In the afternoon of June 6, the Football Association unveiled the new training lineup for the national football team, and after the list was released, fans questioned it. In my opinion, if this lineup is selected by Yankovic himself, I'm afraid he is asking for trouble.
The lack of new ideas in the list and the overabundance of veterans have become the main focus of criticism. In addition to the three goalkeepers, Ackerson, Wang Shenchao and Zhang Linmiao are all 34 years old, Wu Lei, Zhang Jiaqi and Li Lei are 32 and 31 respectively; Sun Guowen, Wang Qiuming, Wang Shangyuan and Xie Pengfei are also in their 30s. In short, veterans over 30 years old occupy more than half of the lineup, with little change from March. Had Wu Xi not been injured, the average age would have climbed further.
Age is not unacceptable, and as Yankovic said, he is concerned about the players' form. But how long can the form of Li Lei, Zhang Jiaqi and Zhang Linmiao last? Especially compared to the season before going abroad, Li Lei's form has dropped significantly. In the 11th round of the game, it was Li Lei's 22nd minute error that led to Guoan's first loss. Aside from Li Lei, what are his advantages over the 27 year old Zhong Yihao?
Since he has to be a member of the national team, why not take advantage of the weaker opponents in the warm-up matches to scout young players? With Deng Hanwen and Tomorrow's Star at right back and Jiang Guangtai and Wei Zhen at center back, Shi Ke deserves to be the replacement. In fact, if it were not for the Asian Games, Zhu Chenjie, Jiang Shenglong and even Wu Shaochong would have had a chance to be selected, and Zhang Linmiao's selection this time around seems particularly redundant.
As for Stanley Wong, what was the reason for calling him into the team? His league performances weren't great? Look at the top 12. Perhaps his level has improved significantly? If the answer is no, is the national team still counting on these veterans to fuel the 2026 World Cup?
What is even more puzzling is that Wei Shihao was injured in the 11th round of the tournament, but still made the list. Fans can't help but question: was the list already finalized? Even so, the 11th round match was held on June 4, did Jankovic or the FA verify the list before announcing it? Including Wang Shangyuan, who has missed three consecutive matches since the 8th round, even Henan's substitute list doesn't have his name, is it not as good as Cai Huikang and Buytijiang?
In fact, compared with Wang Shangyuan, Li Yuanyi's confrontation ability is not inferior, passing and attacking organization ability is even better, only because of the number of league appearances is ignored, which is really puzzling. Look at the back position in the list, only Xu Xin has some organizational ability. Although Wang Qiuming is brave, he is not an organizing midfielder, but a fierce player who is reckless in charging. This kind of player is difficult to become the main force, and can only play the role of the odd man out when the score is down.
In other words, Jankovic should look further ahead. The national team needs to look at replacements for Wu Xi, i.e. focusing on players with better skills, such as Li Tixiang, rather than piling up "sappers". If Wu Xi is unable to play for some reason, will Xu Xin be able to partner with Wang Qiuming?
Along with Li Yuanyi and Li Tixiang, Li Ke should also be selected. Despite the effects of injuries, Li Ke has not made many appearances this season. However, as a member of the training list, Li Ke's selection is symbolic. If his form is fully restored, he will at least be a rotation starter for future preliminaries or the Asian Cup. Initially, Li Ke and Abdu Hemiti were the only Chinese Super League players who could counter Hulk.
As for Prince Ming, I'm sure even the home team fans were surprised by his selection. To be selected for the national team based on just one game is a joke. If we are looking for an influential striker, Xie Weijun might be more suitable. Simply put, if Zhang Yuning was unavailable or out of form, I'm afraid the only one who could really play as a center forward would be 26 year old Xie Weijun, who is 1.90 meters tall.
I'm sure most people think the goal of this training is to prepare for two warm-up games. But if Jankovic thinks so too, he is very wrong. We will pay for it eventually, instead of using this limited opportunity to scout for more promising players and find replacements for the starters. The next training session for the national team will only have two opportunities, in September and October, with the preseason starting in November. What is the point of this change in the training roster, other than to dazzle? If the performance of the preliminaries in November is not up to expectations, I am afraid that the Asian Cup next January will face other national football coaches.
Through the two warm-up matches in March and this list, Jankovic's ability has been exposed. To be honest, apart from shouting slogans and inspiring fighting spirit, his selection and technical and tactical skills can only be described as "mediocre".
