China's national soccer team is shouldering a heavy burden in the upcoming October warm-up matches. Following a winless September, the team is under unprecedented pressure. Especially during the period when Coach Jankovic was in charge, the team's performance was mediocre, and the outside world questioned his ability. In particular, the failure to beat Malaysia, who are ranked lower than themselves, and even the failure to beat Syria has made Jankovic's position as a dangerous building on the verge of collapse. Therefore, these two October matches are not only a redemption of the team for Jankovic, but also a test of his personal credibility, and he is eager to use this opportunity to regain the trust of the outside world.
In the face of adversity, Jankovic has resolutely abandoned the philosophy of relying on the old to play the young and the middle-aged. 95 years later, the team has accelerated the pace of the transition between the old and the new. Winning is based on solid defense, so the pairing of the defensive lineup is crucial. Especially when core player Zhang Linpeng was unable to play, fans pinned their hopes on Zhu Chenjie, whose partnership with Jiang Guangtai might bring unexpected surprises. However, surprisingly, according to an inside source, Zhu Chenjie will probably miss the first match against Vietnam in October.
The reason for Zhu Chenjie's absence was injury. In fact, he missed the group stage due to injury back at the Asian Games and made a brief comeback in the quarterfinals against South Korea, but his performance did not live up to expectations. Now, a week on, Zhu Chenjie was included in the national soccer team's recruiting list and should have been able to play in the tournament. However, right on the eve of the match against Vietnam, Zhu Chenjie announced that he would not be able to play, due to the fact that he needed to continue to recuperate. This situation is unprecedented during Jankovic's tenure, who has been portrayed in the past as a man who does not keep idle players, especially this time with the extensive use of young players.
Zhu Chenjie, 23, was selected for the national team at the age of 18, becoming the first post-00s international player to play in the last 12 matches, and is a talented defender in domestic soccer. However, his glassy physique also disappointed the outside world. Liu Dengzai, who was also injured, was also unable to participate in this training session and was replaced by Ma Zhen.
In the upcoming game, Jiang Guangtai will need to quickly adapt to the understanding with his new partner, as both starting center backs will be absent. The level of understanding between them will be directly related to the defensive ability of our center back pairing.
