Rising star on the front line, Nguyen Chi Long, shouldered the starting role.
On November 17th, in the late afternoon, at the top of Rizhao, Beijing Guoan will face Jingchuan Wenhui, a strong opponent in the second round of the FA Cup. In this game, Guoan will make lineup changes, with young players as the main force, and coach Stanley has high hopes for their performance.
Beijing Guoan, the four-time champions of the FA Cup, have been in a bit of a slump lately. Last season, they were knocked out of the top 32 by Sichuan Jiuniu, but they were unable to field their strongest team in their first FA Cup match of the new season. Coach Stanley revealed in Monday's press conference, "With the tight schedule of the Chinese Super League, the players are in dire need of a break, and this time around we will be relying on younger players, which is in stark contrast to the changes in the lineup before the Chinese Super League." It is also worth mentioning that the FA Cup rules stipulate that Chinese Super League teams cannot use foreign players to face Chinese B teams, so Guoan will usher in an "all-Chinese class" competition.
At the pre-match conference, Nguyen Chi Long was on the same stage as Stanley, which seemed to signal his chance to make his debut. Stanley is looking forward to the performance of young players such as Nguyen Chi Long and Leong Sio Man, "This game is crucial for the young players, they must seize the opportunity to show the world what they are made of."
As a matter of fact, except for the first stage of the league, the young players of Guoan lack of exercise opportunities. If they can make a difference in the FA Cup, they will surely get more experience in the coming matches.
