The training of the national football team was divided into two stages. In the initial phase, we conducted recovery training at home and played friendly matches against Chinese Super League teams to test the team's form; in the subsequent phase, we traveled to New Zealand to conduct training and played twice against the New Zealand national team on March 23rd and 26th to further validate the team's strength. As planned, new manager Aleksandar Jankovic led the team in warming up with a number of Chinese Super League teams, but the team's form was not as good as it could have been, and the scheduled match against Chinese Super League champions Wuhan Sanzhen on the 10th had to be canceled in favor of an internal warm-up.
According to Beijing Youth Daily, the national football team has been suffering from a lot of injuries recently, with players such as Jiang Guangtai and Ren Hang injured and unable to practise with the team, so they can only recuperate in the national soccer team. Ackerson also left the team due to injury, and the training program of the national football team has been affected by this, and some unfavorable situations have arisen. Although Yankovic brought in international players, it was still difficult to hide the embarrassing situation in the warm-up matches. Numerous key players were unable to accompany the team. On the injury-prone roster this time, popular scorer Zhang Yuning is also recovering from an injury.
In the current unfavorable situation, there was no clear distinction between the starting and non-starting lineups in the national football team's internal warm-up match, which resulted in a 2-2 draw.On March 14, the national football team played a warm-up match against a Chinese Super League team and defeated last season's promoted team, Meizhou Hakka, by a score of 1-0.The team won the match against Meizhou Hakka, a Chinese Super League team that was promoted to the next level last season. Jankovic led the team to victory for the first time since taking over. The goal was completed by a direct assist from Wu Lei to Real Madrid veteran Lin Liangming. In the 35th minute of the match, Wu Lei broke through to the bottom of the net, and Lin Liangming grabbed the goal in front of the goal to give the national football team a 1-0 lead, and eventually maintained the advantage until the end of the match.
After the Meizhou Hakka game, the national football team trained in Haikou and had a recovery session on the morning of the 14th before departing for Guangzhou in the afternoon to make final preparations for the trip to New Zealand. It is reported that the national football team confirmed the departure of Aixon and three center backs, who did not travel with the team to Guangzhou and New Zealand, but returned to the club one after another. The national football training squad was presented as completely localized due to the lack of starters, and none of the naturalized players were able to represent the national football team against New Zealand. The remaining lineup was led by players such as Wu Lei, Wei Shihao, Lin Liangming, Chen Pu, Tan Long, Zhang Lin, Li Ang, Deng Hanwen, Yan Junling, Wang Dalei, Liu Dangzheng, Xu Xin and Wang Shangyuan. Fortunately, the national football team's opponent, New Zealand, has limited strength and the team is in the rebuilding stage, so it is expected that the national football team will play the training content during this period and meet Yankovic's expectations.
During this training warm-up, Jankovic focused on testing the form of the older players in preparation for the upcoming Asian Cup. At least one-third of the current international roster could be eliminated as Ackerson, Luo Guofu, Alan, Jiang Guangtai, Zhang Yuning, Dai Weijun, Zhu Chenjie, Li Ke, and Han Jiaqi are expected to make the Asian Cup roster. As a result, the warm-up matches will be crucial for most of the international players, with poor performers likely to miss out on the next training opportunity straight away.
