2018 China Cup positive for Wales, says Chris Coleman

Wales are 14th in the Fifa world rankings

Manager Chris Coleman says Wales' involvement in the 2018 China Cup would be "positive" for the team.

Wales have been invited to join hosts China, Czech Republic and Uruguay to play in the four-team competition which would take place in March next year.

The first China Cup was held in January 2017 and featured Chile, Croatia and Iceland as well as hosts China.

"I think it's very positive. Good for us to be involved in something like that," said Coleman.

"We would never have been asked to be involved in something like that three or four years ago, but now we're being asked to go to a mini-tournament against some really good teams.

"That's a really positive thing for Wales."

The prospect of Real Madrid star Gareth Bale travelling to China to take part is thought to be a major factor in Wales being invited.

Wales would be guaranteed two matches - a semi-final and a final or third-place play-off.

The games, which would take place in Nanning in the south of the country, would fall within Fifa's scheduled international window between 19 and 27 March.

But the Football Association of Wales is looking into the logistics of what would be a near 12,000-mile round trip to China before deciding whether to accept the invitation.

The squad would have to be back in the UK in enough time for the players to rejoin their clubs before the Premier League and Championship fixtures resume on 31 March.

Chile beat Iceland to win the inaugural China Cup, while China finished third after beating Croatia in the third-place play-off.