In the midst of the beaming domestic league matches, our footballers are gearing up for the 36th round of the World Qualifiers and the 2024 Asian Cup. To prepare for these two events, the team will play three international friendly matches against Malaysia, Syria and Uzbekistan from September to October this year. However, for the Chinese men's soccer team, the road to promotion is not a straight one.
During the Asian Games, the national football team especially arranged three over-age players to help, aiming to accelerate the growth of young players and promote the rejuvenation of the team. However, it should not be overlooked that many outstanding young players in the domestic league have already made their mark in the Chinese Super League and First Division. They deserve to join the national team and receive more intense training in order to improve their individual strength. The Guangzhou team in China's first division, for example, has a strong lineup of 2004-age players and has achieved significant training results. The domestic China Youth League also provides a platform for young players to train.
Numerous young players are performing well in the Chinese Super League, such as Mutalipu and Hu of Chengdu Rongcheng, and Nai Bijiang, Fang Hao, Gao Tianyi, Wang Ziming and Feng Boxuan of Beijing Guoan. Especially in the match between Guoan and Henan Songshan in the 20th round of the Chinese Super League, Fang Hao and Gao Tianyi, two young players, contributed key assists and showed their amazing strength.
In addition, young players such as Huang Zichang, Chen Pu and Zhang Wei have also performed well. In order to promote the rejuvenation of the team, the national soccer team needs to plan ahead and select more young players from the domestic league to join the national team to form a new lineup. The practice of bringing in three veteran players to help out can be borrowed from the National Football Asian Games. The national team should also include more young players in training to improve overall strength.
In addition to the Asian Games players, the national soccer team can also select young players such as Nebi Jiang, Bugra Khan, Abraham Khaliq, Efirdin, Wang Shilong, etc. With the 2026 World Cup coming up, the players will be 23 years old in 2003. Therefore, the early selection of young players is crucial for the long-term development of the national team.
Domestic young players are also performing well in the Chinese Super League and Chinese League One. Yankovic's coaching staff should select more young players to join the national team and allow naturalized players such as Wu Lei to play a key role. Meanwhile, the national football team needs to focus on defensive tactics to meet the challenges ahead.
After the Asian Games, players such as Lin Liangming, Chen Pu, Wei Zhen and injured young players such as Zhang Yuning, Zhu Chenjie, Wu Shaocong, Dai Weijun and Tao Qianglong will join the national team. Chinese soccer should think long term and select more young players to push the team to upgrade.
