China's women's national soccer team head coach Shui Qingxia Photo: VCG

The Chinese women's national soccer team head coach Shui Qingxia said Wednesday that she hopes to bring the team to the optimal form at the upcoming FIFA Women's World Cup, as the national team unveiled its 23-player squad for the inter-continental tournament.

The Women's World Cup will kick off on July 20, with China, now ranking 14th in the world, facing Denmark in their first group-stage match on July 22. 

They will subsequently compete against Haiti on July 28 and European champions England on August 1 in the group stage.

The team is set to depart from Guangzhou on Friday and head to their base camp in Adelaide, Australia. Upon their arrival in Australia, the team will hold warm-up matches against Brazil and Colombia on July 13 and 17 respectively. 

Shui said the team has yet to reach their full potential.

"The team has yet to reach their full potential," Shui told reporters after a training session in Qingdao, North China's Shandong Province. 

"I hope the players will gradually reach their optimal form through further training."

After winning the 2022 women's Asian Cup in 2022, expectations for the women's national team increased as fans hoped the team could make some more breakthroughs. 

"I understand that fans have high expectations for the national team. But the two events are entirely different," Shui said. 

"In comparison to the world's top teams, China is playing catch-up. But I trust the players fully and will applaud their efforts regardless of the circumstances."

Most of the 23 players play domestically, except Wu Chengshu of Australia's Canberra United, Wang Shuang with the US' Racing Louisville and Shen Mengyu, who plays for Scottish club Celtic.

Captain Wang Shanshan, who will make her third World Cup appearance for China, is still recovering from an injury. The 33-year-old forward said she is actively working toward reaching her peak form by the start of the World Cup.

China's best performance at the Women's World Cup was a runner-up finish in 1999. Following lukewarm achievements over two decades, the team bounced back last year and won the 2022 Asian Cup. 

The team will also participate in the upcoming Hangzhou Asian Games in September, after finishing as runners-up in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2018.