While the Chinese Super League break has come and gone, the Chinese national team's competitive schedule has been incredibly busy, with soccer matches still attracting a lot of attention. According to the established plan, Guoan will have two matches in September against old rivals Syria and a strong Malaysia. on September 9, at 19:30 Beijing time, the Chinese team will face Malaysia in Chengdu, followed by Syria on September 12, which are both open to the fans.
Looking back at the past decade or so, the level of the national football team has dropped rather than risen, the problem of aging has become increasingly serious, and the replacement of the old with the new has been hampered. In contrast, the progress of Syria and Malaysia has been quite remarkable. Malaysia, in particular, have been able to compete with Thailand and even beat them in the 2023 Southeast Asian Championship. Syria has also beaten the national soccer team in the World Qualifiers. If these matches had taken place more than ten years ago, a win for the national football team would have been a foregone conclusion.
As a result, the national team did not have the confidence to win against these two opponents, and the outcome of the game seemed up in the air.At the end of August, the national team announced its roster for the September training session, with a total of 24 players selected. However, due to important matches for the Asian Games soccer team and the National Olympic team, many young players were unable to participate, leading to an aging trend in the lineup. Leaders such as Ackerson, Wu Lei and Zhang Linpeng are among the players on the list, with an average age of up to 30, with the oldest having reached 34 and the youngest 26.
The big list includes Shanghai Seaports, who unexpectedly lost to the 8th place team of the Thai Premier League in the AFC Champions League play-offs, which became a shame for the Premier League leaders. Shanghai Seaport has sent eight players to the national team, including Yan Junling, Wu Lei, Zhang Linpeng, Xu Xin, Jiang Guangtai, Wang Shenchao, Li Shuai and Wei Zhen, most of whom are the backbone of the national team. In Coach Jankovic's tactical system, the veterans play a key role through exercise and bonding. With this in mind, the national team's starting lineup was first revealed in September's tournament, with Wu Lei and three foreign players set to take the lead.
Wu Lei and Ixon are expected to partner up front, while Wu Xi, Li Ke, Lin Liangming and Chen Pu will form the core of the midfield. At the back, Li Lei, Zhang Linpeng, Jiang Guangtai and Wang Shenchao will form a four-guard defense, with Yan Junling guarding the goal. Coach Jankovic's formation has been proven many times to be able to handle the challenges of teams like Malaysia and Syria. Prior to that, Jankovic has led the national team to similar formations to beat Myanmar and Belestan.
The national soccer team's 24-player roster features Liu Dianzha, Deng Hanwen, Xie Pengfei, Gao Junyi, Wang Dalei, Sun Guowen, Chen Pu, Wei Zhen, Wang Shenchao, Li Shuai, Yan Junling, Wu Lei, Xu Xin, Zhang Linpeng, Ekerson, Jiang Guangtai, Wang Shangyuan, Li Ke, Li Lei, Wang Qiuming, Wang Qiuming, Barton, Wu Xi and Lin Liangming. Liu Yang, who performed well last term, was absent due to his participation in the Asian Games, while Barton, who was selected as an over-age player, was dropped by Djurdjevic and is now back in the national team, replacing Taishan's Liu Binbin. Expect the current national team training to continue the good work and create another winning streak.
