Ivankovic takes charge of national soccer team as it prepares for Singapore doubleheader
Ivankovic has officially taken over as head coach of the national soccer team, and his first task will be to select the new national soccer team roster in preparation for the two key preliminaries against Singapore coming up in March.
The official news revealed that the national football team will be away from Singapore on March 21st, followed by a home match on March 26th to continue the competition with Singapore. In order to help the national football team to beat the opponent, the football association specially arranged the March 26th event in Tianjin Olympic Sports Center.
It is worth mentioning that the last time the national football team appeared in Tianjin was in 2013, when the opponent was also Singapore. Fu Bo in Camacho's dismissal, on the verge of collapse, led the team to a 6-1 victory over Singapore. The Football Association put the game in Tianjin this time, expect the national football team can repeat that victory, and successfully enter the World Cup 18.
However, choosing the "blessed land" alone is not enough to ensure that the national soccer team will advance. If Ivankovic wants to lead the team to glory, he must make adjustments to the lineup and bring in fresh blood. During the Asian Cup, the problem of weak offense of the national football team has been exposed.
In the three group matches of the Asian Cup, the national soccer team has no grain and has not won a single match. Obviously, some of the midfielders are no longer suitable for the main position of the national soccer team. The day after Ivankovic took office, he watched the Super Cup match between Shanghai Shenhua and Shanghai Port, but found that Wu Lei, who was the top scorer, had a mediocre performance.
In light of this, Ivankovic may start two young players, Wei Shihao and Lin Liangming, to replace Wu Lei, who is gradually going downhill, and partner Zhang Yuning. This will require a restructuring of the team's attacking and defensive transition at the back, with Li Yuanyi and Li Tixiang expected to replace Wu Xi and Wang Qiuming as the new stars of the national soccer team.
It is worth mentioning that Wu Lei once again won the Golden Ball Award, and in his acceptance speech, he said that he was ashamed to win the award, and that the performance of the national team in recent years has not been satisfactory. Wu Lei pointed out that the national football team can't reach the second-rate level in Asia just by the Asian Cup ranking.
However, Wu Lei also said that he is confident of helping the national team to reach the top 18 of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers as it is a task that must be accomplished. But for Ivankovic, getting into the top 18 will be much harder if he continues with the current national players.
