On December 22, Beijing time, with the departure of Li Ke, a key player of the Chinese national men's football team (hereinafter referred to as the "national football team"), the national team immediately took action and urgently recruited Xu Xin, a midfielder. According to relevant reports, Xu Xin arrived at the team's assembly site on the night of the 20th local time, and immediately devoted himself to the training work on the 21st without resting. However, in addition to personnel adjustments, the key warm-up opponents of the national football team have also changed.
The Indian men's national football team, which was originally planned, will not be able to warm up with the Chinese team as previously agreed, because the team's head coach Stimac has not approved the preparation plan for the game. This change has had a big impact on the warm-up strategy of the national team and has added a lot of difficulty to the team's preparation.
After Li Ke's departure, the national team urgently needs to find a new midfielder to fill the position he has left behind. With this in mind, Xu Xin's joining has undoubtedly become a safe choice. As an excellent midfielder with rich experience, he has excellent defensive and offensive capabilities, and can provide more comprehensive support and protection for the national football team.
At the same time, the arrival of Xu Xin has also made the national team more complete in terms of staffing, so as to be fully prepared for the upcoming competitions. According to a report by Ma Dexing, a well-known media person in the field of sports, before the national football team left for Abu Dhabi to compete, head coach Jankovic had arranged four warm-up matches according to the plan. These include two strong opponents, Oman and India, which were won through private channels. However, the Indians wanted more time to prepare for the game, so their boss Stimac said he wanted to prepare about a week earlier, which involved changes to the Indian domestic league schedule.
However, after discussions with the league committee, the Indian Football Association did not receive enough support. In the end, the Indian league still ended on December 28 as originally planned, resulting in the Indian national team having to concentrate on the next day (December 29), and then immediately flew to Qatar for the final stage of preparations for the upcoming Asian Cup. This means that the Indian team has been unable to rush to the UAE to participate in joint training, and it is naturally no longer possible to compete with the Chinese team in the warm-up.
For the Chinese team, this change has undoubtedly dealt a heavy blow. The national football team has carefully planned several warm-up matches against Oman and India, and these two games are of great significance for the national football team. After all, Oman are direct rivals of the national football team in the group stage of the Asian Cup, while India went head-to-head with China in July this year. The cancellation of these two matches has had a significant impact on the preparation plan of the national football team. It was originally scheduled to play two warm-up matches in just four days, namely against a second-rate league team in the United Arab Emirates on the 25th of this month, and against the Oman national football team on the 29th.
The warm-up match against India, originally scheduled for January 6 next year, was postponed due to India's default, and a warm-up match against other local club teams or teams training in the UAE was scheduled on January 2. But now due to the dishonesty of the Indian team, the national football team has to seek a suitable warm-up opponent again. So far, the national football team has tentatively locked up the opponent for the third warm-up, but there is no clearer arrangement for the fourth warm-up match on January 5 or 6, which is the original date of the match against India. Planning for a warm-up match in four days is crucial for the national football team, which can not only help the players adjust their condition, but also help the team develop corresponding technical and tactical strategies.
In this new plan, the Chinese team will have the opportunity to face a meaningful match on the 25th of this month, against the UAE's domestic second-tier team - although it is a little lower, but it can provide a new challenge and valuable practical experience for the players of the mainland team, and on the 29th of this month, the Chinese team will also have a high-profile battle against the Omani national team, which is a litmus test of the performance of the mainland team in a fierce competitive environment.
Earlier, the warm-up match against India, which was scheduled for January 6 next year – the third major drill planned by the Chinese team – was postponed due to a temporary change of heart on the Indian side. The continental team has to devote a lot of time and energy to selecting new partners for the warm-up matches, which undoubtedly increases the pressure of preparation and may have a negative impact on the team's daily training and game planning.
It is gratifying that after hard searching, the mainland team has initially locked on the target of the third round of warm-up matches, although this matter is still in the initial stage, but it has undoubtedly boosted the morale of the whole team. However, the question of the opponents for the fourth warm-up match scheduled for January 5 or 6 – the match against India – is still to be finalized. This shows that the mainland team still needs to put more effort into finding the best warm-up partner to ensure that the team can maintain good competitive form, but also ensure that the tactical arrangement is appropriate.
In summary, although the abrupt cancellation of the Indian team has put the preparation plan of the mainland team to a huge test, the mainland team is still looking for a suitable warm-up partner, and strives to ensure that the team's competitive state and tactical arrangements remain at a reasonable level. It is true that we expect the mainland team to have a better performance in the future games and contribute more to the prosperity and development of mainland football!