The Beijing-Shanghai match between Beijing Guoan and Shanghai Shenhua is undoubtedly the highlight of the Chinese Super League (CSL) season that fans have been waiting for. Since the first year of A-A, the two teams have been competing in the Chinese Super League for more than 30 years, and each encounter has touched the hearts of countless fans in Beijing and Shencheng.
This match is of great significance for both teams. Guoan is expected to climb to fourth place in the league with a home win, while Shenhua can secure second place in the league with an away win.
Given the high priority given to both sides, the performance of the players on the field should not be underestimated, and the game will be very exciting. It is expected that many Guoan fans will flock to the stadium to get a glimpse of the Beijing-Shanghai match. The stadium will also be welcoming an honored guest - national soccer team head coach Yankovic.
Yankovic's visit was not just to watch the game, his main task was to select the international players needed for the national team. In the past two years, Guoan has been the main force of the national team, Zhang Yuning, Yu Dabao, Zhang Xunzhe, Ji Zhongguo, Wang Gang, Li Lei, Wang Ziming, Gao Tianyi and many other players have been selected to the national team many times.
Shenhua also has many players with international strength, such as Wu Xi, Dai Weijun, Zhu Chenjie, etc. Jiang Shenglong and Ma Zhen are also expected to be selected for the national team.
However, as the years go by, several of Guoan's veterans such as Dabao, Ji Zhongguo and Wang Gang have gradually faded out of the national team, and Zhang Xizhe has also missed out on the national team due to being discarded by new coach Ricardo Suarez.
Fortunately, Suarez has realized that Guoan is not the same team he coached in the past, which is only capable of relegation. He abandoned his purely defensive counter-attacking strategy and returned Zhang Xizhe to the starting lineup in the last round of the league, taking charge of the midfield organization and successfully helping Guoan beat Nantong Jiyun 1-0 on the road.
Zhang Xizhe, 32, has gained weight, but his skills and awareness remain at the top level. His organization and linkage makes Guoan's attack more fluent and reduces the pressure on the back four.
If Zhang Xizhe can continue to perform well in the Beijing-Shanghai battle, Jankovic is expected to recall him to the national team again, which is undoubtedly an unexpected surprise for Zhang Xizhe.
In addition to Zhang Xizhe, Jankovic will also be keeping an eye on Guoan midfielder Li Ke, who quickly became a member of the national team after being naturalized in 2019, making him the first naturalized player in the country's history.
However, in the past two years, Li Ke was unlucky and failed to play for Guoan in the Chinese Super League for two consecutive seasons. Earlier this year, after two major surgeries, Li Ke returned from injury and managed to get his contract renewed by the club.
Although Li Ke sat on the bench for a while at the beginning of the league, after Suarez coached Guoan, he was quickly reused and became the team's main back. Li Ke, who comes from Arsenal's youth training system, is not only physically strong, excellent in confrontation, and balanced in attack and defense, he has become the barrier in front of Guoan's backline, and often sends accurate passes for his teammates in front of the field to create breakthrough opportunities.
Li Ke, like Fernando, is expected to return to the national team as he has performed well in the recent league matches. It is believed that his ability and technical characteristics can play a key role in the national soccer team's preseason group stage match against South Korea.
