The Chinese men's soccer team arrived in Shanghai in the early morning of February 3, and in the afternoon, they moved to the Taimei Xiangguli Hotel in Taihu, Suzhou to settle down. A little rest, the team plans to restart training on February 6, full preparation for the final two rounds of the 12-team tournament in late March. It is reported that due to the epidemic and other factors, the 9th round of the 12-round match between China and Saudi Arabia, which was originally scheduled for March 24, may be held at a neutral venue in Sharjah, UAE.
Despite the Chinese team's early farewell to the Qatar World Cup finals, the team is still committed to playing the last two rounds of the tournament. The team will be in Suzhou for "14+7" days of closed isolation observation, and will not be released from isolation until February 24th at the earliest. During these 20 days, the team will train non-stop.
On the evening of February 3, many players, including staff of the Football Association, watched the Women's Asian Cup semifinal match between China and Japan. The difference in performance between the men's and women's national soccer teams left the men's soccer players with mixed feelings.
According to the schedule, the Round 9 match against Saudi Arabia and the Round 10 match against Oman are scheduled to be played on March 24 and 29, respectively. Due to factors such as the impact of the epidemic and the fact that there are only five days between matches, the FA may arrange for the national soccer team to travel to Sharjah, UAE, to play their home matches. If this is the case, the players will need to be isolated for another 14+7 days after returning home from the Top 12 tournament, which could lead to the new Chinese Super League season not starting until late April at the earliest. If the Chinese Super League "BIG4" teams are involved in the AFC Champions League, the start of the league could be further delayed.
After disbanding in Suzhou later this month, the players will take a short vacation before returning to their respective clubs. However, normally, they may not train with their clubs for very long, as there is a high probability that they will rejoin the team in mid-March to prepare for the two matches that month. Therefore, it is essential for the team to organize training during the isolation period in Suzhou, both from the club's point of view and from the national team's preparation point of view.
As the new season of the domestic professional league is not possible in the end of the 12 strong immediately after the start, the national football coaching staff in the next two rounds of matches, the scope of the draft will still focus on the current training in more than 50 people. In view of the team's failure to impact the World Cup, head coach Li Xiaopeng in the selection of players may accelerate the speed of "blood change".
