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…

The 26th Arab Gulf Cup football tournament hosted by Kuwait is nearing its end, with all matches in Group A's final round ending in draws, including a 1-1 draw between the UAE and Oman, and a 1-1 draw between Kuwait and Qatar. As a result, Oman and Kuwait have advanced to the semi-finals, while the UAE and Qatar have been eliminated early. As the reigning champions of the last two Asian Cups, Qatar has experienced a rapid decline following their performance in the Gulf Cup, which is quite surprising. In the first round, Qatar drew 1-1 with the UAE, and in the second round, they were overturned by Kuwait with a score of 1-2, accumulating only one point and falling to the bottom of the group. In the final round, only a victory would give them hope of advancing. Facing host Kuwait in the final round, Qatar maintained a possession rate of over 65% throughout the match, with more shots on goal, corners, and scoring opportunities than their opponents. However, their efficiency in converting these opportunities into goals was not high. Neither team scored in the first half, but in the 74th minute of the second half, Kuwait broke the deadlock. Qatar, facing a desperate situation, launched a fierce counterattack and managed to equalize the score at 1-1 in the 100th minute, at which point the match ended. According to the latest world rankings, Qatar is ranked 48th, while Kuwait is ranked 134th. This draw can be considered a major upset. Thus, Qatar accumulated only two points in three rounds,…

Recently, the Chinese football circle has been stirred up again. Former head coach of the Chinese men's national team, Li Tie, has appealed against his 20-year sentence, a move that has sparked widespread discussion. Amidst the many criticisms and accusations, two former national players have come forward to speak out for Li Tie. Who are they? And what did they say? Today, let's talk about this topic. Li Tie, once a symbol of glory for Chinese football. As a player, he helped the Chinese men's national team enter the World Cup finals, and as a coach, he led Hebei China Fortune and Wuhan Zall to promotion success. However, over time, Li Tie's image became increasingly complex, ultimately leading to his imprisonment due to alleged illegal activities. Xu Liang, a native and former teammate of Li Tie, expressed his support for Li Tie on social media. Xu Liang revealed that Li Tie had once helped him, hence he always referred to Li Tie as "Iron Brother". Faced with fans' doubts, Xu Liang firmly stated, "He will always be my Iron Brother!" This shows Xu Liang's gratitude towards Li Tie. Another former national player, Zhao Peng, also spoke out in support of Li Tie. Zhao Peng worked with Li Tie at Guangzhou Evergrande, stating that Li Tie had a very good impression during his time there and was very kind to people. Zhao Peng believes that Li Tie's change began after coaching Hebei China Fortune, where the increase in power also led to an increase in his desires. Regarding Li Tie's case,…

As the year 2025 approaches, the World Cup qualifiers have become a stage for football players from various countries to showcase their skills and compete for glory. On March 25th of next year, this football feast will once again witness a highly anticipated match - the Chinese team will host the strong Australian team at home. The venue for this match has been selected as the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center, a modern sports venue known for its grand appearance and excellent facilities. According to official data, the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center can accommodate 65,000 spectators, and in fact, its design capacity far exceeds this number, capable of handling the audience demand for large international events. At that time, it is expected that 60,000 passionate Chinese fans will flood into the venue, wearing unified red jerseys, waving the Five-starred Red Flag, cheering for the national football team together, forming a sea of red. For the Chinese team, this match is not just an ordinary World Cup qualifier, but also an important opportunity to prove their strength and revitalize the glory of Chinese football. Since the last victory over the Australian team in the East Asian Cup, 12 years have passed. In these 12 years, Chinese football has not defeated the opponent again, experiencing both brilliant moments and disappointing lows. However, no matter what, the national team players have always maintained a desire for victory and a pursuit of dreams. The Australian team, affectionately called the "Kangaroo Army" by fans, has always been a formidable opponent for the Chinese team. They possess…

As a traditional powerhouse in Asian football, Saudi Arabia's recent performance has undoubtedly disappointed many fans. In the Asian qualifiers for the World Cup, they only managed to secure one victory against China, with the remaining five matches ending in either draws or defeats, causing their ranking to temporarily slip to fourth in the group. Due to the team's poor performance, Italian coach Mancini was forced to relinquish his position, and Saudi Arabia's meritorious coach Herve Renard took over the reins for the second time in a crisis. Unfortunately, it seems that Saudi Arabia's problems are not just about changing coaches. In the recently started Gulf Cup, Saudi Arabia suffered another defeat, losing 2-3 to Bahrain, a team from West Asia but far behind them in world rankings. This embarrassing two consecutive losses in official matches left Saudi football in desperate need of an easy opponent to boost team morale. Coincidentally, they met Yemen, the weakest team in this Gulf Cup. In the latest FIFA rankings, Yemen is ranked only 158th, even lower than the Philippines and Hong Kong, China. It's no exaggeration to call them the "minnow" of Asian football. However, in this seemingly mismatched encounter, Saudi Arabia almost stumbled again! The deadlock on the field was broken just 8 minutes into the game, but it was Yemen who scored. Taking advantage of a corner kick opportunity, Yemen's central defender Zubaydi headed the ball into the net, surprisingly taking a 1-0 lead! In the subsequent match, Saudi Arabia launched a furious counterattack, unwilling to fall behind. However, their aggressive…

It is well-known that since the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan and South Korea, the Chinese national football team has not been able to qualify for this stage again. The main reason for this result is the lack of reserve talents, which means that the youth training in the past 20 years has not been good enough to cultivate batches of talents to serve the national team. Since 2002, the Chinese national team has not qualified for the World Cup, and our national youth team has not made it to the World Youth Championship since 2005. It is even harder for the youth teams to compete when they cannot defeat opponents at the youth level, let alone at the senior level. Therefore, only when our national youth and junior teams become stronger will the national team have a more promising future. In February of next year, a new edition of the U20 Asian Cup (Asian Youth Championship) will take place, with the U20 national team (national youth team) playing at home. For this edition of the Asian Youth Championship, the national youth team has set a clear goal: to strive to return to the World Youth Championship stage after 20 years. In addition to the home advantage in next year's competition, the group draw for the national youth team is also relatively favorable. In Group A, the other three teams are Australia, Kyrgyzstan, and Qatar. According to the rule that the top two teams from each group advance, as long as the national youth team performs normally, there should…

The 18-team qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup Asian zone are in full swing, with five rounds already completed. In Group C, each team has shown different levels of strength and fate trajectories, and the upcoming sixth round will mark the beginning of the second half and determine the future qualification situation for each team. In the first five rounds, Japan has demonstrated absolute dominance with four wins and one draw, accumulating 13 points to top the group. They have remained undefeated and excelled offensively, especially in the last round against Indonesia, where they showcased their powerful firepower. This has given Japan a seven-point lead in the group, and according to current trends, they are likely to secure direct qualification for the World Cup as early as March next year. China's journey, on the other hand, has been quite tortuous. After experiencing ups and downs in the previous rounds, the victory in the last round away against Bahrain became an important turning point. This victory not only helped the team secure crucial three points but also tied them with Australia and Saudi Arabia on the leaderboard, with all three teams accumulating six points. Although China is temporarily ranked fourth due to a goal difference disadvantage, the gap with the second place is only nine goals, giving the team hope to compete for the second place in the group. In the upcoming sixth round, China will face a challenging opponent, Japan. Historically, this has been a difficult opponent for Chinese football, with 31 encounters resulting in a record of seven wins,…

Within just five days, two former national team players have spoken out in support of Li Tie, referring to him as "my eternal Iron Brother" and emphasizing his uprightness and good treatment of others. Introduction Everyone thinks that the sentence for Li Tie is light, yet he has actually appealed. On December 13th, the former "pride of the national football team," Li Tie, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for bribery and corruption. Fans were delighted and applauded the decision. However, ten days later, on the last day of the appeal period, he filed a lawsuit with the court, requesting a retrial of the case. Perhaps he believes that although he was found guilty of embezzling 120 million yuan, having returned most of the stolen funds, the 20-year sentence is too harsh and should be mitigated. This has sparked intense debate and mixed opinions among the public. But amidst the collective attack and condemnation against him, within just a few days, two former national team players have come forward to speak out and counterattack on his behalf. While many mock him as "Tiezi," these two refer to him as "Ge Tie" (Brother Tie), showing their respect. Who are they? Why are they unwavering in their support? And why did Li Tie get into trouble in the first place? It turns out that head coach Xie Hui had foreseen this earlier. I. Former National Team Players Do Not Take Advantage of Li Tie's Misfortune, Instead Voice Support One emphatically states, "Li Tie is upright, treats people well, and will always…

The current head coach of the Chinese men's football team, Ivan Kozlovic, is highly regarded by fans and the media. The main reasons for this are threefold. Firstly, he has extensive coaching experience and can bring advanced tactical concepts to the team. Secondly, he is adept at tapping into the potential of players, allowing each player to perform at their best. Lastly, he possesses excellent communication and leadership skills, capable of uniting the entire team. Firstly, the Chinese men's football team is performing well. In the Asian qualifying round of the World Cup Group C, the Chinese team is currently at the bottom of the table but only one point behind second-placed Australia. It seems that the Chinese team has a good chance of advancing to the top four of the group. If they work harder, as Ivan Kozlovic said, there is even a possibility of directly qualifying for the World Cup. Secondly, the Chinese men's football team used to be like a scattered mess, but now it has coalesced into a solid force! Especially in the first match of the 18-strong competition against the Japanese men's football team, fans who watched the live broadcast may have fallen into despair! On the field, the players had no coordination and failed to reach a consensus in their thinking. The outcome was naturally disastrous. However, when they faced the Japanese team again, the players' performance on the field was completely different. They were willing to sacrifice and take on more responsibilities for their teammates. At this point, the Chinese men's football team…

The head coach of China's national football team, Ivan Kozlovic, stated in an interview with foreign media that the Chinese team has a good chance of securing a direct spot in the World Cup. Therefore, our plan for scoring points in the next four matches of the top 18 qualifiers will undergo changes. Ivan Kozlovic said: The first six rounds of the top 18 qualifiers have been completed, and although we are at the bottom of Group C, the national team is tied on points with Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain with 6 points each. It is only because the national team has fewer goal differences than their opponents that it ranks last. This indicates that the national team still has the opportunity to compete for the fourth-round playoff. However, the national team is only one point behind Australia, who is second in Group C. If the national team can perform well in the remaining four matches next year, directly advancing to the World Cup finals is not impossible. Therefore, "Ivan Kozlovic will make significant adjustments to the national team's scoring plan and personnel tactics." The specific adjustments are as follows: "The new Chinese Super League team Yunnan Yu Kun and Beijing Guoan are about to introduce Oscar and Serginho. The two players are just waiting for an official announcement to join their new clubs. Moreover, the naturalization process of these two players is underway." "Oscar and Serginho are expected to represent the national team in the remaining four matches of the top 18 qualifiers before March next year." Oscar…