According to the established plan, China's men's soccer team will assemble in the middle to late part of this month to prepare for the last four rounds of the upcoming Qatar World Cup Qualifying Round of 40. The coaching team has already selected a list of candidate international players containing nearly 60 players, and has thoroughly evaluated most of the players through the two training sessions this year as well as the first phase of the new Chinese Super League season. As a result, head coach Li Tie already has a clear idea about the specific candidates for the 40-team squad. Wu Lei, who plays for La Liga club Espanyol, is about to return to the country as a player who does not need additional examination to help the national football team to hit the Top 12.
It is reported that he is expected to arrive in Shanghai on the 18th of this month.
Wu Lei confirms recall in second half of National Football League's Top 40 tournament
Affected by the epidemic, Wu Lei has not been able to participate in the national team training since November 2019, when he joined the team for the Top 40 match against Syria in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. In the interim, the national soccer team has completed six training sessions and eight warm-up matches under new manager Li Tie. Li Tie has also laid the foundation for the lineup for the second half of the 40-team tournament by gaining a detailed understanding of the abilities and status of the candidate international players.
Although Wu Lei missed the first six training, but his ability and attitude has long been recognized by the new coaching team of the national team led by Li Tie. In the process of establishing the WeChat exchange group of training personnel, Wu Lei is often "pulled" into the group. It can be said that Wu Lei is always a key player indispensable to the national football team.
The remaining matches in Group A of the 40-team tournament will be held from May 30 to June 15 in Suzhou, according to the schedule released by FIFA and the AFC. The national soccer team is also scheduled to regroup at least 10 days before the tournament. Wu Lei, who is returning to the competition, will need to return home early to make all the preparations for the match and the tournament.
Wu Lei drops out of Liga B, returns home early
Up to now, 37 rounds of Liga B have been played. Espanyol is leading the table with 6 points. With only 5 rounds left in the league, they have a very high hope of reaching La Liga. Despite the difficult situation of Espanyol and Wu Lei's wish to enter La Liga with the club, he had to return home before the end of the La Liga B for the sake of the loyalty of the national soccer team.
The schedule shows that the 39th round of Liga B match between Espanyol and Cartagena will be played on the afternoon of May 14th local time. Wu Lei is likely to temporarily bid farewell to the club after that round, and then depart from Madrid, Spain on May 17th local time, eventually arriving at Shanghai Pudong International Airport on May 18th Beijing time.
After entering the country, Wu Lei will go to the designated isolation point
It is worth noting that the immunization and reception of the visiting teams, foreign referees and other tournament-related inbound personnel for the remaining matches of Group A of the 40-team tournament will be strictly carried out in accordance with the standards of the second round of the women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament for the Chinese and South Korean women's football teams. In other words, from the time these people enter the country to the time they leave the country after the match, they will always be in a tight closed loop of epidemic prevention.
For health and safety reasons, Wu Lei may take a chartered plane back to China. After he enters the country, he will go to the designated isolation point, to be through the physical examination and the necessary medical isolation observation, will be sent directly to the race area, that is, directly into the completely closed tournament "red zone".
Despite not being able to assemble with the team for more than a year, Wu Lei has always been a "plug-and-play" type of player that successive national soccer managers have fully trusted in terms of ability and experience. For Wu Lei, the important thing is to relieve the fatigue brought by long-distance travel in time.
