Recently, China's national football team concluded their first training camp of the year in Haikou. The training was led by the Ivan coaching team, known for its high intensity, and although many players found it arduous, they generally believed that such high-quality training laid a solid foundation for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers.
However, just as the training ended, the national team suffered a major blow. On the eve of the Spring Festival, the national team announced a temporary disbandment to welcome the new year. But at the same time, a shocking message arrived:
The naturalization path of the national team faced an unprecedented challenge. It is well-known that if the national team wants to advance to the 2026 World Cup, they must enhance their strength. While direct competitors like the Indonesian team and the Australian team are reinforcing themselves, it is difficult to achieve substantial improvements through current squad training alone. The fastest way to enhance strength is to continue naturalizing powerful foreign aid.
But an unfavorable message has already appeared. The non-bloodline naturalization plan that the Football Association previously invested heavily in has suffered a severe setback. Four naturalized players, Elkeson, Alan, Fernandinho, and Li Ke, have announced that they will collectively withdraw from the Chinese national team and will not accept future call-ups.
This news dealt a heavy blow to the morale and strength of the national team, adding many uncertainties to the upcoming Asian 18-team qualifiers. If the decline in form due to aging can be understood for Elkeson and Alan, the withdrawal of Fernandinho and Li Ke, who are in the prime of their careers and are core forces in the national team's front and midfield, undoubtedly disappointed and angered fans.
This open refusal of training invitations not only damaged the image of the national team but also had a terrible demonstration effect among domestic players. Moreover, two potential naturalized players, Oscar and Serginho, who were originally highly anticipated, also encountered obstacles in their naturalization procedures.
According to reports, there is still a long way to go before they can officially represent the national team. The plan to debut in the match against Saudi Arabia in March now seems to have turned into nothingness, and their first appearance time will be significantly delayed. This undoubtedly adds more difficulties to the national team's naturalization path.
With the withdrawal of these naturalized players, the strength of the national team will undoubtedly be greatly reduced. Facing strong opponents like Saudi Arabia and Australia, it is undoubtedly a daunting task for the national team to defeat their opponents and advance to the World Cup with only local players.
Although national players including Wei Shihao and Wang Dalei expressed satisfaction with the current state of the team and were confident in qualifying from the group, team strength is the biggest asset of confidence. Just like the Japanese team, which has many players playing overseas, even if their form is not good and tactics are unscientific, they can still win with absolute strength.
Therefore, without naturalizing powerful foreign aid, it is difficult for the national team to create miracles with their current lineup. More importantly, the obstruction of foreign aid naturalization will also repeatedly undermine the morale of the players due to repeated negative news, and the desire to win will also be seriously affected.
There are only about two months left until the restart of the World Cup qualifiers, and the national team faces an unprecedented challenge. How to enhance the team's strength and revive morale in a short period of time has become a difficult problem facing Chinese football.
Creating miracles is no easy feat, but the national team must rise to the challenge and make every effort to impact the World Cup. Only in this way can they live up to the expectations of the fans and the trust of the nation. What do you think?