Brazil's Naturalized Players' Job Search Stymied, 2026 World Cup Prospects

Iverson was the first to lock down his post, signing for Gremio in the Barclays Premier League, however the arrowhead was unlucky to suffer a serious thigh injury in mid-June and is expected to return to green this month.

Golat initially joined Santos in the Barclays Premier League, but failed to show his strength as promised, playing 29 matches for the team in half a year, scoring only 4 goals and 2 assists. Among them, 11 appearances in the Barclays Premier League this season, the particles did not receive. Santos weighed again and again, finally agreed to terminate its contract, Golat original contract will expire at the end of 2023.

When joining Santos, Golat was registered as a Chinese player, so he is considered a foreigner in the Barclays Premier League. As the Barclays Premier League stipulates that a player can only be registered once a season, Golat was unable to join another Barclays Premier League team after terminating his contract with Santos.

Therefore, it is only a stop-gap measure for Gallart to join Bahia in the Barclays Premier League, where he hopes to find his form and return to the Brazilian top flight at the end of the season. Bahia is currently in fourth place in the Brazilian B division with 37 points, and is expected to be promoted to the Brazilian Liga, thus keeping Golat.

Allan returned to his old employer, Barclays Liga Fluminense, at the end of June, signing a contract until 2024, but the formalities have not yet been completed and he has not played for the team so far. Luo Guofu signed with Barclays Premier League's Minero Americas in April this year, and has played 15 matches this season, scoring two goals, making him the best performer among the naturalized players and standing firm.

Of the five non-blood naturalized players, only Fernando has yet to find a new home. He has not played in an official match for more than a year since he left the national soccer team's Top 40 preparation camp in late May last year, and there is no way to talk about systematic training.

Naturalized players express willingness to participate in Asian Cup

With time running out, can they be relied upon to fulfill their mission?

It is worth noting that Alan, Ekerson and Luo Guofu unanimously expressed their willingness to continue to play for the Chinese team and were looking forward to participating in the Asian Cup when they were interviewed by the media. However, as of now, the Chinese team has yet to announce its next preparation plan. With no major tournaments for the rest of the team's year, it is likely that the team will not be able to organize any more training and international matches will be difficult to implement.

Naturalized players in Brazil to retain Chinese nationality, theoretically still have the possibility to play on behalf of the national team, which is also regarded as a kind of "stay in the ocean". Given the overall decline in the level of the Chinese Super League, playing in the Brazilian league can maintain a high level. However, Golat is no longer expected to play for the Chinese national team, because according to FIFA regulations, he is only eligible to play if he continues to play in China.

Next year, the national soccer team will face major tournaments, starting with the Asian Cup in June and July, followed by the first stage of the 2024 Paris Olympics qualifiers in mid- to early-September and the Hangzhou Asian Games from late September to early October. The national football team and the national Olympic team have more overlapping personnel, and it is impossible for one team to cope with so many matches, so naturalized players will also become an important option.

After the expansion of the 2026 World Cup Asian region will have 8.5 seats, the Chinese men's soccer team to the World Cup opportunities and hopes for a substantial increase in the natural, people's expectations for the promotion of the national football team has also risen. However, the current strength of the national football team in Asia can only be counted on the second and third tier, it is difficult to say that there is a must enter the World Cup hope, can only fight.

The Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup will be in full swing in October 2023, according to the latest calendar. As China's current ranking is not yet so low as to fall behind the 25th place in Asia, there is no doubt about directly advancing to the second stage of the World Qualifying Tournament 36, that is, from November 2023 to start a brand-new shock journey.

The oldest of these naturalized players, Luo Guofu, will be 35 years old next year and can theoretically continue to play football, but it is hard to say whether their form can meet the requirements of the national football game.