The Chinese men's football team is about to embark on their 13th journey to compete in the World Cup, and they are currently gathering in Shenzhen for preparation. On the 16th, they will welcome the first game of the 2026 World Cup qualifying round of the Asian region's top 36, away against Thailand.
What are the selection criteria for the national football squad? How will you prepare for the first battle against Thailand? How will you challenge the powerful South Korean team in your first home game? Are you still confident in your goal of qualifying for the World Cup? Recently, Chinese football head coach Jankovic gave an exclusive interview to Xinhua News Agency reporters.
Selection criteria: "Maintaining high intensity" is crucial
Recently, the Chinese national football team announced the squad for the World Cup qualifiers, and Jankovic stated that the most important criterion for determining a candidate is to "maintain high intensity.".
"If we want to advance to the World Cup, this is a clear goal we set from the beginning. We must know what kind of players can match the intensity of the World Cup qualifiers. Players not only need to maintain high intensity throughout a 90 minute game, but more importantly, they need to continue to maintain the same intensity in the next game a few days later," said Yankovic.
Zhang Yuning selected: possessing the necessary abilities for modern football
In this squad, Beijing Guoan striker Zhang Yuning was selected. He has just returned from injury and has only made three substitute appearances in the Chinese Super League this season. Yangkovic believes that Zhang Yuning represents the future of Chinese football.
He represents the future of the Chinese men's football national team. We don't have many players who have the ability to play as pivot forwards like him. Of course, we know that his form hasn't reached 100% yet, but we are also aware of what the team needs at the moment He is a perfect choice. When he returns to the field and participates in matches regularly, he will have more opportunities to perform in the future because he possesses the abilities required for modern football
Talking about young players: They are not small anymore
After the Hangzhou Asian Games, Yangkovic called up several U24 players who had performed well in the Asian Games, such as Jiang Shenglong and Dai Weijun. However, Yangkovic believed that they were no longer young players and should take on their own responsibilities.
"To be honest, I think they are not young anymore. They are already 23 or 24 years old. Taking the South Korean team we are about to face as an example, our players may have to face opponents who are still a few years younger than them, so we cannot treat them as young players anymore. They are not young anymore, they are in a good age to play football."
Talking about warm-up matches: We have found the answer
In February of this year, the Chinese Football Association announced that Jankovic had been appointed as the head coach of the national football team. So far, he has led the team in 8 warm-up matches, achieving a record of 3 wins, 2 draws, and 3 losses.
"Previously, we played against opponents with different football cultures and styles, which opened up all the tactical choices we needed in the world qualifiers. We found the answer, and now is the time to draw conclusions. When the game started, there was no opportunity to try and choose again, and we were ready in all aspects."
Yankovic stated that through the warm-up test, the key issue currently facing the team is maintaining the intensity and rhythm of the game.
