With the Asian Cup approaching, our national soccer team plans to gather again on the 17th of this month, and the next day departed for the United Arab Emirates to start intense preparation. It is reported that Yankovic has finalized the new national team list, but the reason for the delay in announcing it to the public is that it needs to wait for the three Chinese Super League teams participating in the AFC Champions League to complete the final match of the group stage.
According to Tianjin Daily, the Asian Cup is not only a test for Jankovic, but also a matter of whether he will continue to coach the national team. In this regard, Yankovic attaches great importance to the plan to lead the team to the United Arab Emirates training, and plans to call three additional players. It is reported that Jiang Guangtai and Wang Qiuming have been regarded as inevitable candidates because of their outstanding performance. Li Shuai, who missed the World Cup due to injury, is expected to return to the national team.
It is worth mentioning that China's soccer team in this year's Asian Cup and host Qatar, Lebanon and Tajikistan in Group A. From the point of view of strength and Asian rankings, Qatar is undoubtedly the strongest team in this group by virtue of its home field advantage, and China's soccer team is competing for the second place in the group with Tajikistan and Lebanon, which are ranked lower.
Although Qatar has many naturalized players, and has been among the World Cup, but from the historical record and technical and tactical level analysis, our soccer team is not at a complete disadvantage. After all, Qatar and Japan and South Korea and other traditional soccer powerhouse, there is still a gap in strength, our soccer team still have the possibility of impact group first.
Obviously, reaching the knockout stage of the Asian Cup is the basic requirement of the FA for Jankovic. However, as a soccer fan, we expect the national soccer team to at least break into the top eight, which will not only help the team regain confidence, but will also help to secure more places in the next World Cup qualifiers.
Against this backdrop, the first showdown with Tajikistan is crucial. A good start will help the national soccer team take the initiative on the road to promotion and get into the game quickly. However, Tajikistan, the second-lowest ranked team in Asia, is not an easy opponent, and with their excellent physicality, Jankovic will have to adjust his tactics and build on his defense, which will also demand more from his midfielders.
Accordingly, in the match against Tajikistan, Jankovic is expected to send Jiang Guangtai, who has outstanding defensive ability, to replace Zhu Chenjie and partner with Jiang Shenglong and Wu Shaochong in the three center backs. Meanwhile, Li Ke and Wang Qiuming will play as the double back, with Wang responsible for organizing the attack and providing support for Wu Lei.
As for fans' concerns about Ekson and Fernando, it is less likely that Jankovic will lead them to the Asian Cup. After all, both players failed to make the cut in previous World Cup qualifiers and are at the end of their careers. This means that the national team will only have two naturalized players who could be in Jankovic's starting lineup.
