By love-89.com Tomorrow, the Chinese national team faces Australia with injury woes looming overhead.
**Strategic Shifts on the Horizon as Ivan Considers a Lineup Change**
Last night in Adelaide, the Chinese squad continued preparations for their upcoming World Cup qualifying match against Australia. Just as Gao Junyi had recovered from injury, he sustained another setback during practice, leaving an already thin roster in even more uncertainty. The pressing question remains: how will head coach Ivan make adjustments to his tactics against Australia?
**Wei Shihao Takes on a Key Role**
With key attackers Wu Lei and Alan sidelined, reshaping the forward line has become a primary focus for Ivan. Observations from the past few days of training suggest that Wei Shihao is poised to take on a significant responsibility.
Wu Lei, who was previously the best-performing player in the squad, has been ruled out due to injury. Meanwhile, Zhang Yuning was considered the top choice for the striker role, but after serving a suspension during league play, his current form remains uncertain. This limited the options available for the forward line considerably. As it stands, Wei Shihao might partner with Fernandinho up front, while Bai Helamu could be tapped as the starting center forward. In an interview ahead of yesterday’s training, Wei Shihao expressed confidence: “I believe every player called up to the national team is ready to give their all. Football is unpredictable; it’s not guaranteed that anyone will win, but both teams have opportunities.”
However, the effectiveness of this new attacking formation hinges on the support from the midfield and defense. In the first two matches against Japan and Saudi Arabia, the defense struggled to maintain control, resulting in ineffective support for the attack. Set-piece defense has also been a concern; China’s only goal against Saudi Arabia came from a corner, while two goals conceded similarly stemmed from defensive lapses during set plays.
Commenting on the situation, defender Li Lei stated, “Following the coach’s usual practices, we need to work on set pieces. It was unfortunate to concede two goals from such situations last time, especially when I was at the front post and both goals went over my head. This could be my last chance to qualify for a World Cup, so we can’t afford to give up just because we’ve lost two matches; it’s far too early to think about giving up.”
**Defense Faces More Injury Struggles**
In addition to the forward line, the national defense has also been hit by injuries. After arriving in Adelaide, Gao Junyi, who had just recovered, unfortunately sprained his ankle during training and missed yesterday’s session. His condition will need further evaluation.
The current training camp for the national team has been overshadowed by injury concerns. Starting center-back Zhu Chenjie suffered a strain in the match against Saudi Arabia and later developed a fever with pneumonia symptoms, leading to his exclusion from the squad. Yang Zexiang, after joining the team, was confirmed to have a significant injury and subsequently withdrew from the training camp. This situation leaves Gao as the only recognized right-back in the squad. Should he also be unable to play, options for the right-back position will be extremely limited.
With so many injuries, Ivan is faced with tough decisions to piece together a solid defense. Recent training has seen Jiang Shenglong step back to partner with Jiang Guantao as center-backs, while the flanks will likely be filled by Hu Hetao and Liu Yang. The midfield is primarily composed of players who regularly featured in the matches over June and September, with Li Yuanyi and Wang Shangyuan playing defensive roles, and Xu Haoyang and Xie Wenning stationed on the flanks.
Remarkably, neither of China’s first two matches in the final round of World Cup qualifiers was aired by CCTV. As of now, the event listing on CCTV’s official website does not indicate tomorrow’s match against Australia scheduled for 5:10 PM.
Reported by Li Li, Beijing Evening News.
(Editor: Liu Yanghe)