With FIFA match days approaching, the Chinese men's soccer team will soon announce a new edition of the national team roster, the third to be released during Jankovic's tenure in charge of the Chinese men's soccer team. Compared to the previous two rosters, this one has undergone the biggest change in the selection of naturalized players. According to the current news, it is almost confirmed that Beijing Guoan midfielder Li Ke will be selected for the national team. After two years, Li Ke will once again become a member of the national soccer team.
Li Ke was the first naturalized player in the history of the national soccer team, having been called up back in the Lippi era. in 2020, Li Ke also played with the team in the Top 40 of the World Qualifiers. But after that, Li Ke suffered a serious injury and spent the entire 2021 and almost all of the 2022 season in a hospital bed, and only made a comeback this season after a long recovery from surgery. Li Ke ended up being a starter for Guoan head coach Suarez this year, and he has become increasingly consistent.
It is because of the guaranteed form that the conditions are ripe for Lee's return to the national soccer team. Lee is a vertically mobile player who can help the national soccer team on both the offensive and defensive ends of the field. Whether it is as a substitute for Wu Xi or together, it is a tactical change for Jankovic. After all, the national soccer team is very short of this type of midfielder at this stage.
There are still some variables as to whether Fernando, another naturalized player who has been selected for the national football team, will actually be picked up by Jankovic. The problem for Fernando is his fluctuating form, which is still not fit enough to apply 90 minutes of high-intensity play. Since Taishan's game against Zhejiang at the end of July, Fernando has seen a small peak in his performance, playing well against the likes of Beijing Guoan and Meizhou Hakka. However, in the last two rounds of matches, Fernando's form has fallen back and Choi Kang-hee has become conservative in his use of him. Fernando's biggest disadvantage is that he has less playing time compared to other internationals.
