After the national team finished the World Preliminary Tournament mission, the Chinese U23 men's football team coached by Jankovic became the focus of the Chinese Football Association this year, and they also represented the future of the Chinese men's football team in the upcoming East Asian Cup and the Asian Games.
Since this year's Qatar World Cup was held for the first time in the northern hemisphere winter, the East Asian Cup, which was previously held in December, has also been rescheduled to July. According to the original plan, the 2022 East Asian Cup will be held in China from July 19 to 27. According to media reports, affected by the epidemic, the Chinese Football Association has proposed that it cannot be hosted, and the event is likely to be taken over by Japan. In order to prepare for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, Japan will send the U21 national team composed of 2001 age group players to participate, and South Korea has not made it clear whether it will play as a legitimate national team. Correspondingly, China will be represented by the Chinese U23 men's national team coached by Jankovic, who previously participated in the Dubai Cup.
The plan to send the U23 national football team to participate in the East Asian Cup shows that the focus of the Chinese Football Association's preparation and support work for the national men's football team this year will also shift to this team, which is mainly composed of 99-year-old players. That's because after the end of the journey of the World Cup qualifiers in Qatar, the Chinese national team will focus on next summer's Asian Cup in China, and there will be no important competition tasks in 2022. In contrast, the Chinese U23 men's football team also has to participate in this year's Hangzhou Asian Games, the team needs high-quality matches to warm up, and the East Asian Cup has become an excellent opportunity for the U23 national football team to further train the team.
It is worth mentioning that in addition to fighting for the opportunity for this team to play, the Chinese Football Association said that in the arrangement of the Chinese Super League in the new season, especially in the design of the specific schedule, it will also fully consider the preparation and participation needs of the U23 national football team. In addition, it is not ruled out that Jankovic may recruit some overage players to play in the East Asian Cup and even the Asian Games within the framework of the team's original main players. According to media reports, such as Zhang Yuning, Tong Lei and Yang Liyu in the age group of 97, and Gao Tianyi, Yan Dinghao and Duan Liuyu in the age group of 98, they may all rush to the U23 national football team at the East Asian Cup and accept the inspection of the coaching team.
Among the players of the U23 national football team participating in the Dubai Cup, Tao Qianglong, Liu Zhurun, Huang Zihao and Abdul Meat Suli actually jumped from the 2001 age group of the Chinese U21 men's football team to join the team, and Han Jiaqi, Jiang Shenglong and Wu Shaocong participated in the training of the national team, but ultimately missed the list of the top 12. As for Zhu Chenjie and Dai Weijun, who have already participated in the training of the U23 national football team, they have not only been selected for the final list of the national football team, but also have a good performance in the top twelve. It can be imagined that in a sense, the U23 national football team that will appear in the East Asian Cup and the Asian Games is basically the prototype of the future Chinese men's national football team, and participating in these two important events not only allows these young players to be trained, but also to a certain extent, it is to prepare for the national team.