China coach banned from the sidelines against Cameroon

Hao was punished for hampering Ria Percival’s bid to take a quick throw in during a 2-2 draw which sent New Zealand out of the tournament.

The China coach had to field questions during the pre-match press conference on how he would communicate with his young team — whether he would try to hide inside a laundry basket like Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho or use an invisible phoneline like North Korea’s leader during the men’s World Cup in Brazil.

“No, we don’t have anything like that,” said a baffled Hao.

It will be the first meeting between the 16th-ranked Chinese, runners-up in 1999, and African newcomers Cameroon, ranked 53.

“After the three matches our team is growing so fast, although I will not be present they are maturing and are more sophisticated, I think they will do well.”

The Chinese returned to Edmonton where they played their first two matches — a 1-0 loss to Canada and 1-0 win over the Netherlands — before travelling east to Winnipeg for the New Zealand game.

“We are very happy to be back in Edmonton. We’ve already stayed here for many days and are familiar with the stadium, everything is going according to schedule,” he said.

He said they have analysed Cameroon, the only African team left in the tournament, and have a game plan.

“The Cameroonian team did exceptionally well at the group stage but after looking at them in detail we saw they have a big loophole in defence which maybe we can capitalise on.”

Captain Wu Haiyan said their side would not be thrown off by Hao’s absence on the touchline.

“We’re pleased to be back (in Edmonton), we feel at home. We’ve played three matches and already I’ve seen stronger communication and coordination between the team, we have other coaches as well.

“I’m sure the head coach will convey his orders to the other coaches. Defence will be our priority (Saturday). We know they (Cameroon) have players who are very strong physically.”