Even though they failed to make it to the quarterfinals, the Chinese men's soccer team's overall performance still deserves to be recognized, especially after breaking the embarrassing 20-year record of stopping in the 1/8 finals. Admittedly, while witnessing the progress, we also need to face up to our own shortcomings. Especially in the match against South Korea, there was a significant gap between us and our opponents in terms of game understanding, passing and control, and seizing good opportunities. However, recognizing the shortcomings is also a great gain in the competitive career. Under the leadership of new coach Djurdjevic, the team's performance is not bad, and at least we can deliver a passing grade. However, the lack of command in the game, especially in the deployment of personnel, is also something that needs to be improved.
In addition to live matches, the Asian Games men's soccer team has the important task of delivering talent to the national soccer team. Players from the Asian tournament have naturally become the focus of the national team's attention. As the Asian Games men's soccer tournament came to an end, the national team quickly released a new selection list covering the international players participating in the Asian Games. This list of 26 people, including Tan Long, Liu Yang, Gao Tianyi, Dai Weijun, Zhu Chenjie, Fang Hao, Jiang Shenglong, Ye Lijiang, He Yupeng and other nine international players.
Of this group of players, Tan Long, Gao Tianyi and Liu Yang have long been on the international scene, only to temporarily miss out on the national soccer team's call-ups as they prepare for the Asian Games. The remaining six players are all in the U24 age group. Dai Weijun and Zhu Chenjie have been selected for the national team and are back again. Fang Hao, Jiang Shenglong, He Yupeng and Ye Lijiang are among the national team squad for the first time, which not only recognizes the performance of the individual clubs, but also the results of the Asian Games. Unsurprisingly, with the increase in the number of national team members, the market value of these four newcomers will also increase significantly.
In addition to the above four, Xie Weijun, a Jinmen Tigers center forward who was selected for the first time, has rich experience in the Chinese Super League despite being 25 years old. This season, he played 26 games on behalf of the Jinmen Tigers, including seven starts, contributing six goals and one assist, and last season, he contributed nine goals and two assists, a solid performance. At 1.9 meters tall, he fills the gap in the national team's center forward position and is expected to bring a new tactical approach to the team.
None of the five newly promoted internationals are over 25 years old. In the past, the Chinese national soccer team has relied on the performance of Zhang Yuning, but he is currently in the rehabilitation phase and has yet to be called up to the national team again. It is believed that he will be able to return to his best form before the Asian Cup arrives.
