Beiqing: National Team Starts Training in Shanghai Today, Wu Lei and Alan May Miss Away Match Against Australia

On October 3rd, according to the report from Beiqing Sports, the national team reconvened in Shanghai on October 3rd to officially prepare for the two upcoming matches of the 18-strong tournament this month.

The Chinese team reconvened in Shanghai on October 3rd, and will depart for Adelaide, Australia on the evening of the 5th to prepare for the third round away match of the 18-strong tournament against the Australian team. Six players from Shandong Taishan Club may report to the national team later than the specified time because they participated in the away match against Johor Darul Ta’zim of Malaysia in the AFC Champions Elite League on the night of the 2nd. However, due to the tight schedule and heavy tasks, the national team still decided to conduct the first training session of this assembly at dusk on the 3rd.

It is understood that all the called-up players, including injured players such as Wu Lei, Alan, and Fei Nanduo, will report to the team, but Wu Lei and Alan may not be able to join the team for the trip to Australia due to more serious injuries. For the team, it would be an ideal result if they can participate in the home match against Indonesia on October 15th.

To prepare for the away match against the Australian team on October 10th and the home match against Indonesia on the 15th in the 18-strong tournament, the national team reconvened in Shanghai on October 3rd, with the coaching staff calling up 24 players for this training camp. However, among these 24 players, forwards Alan, Wu Lei, and Fei Nanduo have been injured in the Chinese Super League and AFC Champions Elite League matches. In addition, striker Zhang Yuning, who is in good physical condition, has not participated in any official matches since representing the national team against Saudi Arabia on September 10th due to a suspension, which is also a concern regarding his competitive state. In other words, the national team’s frontline is facing a relatively severe shortage crisis.

In accordance with the training notice issued by the Chinese Football Association, the national team’s coaching staff and support team members arrived in Shanghai ahead of time on October 2nd. Their first task for this training camp is to comprehensively assess the injuries of the injured players. It is understood that Fei Nanduo, who suffered muscle damage during the away match of the AFC Champions Elite League on the night of October 1st, has already reported to the national team’s hotel. His injury is currently under control. Including Wu Lei, the internationals from the two Shanghai clubs will also report to the team before the specified time (2 PM on the 3rd). However, due to continued significant pain in his ribs, Wu Lei is likely to miss the team’s first training session.

As the gap between the team’s reconvening and the start of the away match against Australia on October 10th is only one week, the Chinese team must race against time to prepare. As planned, the team will go to Century Park Stadium in Pudong for their first training session around 5 PM on the day of reconvening. The coaching staff will also make accurate assessments of the physical conditions of all players based on the training situation over the next three days in Shanghai. Currently, it seems that Wu Lei and Alan, who have more serious injuries, may not be able to travel to Australia with the team. Both will receive rehabilitation treatment while undergoing periodic physical examinations. According to the rules, each participating team in the 18-strong tournament can register a maximum of 23 players per match. If two or more players are unable to participate normally in training and matches due to injuries, the coaching staff is likely to call up individual replacement players from the reserve squad.