How absurd! The leaders of the Chinese Super League, the Harbour Division with half of its players from the national team, plus heavyweights such as Oscar, with the advantage of a home field and a crowd of fans, lost 2-3 to the ninth-ranked underdogs in the Thai league. It was an ending that not only angered and shamed Harbour fans, but also made it difficult for other fans to accept.
After Harbour's AFC Champions League defeat, many fans have said that if two foreign aiders in Harbour's team are in low form, Jankovic will consider removing them from the national team. These two foreign aiders are the poor performance of Stanley Wang and national goalkeeper Yan Junling.
Yan Junling and Stanley Wong were only awarded 2 points for their performances in the match, which is perhaps the best way to explain their poor performances on the field.
Stanley Wang has been known for his defense in the history of the national team. He was highly utilized back in Lippi's coaching days. However, he was heavily penalized by the FA for allegedly stealing a necklace. After Li Tie took over, Stanley Wong remained trusted. After Jankovic took over the coaching reins of the national soccer team, Stanley Wong was not abandoned.
The fact that Stanley Wang has been selected for the national team several times may be inseparable from his tacit understanding with Wu Lei. According to Jankovic, they work well together at the club and this tacit understanding is expected to continue when they enter the national team. However, the performance of Stanley Wong tonight has forced Yankovic to reassess his ability. Not only was he unable to play his proper role, but he became a burden to the team from time to time. After the match, many fans suggested that Stanley Wong should stay away from the national team.
Apart from Stanley Wang, another player who might be discarded by Jankovic is Yan Junling, the No. 1 goalkeeper of the national soccer team. In this match, Yan Junling's goal was broken three times by the opponents, which undoubtedly exposed the decline of his competitive status at the age of 34. If the national soccer team continues to rely on him, I am afraid the future is worrying.
It is worth mentioning that in this match against the Thai team Pathum United, the Harbour team has five foreign aiders on the same field, namely Wu Lei, Yan Junling, Stanley Wang, Jiang Guangtai and Zhang Linmiao!
They were once the backbone of the national team. Now, facing the challenge of Thailand, I am afraid no one will remain optimistic about the prospects of the national soccer team.
For Jankovic, the Harbour's 2-3 loss was like a match between the national team and Thailand. The result reminded him that for the national team to break through in the preliminaries, they can't just rely on veterans, but have to explore more young talent.
