aged 34) 11 0 Vasco da Gama Source:[11][12][13]

Wales

Wales

Coach: Ryan Giggs No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club 1 1GK Wayne Hennessey (1987-01-24)24 January 1987 (aged 31) 73 0 Crystal Palace 2 2DF Chris Gunter (1989-07-21)21 July 1989 (aged 28) 85 0 Reading 3 2DF Adam Matthews (1992-01-13)13 January 1992 (aged 26) 13 0 Sunderland 4 2DF Ben Davies (1993-04-24)24 April 1993 (aged 24) 36 0 Tottenham Hotspur 5 2DF James Chester (1989-01-23)23 January 1989 (aged 29) 29 0 Aston Villa 6 2DF Ashley Williams (captain) (1984-08-23)23 August 1984 (aged 33) 76 2 Everton 7 3MF Joe Allen (1990-03-14)14 March 1990 (aged 28) 40 2 Stoke City 8 3MF Andy King (1988-10-29)29 October 1988 (aged 29) 44 2 Swansea City 9 4FW Sam Vokes (1989-10-21)21 October 1989 (aged 28) 56 8 Burnley 10 4FW Tom Bradshaw (1992-07-27)27 July 1992 (aged 25) 2 0 Barnsley 11 4FW Gareth Bale (1989-07-16)16 July 1989 (aged 28) 68 26 Real Madrid 12 1GK Chris Maxwell (1990-07-30)30 July 1990 (aged 27) 0 0 Preston North End 13 4FW Billy Bodin (1992-03-24)24 March 1992 (aged 25) 0 0 Preston North End 14 2DF Declan John (1995-06-30)30 June 1995 (aged 22) 2 0 Rangers 15 3MF Lee Evans (1994-07-24)24 July 1994 (aged 23) 1 0 Sheffield United 16 4FW Harry Wilson (1997-03-22)22 March 1997 (aged 21) 1 0 Hull City 17 3MF Marley Watkins (1990-10-17)17 October 1990 (aged 27) 1 0 Norwich City 18 2DF Chris Mepham (1997-11-05)5 November 1997 (aged 20) 0 0 Brentford 19 2DF Connor Roberts (1995-09-23)23 September 1995 (aged 22) 0 0 Swansea City 20 3MF Ryan Hedges (1995-07-08)8 July 1995 (aged 22) 1 0 Barnsley 21 1GK Michael Crowe (1995-11-13)13 November 1995 (aged 22) 0 0 Ipswich Town 22 4FW Ben Woodburn (1999-10-15)15 October 1999 (aged 18) 6 1 Liverpool 23 2DF Tom Lockyer (1994-12-03)3 December 1994 (aged 23) 1 0 Bristol Rovers Source:[8][13][14]

Matches

The official draw was announced on 5 December 2017.^[15] The schedule was announced on 17 December 2017.^[16] All times are local, CST (UTC+8).

Bracket

	Semi-finals				Final
	22 March – Nanning
	China	0
					26 March – Nanning
	Wales	6
					Wales	0
	23 March – Nanning
					Uruguay	1
	Uruguay	2
	Czech Republic	0
					Third-place playoff
					26 March – Nanning
					China	1
					Czech Republic	4

Semi-finals

China	0–6	Wales
	Report	Bale 2', 21', 62' Vokes 38', 58' Wilson 45'

22 March 2018 (2018-03-22)

19:35

Guangxi Sports Center, Nanning

Attendance: 36,573

Referee: Amirul Izwan Yaacob (Malaysia)

Uruguay	2–0	Czech Republic
Suárez 10' (pen.) Cavani 27'	Report

23 March 2018 (2018-03-23)

19:35

Guangxi Sports Center, Nanning

Attendance: 22,757

Referee: Saoud Ali Al-Adba (Qatar)

Third-place playoff

China	1–4	Czech Republic
Fan Xiaodong 5'	Report	Kalas 58' Schick 59' Krmenčík 62' Kadeřábek 78'

26 March 2018 (2018-03-26)

15:35

Guangxi Sports Center, Nanning

Attendance: 15,815

Referee: Chris Beath (Australia)

Final

Wales	0–1	Uruguay
	Report	Cavani 49'

26 March 2018 (2018-03-26)

19:35

Guangxi Sports Center, Nanning

Attendance: 41,056

Referee: Salman Ahmad Falahi (Qatar)

Goalscorers

There were 14 goals scored in 4 matches, for an average of 3.5 goals per match.

3 goals

• Gareth Bale

2 goals

• Edinson Cavani
• Sam Vokes

1 goal

• Fan Xiaodong
• Michael Krmenčík
• Patrik Schick
• Pavel Kadeřábek
• Tomáš Kalas
• Luis Suárez
• Harry Wilson

Notes

1. simplified Chinese: 龙宝; traditional Chinese: 龍寶; pinyin: Lóng Bǎo; Mandarin pronunciation: [lʊ̌ŋ pàʊ], in quick speech, [lʊ̌m-]