According to the arrangements of the Football Association, on January 8th next year, the Chinese men's football team will start a new round of training in order to better prepare for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers. After the first six rounds of the World Cup qualifiers, the national team has two wins and four losses, accumulating 6 points. Although they are at the bottom of the standings, they are actually only one point behind second-placed Australia, so there is still a great chance of qualifying.
From the previous six rounds of matches, head coach Ivan Kozlovic is not an incompetent coach. He has his own unique insights in terms of troop deployment and tactical play. Especially his boldness in starting young stars surpasses all previous national team coaches. The recent consecutive victories of the national team have also greatly changed Ivan Kozlovic's reputation, turning him from the once universally criticized "old rogue" into a coach gradually recognized by fans.
In order to perform well in the last four rounds of the World Cup qualifiers next year, it is expected that Ivan Kozlovic will carry out a major reshuffle of the current main lineup of the national team. Some well-known but underperforming national players may be cleaned up by Ivan; while some young stars who performed well in the Chinese Super League may firmly establish their main positions in the national team.
Judging from the performance of the first six rounds of the World Cup qualifiers, the following three influential but average-performing national team main players may be reluctantly abandoned by Ivan.
The first player who may be abandoned by Ivan is naturalized international Fernando. As a naturalized player, Fernando is good at dribbling and making precise crosses from the bottom, with flexible and changeable footwork, which are the capital for him to stand firm in the national team. However, with age, Fernando has lost his former speed, and the "little motorbike" of the past has degenerated into an "electric car". Although Fernando can still create some threats in the frontcourt, his lack in defense is unbearable for Ivan.
The second player who may be cleaned up by Ivan should be goalkeeper Wang Dalei. Wang Dalei, as an old guard of the national team, has had many highlights in his career. However, time waits for no man, and at the age of 35, he is no longer as brave as before, and his competitive state has visibly declined. In the past six World Cup qualifiers, Wang Dalei conceded a total of 16 goals, conceding 10 goals in just two games against the Japanese men's football team, becoming an undisputed "regent king." Such a depressed Wang Dalei is obviously no longer suitable to serve as the starting goalkeeper for the national team.
The third national player who may be abandoned by Ivan should be naturalized player Alan. Although Alan has a glorious past in the Chinese Super League and outstanding personal abilities, his competitive state has shown a downward trend due to increasing age and injuries. In the previous World Cup qualifiers, Alan's performance was average and did not bring much substantial help to the national team. It is unlikely that Alan will be called up by the national team next year.
Do you think these three should be cleaned up by Ivan? Welcome to discuss in the comment area.