Fresh look for China in Women’s Asian Cup
Several players axed after poor results in football tournament at Tokyo showpiece
A 23-player squad has been named for the China national team ahead of next week’s AFC Women’s Asian Cup football opener against Taiwan.
The new-look squad, a mix of experienced and fresh talent, follows a month-long training camp in Shanghai, where 34 of the country’s top female footballers were vying for a place.
Newly appointed coach Shui Qingxia has seemingly stuck to her guns in reshaping the squad, with several key members of the Tokyo Olympics team omitted from last month’s training camp.
Among those named for the tournament in India are Li Ying, China’s first openly gay athlete, who has appeared more than 100 times for her country, but not played since Olympic qualifiers in Australia last February.
Wang Shuang, an integral member of the Tokyo Olympics squad and arguably the biggest name in Chinese women’s football, will form a core of the midfield, alongside Yao Wei of Wuhan Jiangda FC and Shanghai Shengli’s Yang Lina and Zhang Xin.
But perhaps the biggest move by coach Shui is the inclusion of Tottenham Hotspur forward Tang Jiali, another to return to the fold after being omitted from last summer’s tournament in Japan.
Top-ranked goalkeeper Zhao Lina also returns, with Wuhan Jianghan University FC’s Zhu Yu and Jiangsu FC’s Xu Huan also handed goalkeeping duties. Zhao’s return coincides with the omission of Peng Shimeng, who played all three games in Tokyo, but was not among goalkeepers listed for the training camp.
Some of China’s hottest young talent has also been named for India, with former Fifa under-20 Women’s World Cup star Zhang Linyan a welcome addition to the team. She joins fellow midfielders Lou Jiahui and Xiao Yuyi.
With a new-look team in place, the Steel Roses are expected to arrive in India this Saturday ahead of their opening Group A match against Taiwan at the Mumbai Football Arena on January 20.
China will then face Iran at the same venue on January 23 before playing India on January 26.
Ranked 19th in the world, the Steel Roses are the most successful team in AFC Women’s Asian Cup history, lifting the trophy a record eight times, including seven title wins in a row between 1986 and 1999. The team last won the title in 2006 and finished third at the 2018 edition in Jordan.