On July 22, according to Beiqing Sports, national team head coach Ivan attended the “Tianjin vs. Beijing” derby in the Chinese Super League (CSL) yesterday. He is currently drawing up an initial list of 55 players for the national team, with outstanding goalkeepers like Han Jiaqi and Hu Hetao expected to be included.
It is reported that head coach Ivan left Beijing yesterday and will travel to Cangzhou today to watch the match between Cangzhou Mighty Lions and Shanghai Greenland Shenhua. After this round of CSL matches, Ivan and his coaching staff will draw up an initial list of nearly 55 players for the national team. Young newcomers who have stood out in club competitions, such as Han Jiaqi and Hu Hetao, will be confirmed to be part of the squad.
According to further reports from Beiqing Sports, after Ivan’s trip to Cangzhou, the coaching staff will officially release the initial list of candidates for the 18-team tournament, and will handle visa procedures for all players on the list to visit Japan and Australia for away matches in the 18-team tournament.
As planned, the new national team will start training on August 18 in Dalian. The entire team is expected to travel to Japan on September 2 to prepare for their first match of the World Cup qualifiers’ 18-team tournament against Japan on September 5.