In the stormy days of January 5, the official website of the Asian Football Confederation quietly released the latest registration list of the teams participating in the Asian Cup. Just as the battle in Abu Dhabi was about to ignite, all 26 Chinese players preparing for the tournament were on the list. The Daily News also had a keen insight to predict the core lineup of the national team. Among them, Wu Lei's position is stalwart, while Zhang Yuning and Tan Long are in fierce competition for the center forward position.
The national team's Asian Cup jersey numbers carry on the numbers from last year's Asian 36 World Qualifiers, such as Zhang Linpeng's No. 5, Wu Lei's No. 7, and Xie Pengfei's No. 10. Wang Qiuming, who unfortunately missed the first two 36 matches due to injury, took over Dai Weijun's No. 13 jersey and was given the biggest number in the national team.
The arrangement of jersey numbers seems to be a mirror, reflecting the general lineup of the Chinese team: among the three goalkeepers, Yan Junling, Wang Dalei and Liu Dangzuo, Jian Tao will find it difficult to shake the position of the veterans; in the backline, Zhang Linpeng, Jiang Guangtai, Zhu Chenjie and Liu Yang may occupy the starting positions. Wu Shaocong and Jiang Shenglong, two versatile players, can partner the center backs as well as guest side backs. And Li Lei, a left back, is always ready to be dispatched.
In the back position, two of the five players, Wang Shangyuan, Xu Xin, Wu Xi, Wang Qiuming and Gao Tianyi, will be selected; the forward line includes Wei Shihao, Liu Binbin, Lin Liangming, Chen Pu, Xie Pengfei and Dai Weijun; and the forward position, Wu Lei is firmly in the starting lineup, while Zhang Yuning and Tanlong are battling it out for another spot. The basic formation is 442, but it can be flexibly switched to 541 at critical moments.
