The Chinese national football team is currently on vacation, with only a few days left until the New Year. However, their attention is focused on the Arabian Gulf Cup, where two of their opponents in the top 18 group, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, have already made their appearances. To prepare for the resumption of the top 18 matches next March, the national team plans to hold a temporary training camp in Haikou next month, which will be personally led by head coach Ivankovic. There is now new information about the time and number of players for the new training session.
According to "Beijing Youth Daily", the national team is expected to gather in Haikou around January 8th, with the training period not exceeding 10 days. Coach Ivankovic will formulate a detailed preparation plan based on the performance of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, along with other coaching staff members.
Media reports also suggest that the coaching staff is expected to call up about 30 players for this training session. Some older players, such as Wu Lei, are absent due to injury, while newcomers like Wu Shaocong and Wumiti Jiang may be selected.
Looking at the lineup from the top 18 matches, the national team has gradually completed the transition between old and new players, with an average age dropping to 27. Only one player over 30 years old remains, goalkeeper Wang Dalei. The rest of the positions are filled with new and mid-generation players, who are the main force for the 2026 World Cup campaign. Among them, head coach Ivankovic is very inclined to promote and heavily use young players, but he has little interest in naturalized players.
For example, Hou Yongyong, who plays in the second-tier league in Norway, won the league's golden boot and best player this season, but Ivankovic still does not want to call him up to try out for the national team. Similarly, Delgado and Li Ke, who were naturalized early, seem to have a slim chance of making it into the national team roster according to media reports. Unexpectedly, the new training roster for the national team will include two naturalized players, Jiang Guangtai and Fernandinho, with Alan also having a certain opportunity.
According to the schedule, the national team will face two crucial matches for second place next March, away against Saudi Arabia and at home against Australia. To compete for direct qualification to the World Cup as the second in the group, they must secure four points from Saudi Arabia and Australia, which is the bottom line.
The good news is that the strength of Saudi Arabia and Australia has rapidly declined, giving the national team a chance to pull off an upset. With the addition of two new naturalized players, Xia Oscar and Sergiocio, head coach Ivankovic is more confident in leading the team to create surprises!