In September, the winds and waves are about to surge at the Hangzhou Asian Games, where China's men's soccer team will face a brand new test head-on. The national soccer team returns to the stage of intercontinental soccer tournaments since last year's World Qualifier campaign.
The dust has settled on the group draw and the Chinese men's soccer team is in Group A with India, Bangladesh and Myanmar. Despite the decline in strength, it is clear that India, Myanmar and Bangladesh are not in the same league in comparison. China's men's soccer team came out on top with three wins in the group stage, and advancing to the knockout stage seems to be a natural progression.
The schedule has been revealed and the Chinese men's football team will face India, Myanmar and Bangladesh on September 19th, 21st and 24th respectively. The three matches will be broadcast live on CCTV5, the CCTV sports channel, at 19:30 in the evening. No matter where they are, fans can share the passion on TV.
The Asian Games is not a top international event, but for the Chinese men's soccer team, it is significant to win the game and regain confidence. At that time, the Chinese men's soccer team will go all out, the strongest lineup debut. At present, the formation and the main lineup has been basically locked: 4-3-3 formation, goalkeeper Han Jiaqi, defenders Wu Shaocong, Jiang Shenglong, Zhu Chenjie and naturalized player Jiang Guangtai, midfielder Dai Weijun, Wang Haijian and naturalized player Fernando, forward line Fang Hao, Eckerson and Tao Qianglong.
In Asian Games soccer, each team is allowed three overage players. Coach Djurdjevic reserved this spot for naturalized players. Obviously, Jiang Guangtai has become the best center back in China and will be the absolute core of the national football defense in the future.
With Beijing Guoan's Zhang Yuning out for the season and Shandong Taishan's Guo Tianyu embroiled in a match-fixing investigation, Djurdjevic has no choice but to hand over the burden of being the starting center forward to naturalized player Ekerson. Despite being 34 years old, Ixon is in great form and has already scored five goals for Chengdu Rongcheng this season, making him a mainstay of the team.
Naturalized player Fernando is also in great form. After two years of inactivity, he quickly found his feet in Shandong Taishan. Choi Kang-hee's arrival has activated the side-killer. In recent league matches, Fernando's breakthroughs and goal-scoring efficiency have been impressive.
At his peak, Fernando was a unique player on the side with outstanding speed and breaking ability. Despite the passage of time, he is still the indispensable side attacker of the national soccer team. Fernando will play a key role in the defensive counterattack tactics.
For this Asian Games, Djurdjevic is expected to bring Fernando with him. If the performance is outstanding, Fernando will undoubtedly be the right choice for the main winger in the World Qualifiers.
