Exploring the Road to the East
Select team upgrade mystery?
In the smoke and mirrors of the East Asian Cup, the Chinese men's soccer national selection team completed their mission. Given that the tournament was not the main lineup of the national team, the public was buzzing about one question after the tournament - will the selection team be directly promoted to the national team? At least from the observation of the current situation, this possibility does not seem to be high. However, from a broader perspective of development, the young players from this East Asian Cup may take their place in the future national team.
Prologue: two teams with different missions
After the Qatar World Cup qualifying round of 12 matches, the discussion about the "aging" of the Chinese national team has been endless. As the team with the highest average age among the participating teams, the Chinese national team is in urgent need of renewing blood, introducing more young players and optimizing the age structure of the team. Therefore, the CFA sent the U23 players as the main force of the national selection team to participate in the East Asian Cup, intending to let the young players in the international arena to accumulate experience, laying a solid foundation for the future. After all, the 99-00 age group players will be the core force for the next two World Cup qualifiers. However, it is feared that promoting this team of U23 players directly to the national team is too hasty.
The main goal of the national selection team for the East Asian Cup may be next year's Hangzhou Asian Games men's soccer tournament. After all, this is the only intercontinental competition held at home in recent years, and all parties will demand results. After the Asian Games, this team will be disbanded due to the loss of tournament duties, and the only chance for players to represent the national team will be the national team. And the Chinese national team faces higher pressure to perform in the Asian Cup next June and the first phase of the 2026 World Cup qualifying tournament in Asia in the second half of the year in August and September. Promoting the national selection team directly to the national team has a big gap in technical and tactical level and ability with the real national team.
At the player level, although Yankovic has been in charge for more than three years and the team has begun to take shape, it mainly focuses on players in the 99-00 age group, together with individual players in the 2001 age group such as Tao Qianglong and Liu Zhuyun. Among all age groups in China, the 99 age group team has no significant achievements and lacks advantages in Asia. Compared with the 93 age group, 95 age group, 97 age group, etc., the players in each position may not be the strongest. For example, Zhang Yuning in the center forward position appears weak in the 99 age group; the midfield lacks players like Gao Tianyi. The 95-age group's wingback position, such as Deng Hanwen and Gao Junyi, is also better than the 99-age group players in the current selection team.
Conclusion: national team reorganization and the development of select teams
If a genuine national team is to be formed, it is necessary to bring together talents from all walks of life, and age should not be the primary consideration. Most of the players in the current national selection team, with the exception of a few, may not be the best candidates for various positions.
Of course, I am afraid that the Chinese men's national team will not be reorganized before the end of the Chinese Super League this year. On the one hand, the FA and the preparatory group of the CFL don't want the league to end across the year; on the other hand, due to the current epidemic situation, the FA can't invite foreign teams to come to China again. Therefore, the national team at the earliest to the end of the year to regroup, then will directly start winter training, and may go overseas training, for the Asian Cup to do all-round preparation.
The national selection team can organize one or two training sessions before the end of the Chinese Super League, or even go abroad for training. During the FIFA designated national team competition window in September next year, the selection team can participate in international competitions in the name of the "national football selection team", in preparation for the Asian Games, and provide players with more international competition opportunities. As the famous saying in economics goes, "don't put your eggs in one basket", diversification is the best policy. The same applies to the national soccer team.
