With only one fleeting day left, the scent of spring is about to fill the air. In this season full of vitality, Chinese fans in the heart of the Chinese men's football team is still silent - since last year's 12 strong collapse, disbanded, this former focus of the team as if overnight disappeared without a trace.
The dynamics regarding the naturalized players and who will be assigned at the crucial time is still a mystery. However, time waits for no one, as the Chinese Football Association has officially announced that the Chinese men's soccer team will play two warm-up matches against New Zealand on March 23 and 26, the team's first opportunity to play an international A-level friendly in three and a half years.
However, what should have been a joyous event became silent in the land.
Coaches and players are confused in their minds while their opponents are waiting.
The league is in tatters and the national soccer team is hard to find.
In 2022, the focus of the Chinese men's soccer team is undoubtedly "defeat", "Li Xiaopeng" and "Li Tie". During the Spring Festival, Li Xiaopeng succeeded Li Tie as the coach, but with one draw and three losses, the Chinese men's soccer team was pushed to the tip of the public opinion.
Meanwhile, China's women's soccer team has beaten Japan and reversed South Korea during the Spring Festival to reach the top of Asia, injecting a shot in the arm for Chinese soccer.
Chinese women's soccer stands on top of Asia during Spring Festival
Fans are surprised to find that the Chinese men's national team has "disappeared" - the Chinese men's soccer team has not made any waves in the past year. Under the influence of the league, the Chinese Super League once again suffered interruptions.
It goes without saying that with Shandong Taishan and Wuhan Sanzhen tied on points in the last two rounds, both teams forfeited the game, and Wuhan Sanzhen replicated the Chinese Super League version of the "Kaiserslautern" myth by virtue of goal difference.
The Chinese men's soccer team is still pressing on with the suspension of the league that feeds talent to the national soccer team. In contrast, Jankovic led the national selection team to the East Asian Cup last July, which only caused a ripple of calm.
In recent years, there has been a proliferation of "elite teams", "selection teams", "grand national teams" and "training teams". However, their performances in competitions have been a disappointment to these seemingly energizing terms.
Just as people were questioning Li Xiaopeng's ability, Li Tie was involved in another storm.
As a result, the loss in the Top 12 at the beginning of the year didn't seem to matter. Instead, the Li Tie incident became the talk of the town for fans after dinner.
However, in the meantime, the national team has not trained; we have not seen the so-called "latest list" after the World Qualifying 12.
It's still a familiar situation
It's not clear who will be at the helm this time.
With Wang Baoshan, Li Xiaopeng, Li Tie three coaches competing for the Chinese men's football coaching positions, as of now, no one dares to say who will sit on this "throne". Although there is news that Kovic may temporarily serve as a "firefighter", but he still need to lead the team to participate in the Asian Games this year, which makes him seem a little overwhelmed.
The 24-member training list for the Asian Games has been announced, but the list of "genuine" national brands has yet to be revealed. It is reported that the national soccer team training may start from the end of February, the number of training will be between 40-50 people.
In the past two years, the national soccer team's "selection" has been going this way.
This road has been basically molded, but the choice of national football coach is still not settled. From the current time constraints and heavy tasks, Li Xiaopeng is still expected to become the national football coach again.
Will Lee still be associated with the National Football League this time?
After all, New Zealand is watching and everyone can sense the importance of the A-grade competition - fighting for points and status to do well in the World Qualifiers.
