China has called up three overseas players for Saturday's friendly match with Australia in a bid to fine-tune the team for July's AFC Asian Cup.

England-based Sun Jihai and Zheng Zhi have arrived in Guangzhou for China's first ever match with the "Socceroos", who will debut at the Asian Cup after joining the Asian Football Confederation last year. Germany-based midfielder Shao Jiayi and Manchesters United's forward Dong Fangzhuo will return later.

"It's a big game for us. We haven't played them before so this is a good chance to get to know them better," midfielder Zheng told CCTV

"We're at home and neither side knows much about each other. I am confident we can win," added Zheng, who is full of confidence after his debut goal and man-of-the-match performance during his new club Charlton's 2-0 victory over Newcastle on Sunday.

Head coach Zhu Guanghu hopes Zheng's club form can inspire his national teammates.

"Zheng has proven his ability to mix it in the Premier League. I hope he will keep this form for the national team. We will try our best to win against tough opposition," Zhu was quoted as saying on Sina.com.

"We haven't called up all the overseas players this time, but they are all important.

"I try to keep in touch with them every week. Right now we have a good chance to work on tactics and make sure the team plays as a unit."

Zhu expressed his regret that injured PSV Eindhoven left-back Sun Xiang could not make the trip.

Sun, the first Chinese footballer to compete in the UEFA Champions League, picked up a right knee injury and was taken off during the weekend's clash with Ajax. He is still suffering pain and will stay in Eindhoven for treatment.

"His absence is a blow, but we'll have to accept it and find someone to take his place," said Zhu.

Australia showed the importance of the game by calling up Middlesbrough trio Mark Schwarzer, Mark Viduka and Brad Jones. They came through Monday night's FA Cup replay with Manchester United unscathed and will lead a team made up of players mostly plying their trade in Europe.

"Australia are ranked 39th in the FIFA rankings, higher than China's 75. They are taking the match seriously and sending very good players. Matches against stronger teams will definitely help us improve," said Zhu.

Overseas players will return to their clubs after the match, meaning they will miss a second friendly, against Uzbekistan, on March 27.

The AFC Asian Cup runs from July 7-29 in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Viet Nam.

(China Daily March 22, 2007)