If Hou Yongyong had not been called up, the new national team's naturalized players would have been "completely wiped out." Li Ke was originally one of the defensive midfielders, but Ivan failed to persuade him after multiple attempts and eventually gave up. On January 10th, commentator Yuan Jia claimed on social media that Li Ke felt he was facing double standards from Yang Kewei. "Yang Kewei wanted strict military discipline, and the reason for expelling Li Ke was that he was late for training once. Yang Kewei made a decisive decision and immediately expelled Li Ke." "Within a day or two, another very important starting player was also late. After the lateness, Yang Kewei compromised and did not make the decision to expel this player."
The media person stated that Li Ke accepted being expelled for being late, but when his teammate was late without any punishment, this became the reason for the conflict between Li Ke and the national team. The core issue is that Yang Kewei could not treat everyone equally and showed favoritism. Both Ivan and Li Ke communicated, but Li Ke believed that there must be an explanation for this matter. "But the mistake lies with Yang Kewei, and he has already left. You can't ask Yang Kewei to apologize to you. This is the trouble left behind by Yang Kewei."
This also sparked heated discussions among fans, "If this is really the case, I think Li Ke is quite wronged. He is also the kind of stubborn person who will definitely not go back without clarification." "Li Ke made a mistake, but he accepted the punishment. He just doesn't accept double standards, is that also a mistake?" "Who is the starting player who was late? Is it necessary to reveal the identity of this player!"
The national team is currently training in Haikou. On January 10th, it was Wang Dalei's 36th birthday. The national team prepared a big cake with a golden glove for Wang Dalei. Wang Dalei said, "Every year, my birthday falls around this time, and it coincides with being with the national team. It's a coincidence. My wish is actually the same as everyone else's. Let's work hard together this year to achieve this wish. I also hope that everyone will be free from injuries this year, play all the matches, and get everything we should get. Thank you all." Then, Wang Dalei said: "Wu Mi Jiang, you lead the singing." Wu Mi Jiang then led the singing of the birthday song.
Some fans asked, "Are Wang Dalei and Wu Mi Jiang good friends in private? Why did he suddenly call him to sing?" Some fans replied, "To promote the young newcomers." "There is a generation gap in age, so they generally take care of the younger ones. Peers might still compete with each other." "The older brothers mainly promote others." "The captain seizes every opportunity to help newcomers adapt to the team."
Hou Yongyong was selected for the first time into "Ivan's Army." In the 2024 season of the Norwegian second-tier league, Hou Yongyong scored 19 goals, becoming the top scorer of the league. Hou Yongyong said in an interview, "Last year, I played in the No. 10 position in Norway, and everyone saw me scoring some goals, so they have high expectations for me. Of course, I also have confidence, and I hope to contribute in the upcoming World Cup qualifiers." Tianjin Daily analyzed that Hou Yongyong can play a role in the 4-4-2 formation and has a high degree of compatibility with Ivan's tactical system.
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