With the World Cup qualifiers in November and the Asian Cup in January approaching, the Chinese Football Association (CFA) has carefully planned and invited Uzbekistan and Vietnam to play a series of warm-up matches with our national team. At the same time, our national team will also start a new round of training in October. Looking back at the warm-up matches in September, the performance of the Chinese team did not meet expectations. In preparation for the World Cup qualifiers and the Asian Cup, Coach Jankovic is likely to make drastic changes to the national team lineup.
Three overage players, Tan Long, Gao Tianyi and Liu Yang, who had been pulled out of the Asian Games training squad selection, are set to return to the national soccer family. As for the naturalized player Ekerson, although he has not yet reversed his low performance in the national team, he has already played 150 minutes for China in the warm-up matches in September and was embarrassingly ineffective. Such statistics might make Ekerson lose the trust of Coach Jankovic. It is worth mentioning that 35-year-old veteran Tan Long is still in pretty good shape after his eye-catching performances at the Asian Games, scoring twice in consecutive matches against Myanmar, the former top scorer in the Chinese League One. In addition, Guoan's main center forward Zhang Yuning has finally recovered from his injury.
On the defensive side of the ball, Coach Jankovic's reuse of the Harbor Gang players has sparked heated debate among fans. The performances of Yan Junling and Zhang Linmiao have also been questioned by the media and fans. According to Sports Weekly reporter Ma Dexing, Wu Shaocong, who is currently playing in an overseas league, is expected to join the training list of the new national soccer team. The player, who comes from Evergrande's soccer academy, is currently playing steadily in the Turkish second division league and has made several starts for the team, with the club even refusing to allow him to participate in the Hangzhou Asian Games. Wu Shaocong is likely to become the new partner of naturalized player Jiang Guangtai.
In addition to Wu Shaocong, Dai Weijun, the centerpiece of the Asian Games training team's midfield, will also return to the national team. As of now, national soccer captain Wu Xi is undoubtedly the leader of the national soccer team's midfield. Whether in terms of match experience or personal ability, Wu Xi is the leader of the national soccer locker room. However, with his age, Wu Xi's athleticism has declined, and it seems unrealistic to expect him to play for the national soccer team for a long time. Dai Weijun has been touted as the future centerpiece of the national team since the days of Lippi, and would have been included in the national team list by Coach Jankovic had it not been for his duties at the Asian Games. In addition, Guoan double star Gao Tian...
