The national soccer team will play its first 2026 World Cup qualifier away to Thailand at 20:30 on Thursday night. The Chinese Football Association (CFA) has previously announced that it has not naturalized the name of striker Ickxon. Guoan striker Zhang Yuning has not played in the Chinese Super League this season, leaving many fans confused. Although Ickerson's overall form is on a downward trend, his overall individual ability is still superior to many domestic strikers, and while Zhang Yuning has not played in the CSL this season, he has certainly not peaked. Many fans and media believe that Jankovic's adjustments are likely to be a major failure for the national soccer team.
Before leaving for Thailand, Jankovic personally revealed his reasons for dropping Exxon to call up Zhang Yuning in an interview with a domestic media reporter. In one of the interviews, Jankovic bluntly said that Zhang Yuning is the best striker of the current national soccer team. Zhang Yuning is very important to the future Chinese national team. He is a typical number 9 striker and the best striker in China. He can carry the ball on his back, which is important." Obviously, against the shorter Thailand team, Jankovic wanted to use Zhang Yuning's height and physical pivot advantage to pose a threat to the opposing defense. Once Zhang Yuning uses his physical advantage to gain possession of the ball in front of the field or in the penalty area, the national football team can utilize this front pivot as a bridgehead, while attackers who excel in speed, such as Wu Lei, can quickly close in on Zhang Yuning to put pressure on the opposing team's penalty area.
Moreover, it was evident from the previous warm-up matches that Exxon's athleticism had dropped significantly and he failed to score in many of the warm-up matches. Yang Kovic also made a new attempt at the center forward position, recruiting Changchun Yatai veteran Tan Long, who followed the Asian Games, and Xie Weijun, a star center forward for the Tianjinmen Tigers, who has been performing well in the Chinese Super League this year, as key targets. Both appeared in previous warm-up matches on behalf of the national soccer team. Personally, I think veteran Tan Long is likely to be the starting center forward for the national football team against Thailand, although Yang Kovic has recruited Zhang Yuning on the roster.
Upfield attackers such as Zhang Yuning and Wei Shihao are likely to be substitutes. In the second half, when the opponent's physicality drops, the substitutes appear to put pressure on the opponent's defense. The young and famous Zhang Yuning had a long career with European clubs such as Dutch Vitesse, Bremen and West Bromwich Albion. He was one of the first Chinese players to study abroad. The physical quality and awareness belong to the first-class level of domestic strikers. As a fan, I hope Zhang Yuning can quickly find his form in the match with Thailand, perform well and help the national football team to win, and live up to the trust of coach Jankovic and fans.
I am more worried about the backline of the National Football League than the forward positions. The worrying backline of the national soccer team has been aggravated by the injury of naturalized international player Jiang Guangtai. Moreover, the performance of the main goalkeeper Yan Junling is also good or bad. Once there is a hole in the back line of the national soccer team, the home team of Thailand seized the opportunity to break through, the national soccer team's road trip will become intense, and the World Cup qualifying group is likely to be less than what the fans would like to see. But no matter what, we still have to cheer for the national football players and hope they can achieve satisfactory results.
