Late yesterday afternoon, Chinese Super League (CSL) powerhouse Shenzhen revealed that the team's foreign midfield core, Juan Quintero, has taken a return flight and is expected to arrive in Hangzhou today, followed by a 21-day quarantine. In order to prepare for the second phase of the Chinese Super League in December, Quintero wasted no time in giving up two World Cup matches in mid-November. According to the Colombian media, the move by the Shenzhen football team is to get a head start at a crucial time in the title race.
Three consecutive draws in WC, Colombia's future in doubt
In the three matches in October, Colombia suffered three 0:0 draws. After three consecutive draws, Colombia (16 points) has been overtaken by Ecuador (17 points) in the South American zone and is currently in 4th place.With seven rounds of WC matches remaining, Colombia's prospects for qualification are uncertain.
The next national team match day will be in mid-November. The last 20 days have allowed players to return to their respective clubs. According to the Colombian media information bank, Quintero has left the national team on Tuesday local time. The SZF revealed yesterday that Quintero will arrive in Hangzhou on Friday afternoon, followed immediately by the start of a 21-day quarantine against epidemics.
The fact that Quintero is returning to China at this moment means that he will miss the World Cup in November. In other words, next month's "duel" with Brazil and Paraguay, Quintero will not be able to participate. The Colombian media understand this choice and see it as a sign that SZF will compete for the Chinese Super League title. The Colombian weekly newspaper pointed out that Quintero gave up his participation in the November World Cup because he had reached an agreement with SZF in exchange for qualifying for the last five World Cup matches from January to March of the following year.
In fact, in the Colombian team, Quintero is not an absolute starter despite wearing the No. 10 jersey. In Colombia's six recent World Cup matches, Quintero has never played a full game.
The league is quite difficult
Shamrocks seek cup breakthrough first
Although Jintero's return to the team is just around the corner, SZFC still need to focus on the FA Cup for now, as the Cup has entered the second stage. Yesterday, SZFC arrived in Dalian by high-speed train from Changchun to prepare for the upcoming quarter-finals. The CFA has not yet announced the specific time for the two rounds of the quarterfinals, but the time left for the SZFC to prepare for the game is not generous. Before the second phase of the Chinese Super League begins, SZF's goal is to seek a breakthrough in the cup front.
The only foreign aid available to SZF is Caldecott and Achimpen. From the last round of 3:1 victory over Cangzhou Lions, Caldecott was in good shape, not only scored a goal, and its pivot role is also very significant; Achim Pen obviously failed to recover to the best state, the combination of people and the ball is not the right feeling, and many attempts to break through were unsuccessful. Obviously, Achimpen still needs to find his form through the game.
In terms of the desire to win the AFC Cup, Shenhua is likely to be above SZF. Although in the age structure, Shenhua has a certain advantage, but Shenhua's bench depth is sufficient, the players are also rich in experience, Shenhua really do not have the capital to underestimate the Shenhua.
SZF's primary problem is still the defense, especially the center back, only Yuan Min Sung is a point of stability. Facing Shenhua's foreign attackers, whether SZF can do it without conceding a goal in the first round will be the key to qualify for the quarterfinals.
