As the dust settles on Jankovic's dismissal, Ivankovic's replacement paints a new picture for our men's soccer team. At the moment, Ivankovic is abroad to deal with visa matters, and his official appointment will take some time.
Faced with the pressure of the upcoming preliminaries, Ivankovic's immediate task is to build his own national soccer team at a rapid pace. Given the loss of talent in our country and the fact that there are only a handful of players with the level of the national team, it is highly likely that Ivankovic's new national soccer team will be based on Jankovic and will undergo some drastic changes.
In other words, discard those players who have not performed well at the international level and target those who have been overlooked by Jankovic but are highly sought after. In order to optimize the aging of the national soccer team, it is expected that Ivankovic will favor the middle-aged players in particular. Overall, the following three mid-career players are expected to be favored by Ivankovic to be part of the new national football team.
The first one is the young defender Gao Junyi who has just joined Shandong Luneng. 28-year-old Gao Junyi, who comes from a soccer family, is an all-around defender who can play as both a center back and a wing back. He has shown excellent performance both in Guangzhou Evergrande and Wuhan Sanzhen. He also scored a key goal in the AFC Champions League match for Shandong Luneng. In terms of individual ability, Gao Zhunyi is one of the best players of his age. Although he has been selected for the national team several times, former manager Jankovic did not give him enough trust and he was rejected from the Asian Cup. Now, we'll see if Ivankovic can open the door to the national team for him.
The second is young striker Huang Zichang, who plays for Henan. Huang Zichang made a splash in the 2018 Chinese Super League season with his youth and talent, and the 21-year-old played 22 games for Jiangsu Suning, contributing five goals and one assist. Once touted as a future star of the national soccer team, he has been sinking in the Chinese Super League for several years due to injuries. In recent seasons, Huang Zichang has regained his luster in the Chinese Super League, playing 60 games for Henan in two seasons, contributing 13 goals and 11 assists, with impressive offensive efficiency.
The third is Zhong Yihao, also from Henan. As a 27-year-old midfielder, Zhong Yihao has the all-round ability to play almost any position in the three lines. In the attacking line of Henan, he was a fish out of water, contributing 10 goals and 7 assists in 60 matches over two seasons, showing a powerful attacking strength. Unfortunately, he had also been overlooked by Jankovic. Now, Ivankovic, who took over the national soccer team, might make him a key target.
Gao Zhunyi, Huang Zichang and Zhong Yihao are all middle-generation Chinese Super League players who are energetic and powerful. At a time when our country's soccer is in dire need of a change of blood, they deserve to be reused and become the core force of the national team. Unsurprisingly, these three mid-generation players are expected to be called up by Ivankovic to the national team's preseason squad.
