In the face of the epidemic risk, head coach Li Xiaopeng led part of the national football players, in order not to miss the preparation, resolutely give up the opportunity to return home to vacation, choose to go straight from Shanghai to Hainan. As of the afternoon of March 2, Dai Weijun and other players have taken the lead in arriving in Haikou City, the national football quarters, the Spanish assistant coach Pep will also be in the evening of the 2nd from Shanghai to rush to Haikou.
There is another key factor behind the postponement of the national soccer team's westward journey. Given the difficulty in scheduling warm-up matches after the departure and the delayed reporting of some players, the coaching team wanted to extend the preparation time in Haikou in order to plan a few warm-up matches for the team.
It is reported that before the national football team assembled, Changchun Yatai, Wuhan three towns and other Chinese super teams have arrived in Haikou to start preparations. At the same time, the U23 national football team coached by Yankovic will also be synchronized with the national football team preparations, and together to the United Arab Emirates to participate in the "Dubai Cup".
Although the specific training program is yet to be confirmed, according to Beijing Youth Daily, the national football team will play at least 2 warm-up matches during their stay in Haikou. The warm-up opponents are likely to be the local Chinese Super League team preparing for the match and the U23 national football team. Such internal exchanges not only allow the coaching staffs of the two teams to gain an in-depth understanding of their opponents, but may also promote exchanges between players, such as the age of the players may be selected to participate in the U23 national football team to prepare for the Asian Games in Hangzhou, while the elite players of the U23 national football team will have the opportunity to join the national football team to attack the main lineup of the 2023 Asian Cup in the future.
The national football team and the U23 national football team are scheduled to leave Haikou on March 17 for Dubai, UAE. The team will then travel to Sharjah for the 9th round of the 12-team tournament.The team will face Saudi Arabia in Sharjah on the evening of March 24th and fly to Muscat, Oman on the 25th after the match.The team will face Oman on the evening of the 29th and return to Dubai on the 30th. As the final match of the U23 national football team is also scheduled for the 29th, the two teams will depart for home together on the 31st. After entering the country, the two teams will undergo "14 + 7" days of closed isolation in Suzhou.
