Although the new president of the Football Association (FA), Song Kai, is interested in restarting the naturalization strategy, the FA has not seen any concrete action so far. The crux of the problem is that the players who want to be naturalized are either not up to the high standards of the national team in terms of skill level, or they are not enthusiastic about the naturalization process. Taking Oscar as an example, although he is 24 years old and has impact power, his technical shortcomings make it difficult for him to become the core of the national football team's offensive line. Therefore, the FA did not include him in the naturalization list, which is a wise move. However, if Oscar can make concessions on his salary, he may still be able to contribute to the national team.
Faced with the topic of naturalization of Oscar, Zhou Dingyang & Sergio, the Football Association finally announced that the naturalization plan has been shelved completely. With the exception of Fernando, other naturalized players may face the fate of being discarded by the national team in the upcoming 18-team Asian World Cup. Whether Fernando can return to the national team will depend on his new performance at Shanghai Shenhua.
From the perspective of the long-term development of Chinese soccer, over-reliance on naturalized players is not a long-term solution. Tapping and nurturing young talents with potential in China is the core strategy to promote the sustainable progress of Chinese soccer.
