Reporter Chen Yong reported that Li Xiaopeng's first training camp gathered 52 players, including 2 foreign players Wu Lei and Li Lei and 4 naturalized players Axon, Alan, Luo Guofu and Fernando will not participate in the domestic training, but the 46ers training lineup is still huge.
Regarding this huge list, the explanation at the national team level is relatively clear, that is, before going to Japan and Vietnam, a comprehensive examination of the current state and mentality of the players is conducted, and then the players with the best physical state, the best competitive state and the best psychological state are selected.
Of course, the list of 52 people selected, not only the selection of the top 12 matches, but also for the 2023 Asian Cup prepared, through this training, team confrontation, etc., close observation, to see the degree of adaptation and integration of these players for the technical and tactical, so that the coaching staff has a clearer understanding, it can be said that some players are selected, is aimed at the farther future.
As we all know, Li Xiaopeng is in a relatively hasty state as the head coach of the Chinese national team, after he became the coach of the national football team, there is almost no much training time, because December 13, 2021 to January 4, 2022 is the second stage of the Chinese Super League, Shandong Taishan and Shanghai Harbor will also participate in the FA Cup final on January 9, before going to Japan, the national team training time is up to half a month, such a short preparation time, means that Li Xiaopeng can not calmly examine the players, And it is impossible to find a suitable warm-up opponent during this period, in which case it is a good emergency to recruit more players for inspection and let them participate in internal confrontations.
In this case, the huge player list is not surprising.
Of course, if it is only the selection and intra-team confrontation, there is no need for 46 players, maybe 36 players is enough, so why does Li Xiaopeng choose so many players? Perhaps from the perspective of Li Xiaopeng's mission to the national team, this move may be better understood.
After Li Xiaopeng became the manager of the national football team, his first task was to play two round of 12 matches on January 27 and February 1, followed by the last two round of 12 matches in March. However, the possibility of qualifying for the national football team in the round of 12 has almost equal to zero, and when it is decided that Li Xiaopeng will serve as the manager of the national football team, the more explicit task given to Li Xiaopeng by the coaching team is actually the 2023 Asian Cup, because the 2023 Asian Cup is an Asian Cup held on home, which is very important.
The further task is the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, but that will need to be finalized after the 2023 Asian Cup, which is not yet within the scope of clear consideration.
The 2023 Asian Cup will be held in China in the summer of 2023, when the existing players of the 12 rounds, Arthur Junmin, are 36 years old, and the 89 generation players who are the core of the current national team will also be 34 years old, and now the main strength of the national team, 90, 91 and 92 generation players, who are also 33, 32 and 31 years old, will probably begin to decline in the competitive state of this group of players.
Therefore, from the perspective of the 2023 Asian Cup, the national team will probably have to focus on the 93 and 95 age groups, supplement some players with excellent status in the 89 age group, and then supplement some excellent players in the 97 age group and later.
Through the 52-man roster, we can also see Li Xiaopeng's thinking on forming a team.
Let's look at the composition of the 52-man roster (the two figures in parentheses are those who have played in the Round of 12 and those who have not participated in the Round of 12 before):
1987 age group (3+1): Round of 12 players Arthur Junmin, Yu Dabao, Luo Guofu, new and returning player Tan Long;
1989 age group (9+4): Top 12 players Zhang Linpeng, Wu Xi, Wang Dalei, Wang Shenchao, Chi Zhongguo, Yin Hongbo, Liu Dianzuo, Axon, Alan; new and returning players Zheng Zheng, Ji Xiang, Zhao Hongluo, Hou Sen;
1991 age group (5+2): Top 12 players Wu Lei, Zhang Xizhe, Yan Junling, Jin Jingdao, Li Lei; new and returning players Peng Xinli and Li Shenglong;
1993 age group (6+4): Top 12 players Li Ang, Wang Shangyuan, Liu Binbin, Jiang Guangtai, Xu Xin, Fernando; new and returning players Wang Tong, Shi Ke, Xie Pengfei, He Xi;
1995 age group (1+4): Wei Shihao, a player in the Round of 12; Li Shuai, Liu Yang, Deng Hanwen and Wang Ziming, new and returning players;
1997 age group (1+5): Zhang Yuning, a player in the Round of 12, Yang Liyu, Wang Zhifeng, Wei Zhen, Yan Dinghao, Gao Tianyi, new candidates and returning players;
1999 age group (2+5): Top 12 players Guo Tianyu and Zhu Chenjie, newly selected and returned players Dai Weijun, Liu Ruovan, Jiang Shenglong, Han Jiaqi and Wu Shaocong.
If we divide according to the old team members from 1987 to 1991, the Mesozoic generation from 1993 to 1995, and the new generation in 1997 and 1999, there are 27 top 12 players, 17 old team members, 7 mesozoic generations, and only 3 new generations.
There are 25 new players selected or returned, 7 veterans, 8 middle generations, and 10 new generations. Li Xiaopeng strengthened the strength of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic generations. Therefore, this "Peng I", the list is for selection, for the round of 12, more for the 2023 Asian Cup, for the future.