In the two World Preliminary Tournaments in March, the Chinese men's football team played against Singapore in two legs, with 1 win and 1 draw, grabbing 4 points, and the results were not even considered passing. Because against a Southeast Asian team like Singapore, the national football team can only pass if it scores 6 points in the two legs. Therefore, the start of the new coach Ivankovic in coaching the Chinese men's football team was not outstanding. Fortunately, the next round of the national football team's World Preliminary Tournament will not start until June, leaving a lot of room for Ivankovic to adjust.
In the two games against Singapore, Ivankovic favored Liu Yang at left wing-back, not only allowing him to start in a row, but also allowing him to play the whole game in a row. However, Liu Yang's performance was relatively poor, especially against Singapore at home, where he directly gave the opponent a goal because of his low-level mistake. Therefore, Ivankovic's subordinate will be widely questioned by the outside world.
Compared with Liu Yang, who has started two consecutive games, Li Lei, a veteran of the national football team in the same position, was obviously snubbed by Ivankovic. In the two games against Singapore, although Li Lei entered the game squad every game, he never got a chance to play for 1 minute from beginning to end, and he was completely reduced to the decoration of the national football team. Li Lei wants personal ability and game experience, and he is only 31 years old this year, and he is still in the prime of professional football, but he can't get a 1-minute chance to play under Ivankovic, which is really embarrassing.
Not only did Ivankovic not want to see Li Lei, but even his predecessor Yankovic didn't need Li Lei. In the Asian Cup at the beginning of this year, the national football team played 3 group games, and Li Lei also entered the squad for the game, but under Jankovic, he has been sitting on the bench and has not been able to play for 1 minute in 3 consecutive games, and has completely become a spectator of the national football team. In other words, in 2024, Li Lei has not had the opportunity to play in the national team for 5 consecutive games.
The reason why Li Lei has been ignored by the two national football coaches of Jankovic and Ivankovic in a row may have something to do with his technical characteristics. Li Lei, as a well-known left fullback in Chinese football, is a typical offensive and defensive weak player, although the ability to advance and insert forward is very outstanding, but the level of defense is average, and there is often a situation where the offense cannot come back and forth. Therefore, in Yankovic and Ivankovic, who pay great attention to defense, it is reasonable for Li Lei to be left out in the cold.
Li Lei was not famous in the Chinese Super League back then, until he was excavated by the silver fox Lippi and appointed him to enter the Chinese national team, he gradually became a famous player in the local fullback position. In this sense, Lippi has the grace of knowing Li Lei. Now, the Lippi who appreciated him has long been gone, and Li Lei has been snubbed by the two coaches of the national football team in a row, and it is not ruled out that he will gradually fade out of the national team.