With the World Cup matches against Bahrain on Nov. 14 and Japan on Nov. 19 approaching, the Chinese men's soccer team has entered a critical stage of preparation. Planned to gather again in early November, the national football team, coach Ivankovic in China and India after the war stayed in the country, using the recent observation of the Chinese Super League and the AFC Champions League matches, the potential international players to carry out in-depth assessment. It was revealed that the finalization of the list of international players is expected to be unveiled this weekend. The coaching staff may add new blood to the squad, taking into account Xie Wenneng's suspension and the yellow cards of seven players.
The home victory on October 15 opened the door for China in the 18-team tournament, and Indonesia's defeat has greatly boosted the morale of the national football team and domestic soccer. Although China is currently at the bottom of the Group C table with only three points, the gap with second-placed Australia is only two points. If we can fight for more points from opponents with comparable strength, such as Indonesia and Bahrain, the national football team is still expected to realize the goal of the top four in the group.
Coach Ivankovic canceled his original European vacation plan after returning to Beijing from Qingdao on October 16th. On the one hand, he negotiated with the Football Association on the preparation strategy, and on the other hand, he continued to examine the players by watching the league matches. Last weekend, he also observed Guoan's home match against Sea Bulls, and was impressed by the outstanding performance of Guoan's new star Cao Yongjing.
The latest news says that star right winger Xie Wenneng will be suspended for the Bahrain match for accumulating two yellow cards. Seven players, including Li Lei, Yang Zexiang, Li Yuanyi, Wang Shangyuan, Zhang Yuning, Baihe Lamu and Alan, also have one yellow card each and will face the risk of suspension for the match against Japan if they receive another yellow card in the next match. The coaching staff plans to call up about 26 players to prepare for the new training session.
Recent developments have been encouraging, with Wu Lei returning to the starting lineup in the AFC Elite League and contributing, former national soccer star Zhu Chenjie making a comeback in the Chinese Super League, and Alan making his debut in the relegation battle. These positive changes make the national soccer team more complete than it was in October. However, the absence of several injured players has allowed substitutes such as Byeloram and Jiang Shenglong to perform well, and Ivankovic will need to think long and hard about his starting lineup.
China and Bahrain have met in 7 official matches, with 3 wins and 4 draws in favor of China. However, the last four meetings have been drawn. The last time the two teams met was in a warm-up match in September 2018, which resulted in a 0-0 draw. Facing the relatively weak Bahrain, China has a psychological advantage. A full three points in this match will help the national soccer team perform even better in the first half of the 18-team tournament.
