According to the schedule, the country's soccer team will face Vietnam and Saudi Arabia on October 7 and 12, respectively, in the Asian Zone 12 of the World Qualifying Tournament. It is reported that Wu Lei, the leading player on the front line of the national football team, who plays for the Spanish club of La Liga, will arrive in Sharjah, UAE, to join the national team on the 4th after completing the 8th round of the La Liga match with Real Madrid on the 3rd of October. As for the much-hyped naturalized player Fernando, the coaching team decided not to call him up for the two rounds of the tournament because his physical condition has not yet met the requirements for the 12-team tournament.
On the evening of September 22nd local time, and in the early morning of September 23rd Beijing time, Espanyol collected their first win of the La Liga season with a 1-0 victory over Alaves in the 6th round of La Liga. Although Wu Lei missed a single good opportunity, his hard running and speed advantage is still very obvious. After the match, Wu Lei wrote on social media, "Keep moving forward, see the positives, and maybe you'll find more treasures." This suggests that the Spaniard's victory has also been a great boost for the Chinese team's top scorer.
Regarding when Wu Lei will return to the national team, some media speculated that he might depart for the UAE on the evening of September 25 local time after the 7th round of La Liga against Sevilla. However, Wu Lei will arrive in Sharjah on October 4 local time and meet up with the national football team, according to a report from Beijings-Beijing Headlines.
Wu Lei will have the opportunity to represent Espanyol in the crucial La Liga 8th round clash with Real Madrid on October 3rd. It's clear that while the Chinese team desperately needs Wu Lei, it also understands his struggles and difficulties in La Liga. As his form rises at his club, the national team coaching staff naturally wants him to continue that great form. Observing the performance of the first two rounds of the 40-team tournament and the 12-team tournament, Wu Lei is still the most threatening player on the front line of the whole team. For national team coach Li Tie, Wu Lei is always "plug and play", a reliable benchmark.
Also getting attention from fans is naturalized player Fernando from Guangzhou. The national soccer team is under tremendous pressure after suffering back-to-back defeats in the first two rounds of the 12-team tournament. Some media and insiders speculated that the coaching staff might recruit Fernando into the team as a surprise player against Vietnam and Saudi Arabia. However, it is understood that the coaching staff currently has no plan to recruit him into the team. On the one hand, it has been four months since Fernando left the team due to an injury in the second half of the 40-team tournament, and although he has been actively receiving treatment, his injury has not yet recovered to the extent that he can participate in the tournament. Even if he recovers well from his injury, he has been absent from system training for a long time, making it difficult to guarantee his athleticism.
On the other hand, the Top 12 tournament requires more physical and skillful participants. If the Chinese team takes the risk of drafting Fernando, it is feared that he, who has not participated in the tournament for a long time, will find it difficult to adapt to such a high-intensity, high-rhythm and high-pressure tournament. At present, it seems that Fernando will not appear in the national football team's preparation lineup, and it is also very likely that he will not be able to play in the two matches of the 12 matches on October 7th and 12th. As for when he will return to the team, the national team's coaching and medical support teams will continue to keep a close eye on him.
