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In preparation for the National Football Team selection for the East Asian Cup tournament, we have chosen the U23 Men's team coached by Jankovic. Two new overage players, Tan Long and Jiang Guangtai, were added to the team to enhance the depth of the squad. In the first two rounds of the East Asian Cup, we lost 0-3 to South Korea and drew 0-0 with Japan. The confrontation with the two strongest teams in Japan and South Korea not only allowed Jankovic's young team to accumulate valuable match experience, but also realized a significant improvement in strength. Especially after losing the first game to South Korea, the national football team quickly summarized the lessons learned, and the second game against Japan was a remarkable performance, despite the strength of the slightly inferior, but still ended up with a draw, and even once threatened the opponent's goal.
After playing Japan in the second round of the East Asian Cup, Japan's head coach Mori Boichi expressed his regret in front of the media, saying that his team had done their best. Jankovic, on the other hand, felt that despite the excellent performance of his players, there were still some shortcomings, and said that he was confident of winning the match, but regretted that he could not do so.
Nonetheless, the fact that the Jankovic-led national soccer selection team drew with a much stronger Japanese team is an improvement in itself. It not only proves Jankovic's outstanding coaching talent, but also highlights the potential of Chinese players in intercontinental tournaments.
Early last year, Jankovic predicted that the U23 men's soccer team was expected to do well in intercontinental tournaments thanks to their domestic league season. Below is a comparison photo of Jankovic and Japanese boss Mori Boichi.
Moriho Ichi (1948-), Japanese Democratic Party politician, prime minister 2001-2006
Yankovic
The epidemic has affected the communication of the young national team, causing us to lack in this area. However, at the Dubai Cup, Jankovic led his team to a top-four finish even though they lacked core players such as Zhu Chenjie and Dai Weijun, and won 4-2 against Thailand U23s, showing the strong strength and potential of the young players.
Jankovic's outstanding performance in the Dubai Cup once again proved his strong coaching ability. Facing an inferior opponent, he was still able to equalize with Japan in terms of ball control and shots on goal, which fully demonstrated his excellent formation and team management ability. Yankovic's coaching is of great significance in improving the level of Chinese men's soccer.
Moriho Ichi (1948-), Japanese Democratic Party politician, prime minister 2001-2006
Next up, the Chinese men's soccer team will face Hong Kong, China. Facing a Hong Kong team that lost 0-6 to Japan in the first round and a South Korean team with all their starters in the second round, we should not be underestimated despite the fact that we are fielding a young lineup. Jankovic is expected to lead his team with sharp tactics to win a victory, and maybe even outscore Hong Kong by more than three goals on goal difference. With a great coach and players full of fighting spirit, I believe Jankovic's team can have a successful final campaign in the East Asian Cup.
