After Jankovic took charge of the national soccer team, the team's performance has never been convincing.
The 36-team Asian qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup will open on Thursday. The Chinese men's soccer team, which is training hard in Shenzhen, will take an Air China flight to Thailand on Nov. 14 to prepare for the first World Cup qualifying match against Thailand on Nov. 16th.
The national team led by Jankovic assembled in Shenzhen on Nov. 9 and went into intense training the next day. Of the 24 players called up, Wu Shaocong, the only one playing in Europe, arrived in China last night to join the team. However, Jiang Guangtai, the center back of the Harbour team who was unable to train and play in the China-Thailand battle due to injury, the team urgently transferred Xu Haofeng, the right back of the Shenzhen team.
The biggest question mark on the list is the exclusion of naturalized player Eckerson, who currently plays for Chengdu Rongcheng. Despite his mediocre season, the national team lacks a suitable replacement. Currently, Jankovic only has three players to play center forward: Wu Lei, Tan Long, Zhang Yuning and Xie Weijun. Among them, Xie Weijun lacks international experience, and Zhang Yuning has just recovered from a serious injury and his form is a mystery. The absence of Jiang Guangtai is a big blow to the national soccer team, which has been the core center back of the team, with only Wu Jie and Yang Weiqi left to fill the role.
The overall strength of the national soccer team has declined significantly in recent years, and Jankovic's training has failed to produce satisfactory results. During the international match window in September and October, the national soccer team performed sluggishly in four warm-up matches. Veteran Wu Xi said in an interview, "Playing Thailand away from home is challenging in terms of weather and other aspects. But we will be ready to deal with the difficulties." Wu Lei admitted that the Chinese team no longer has an advantage in Asia and its strength has declined. "But that doesn't mean we will give up and lose confidence. No matter what the opponent is, we have to give our best."
According to the tournament system, the top 36 are divided into nine groups of four teams each, with the top two advancing to the next stage of the World Qualifying Tournament. China's group C includes South Korea, Thailand and Singapore, and the team will have to compete with Thailand for the second place in the group.After the away match against Thailand on November 16, the national football team will return to Shenzhen to face the strongest opponent of the group, South Korea, at home on November 21st.
