Although Hu Jingheng, Liu Heng, Long Cheng and others were selected for the 38-person training squad of this year's Dragon National Team, it was still difficult to enter the final 23-person squad.

However, being able to get a call-up to the national team and train with the best players in the country for a period of time is also an incentive for them, a kind of promotion.

I believe that after Zheng Zhi, Feng Xiaoting, and Hao Junmin, these old players, withdrew from the Dragon Country team one after another after this Asian Cup, and there will definitely be a place for them in the future Dragon Country team!

Even, in the near future, they may follow in the footsteps of Shen Feng and land in Europe to show their strength on a bigger stage!

The Dragons trained in Qionghai Province until December 10, then took a charter flight to the United Arab Emirates, where they arrived early to adapt to the local environment and better prepare for the upcoming Asian Cup here.

On December 15 and December 22, the Dragons played two warm-up matches against Uzbekistan and Lebanon, which also adapted to the environment in advance.

These two games are the last two official warm-up matches before the Asian Cup of the Dragon Country Team, and the reason why the Uzbekistan team and the Lebanese team were selected as opponents is of course targeted.

Dragons' opponents in the group stage include Kyrgyzstan, which is in the same Central Asian region as Uzbekistan, and Saudi Arabia, which is in the same West Asian region as Lebanon.

Although the tactical style and strength of the Uzbekistan and Lebanese teams are different from those of Kyrgyzstan and Saudi Arabia, they also have some reference significance.

The Dragon Country team is of course the strongest in the four teams in Group C, and the Dragon Country team is almost impossible to pass the group stage when the Asian Cup is expanded to 24 teams, and the four groups with better results in the six groups are third, and they can also advance to the knockout stage.

Therefore, when the Dragon Football Association selected the opponent for the warm-up match for the Dragon Team, it did not pay too much attention.

In these two warm-up games, the Dragon Country team did not play with a full main lineup, and cores like Shen Feng and Zheng Zhi only played half of the game in these two games, adapted to the rhythm of the game, and found the feeling of the game, so they went to rest.

The purpose of the Dragon Country team to play these two warm-up games is more to focus on scouting players.

The Dragon National Team brought all the 30 or so players called up for training to the United Arab Emirates this time, and the plan is that after the 23-member squad stipulated by the AFC to declare to participate in this Asian Cup, the other unsuccessful players will not be allowed to go home, but will become the team's staff, continue to stay, train with the team, and feel the atmosphere of the competition.

Because, the players who were finally selected for the 23-person squad are mainly young players like Hu Jingheng, Liu Heng, and Wei Shihao, for them, being able to feel the atmosphere of a big competition like the Asian Cup up close is also beneficial to their future growth.

In the warm-up matches with the Uzbekistan team and the Lebanese team, the Dragons won easily.

The Uzbekistan team used to be regarded as the bitter master of the Dragon Country team, and in the previous Asian Cup, it once caused a lot of trouble to the Dragon Country team, and in the previous World Cup qualifiers in the Asian Top 12 matches, it also served as a roadblock for the Dragon Country team.

However, with the rapid rise of Dragon Country football in the past two years, the current Dragon Country team has opened a gap with the Uzbek team, and the Uzbek team and the current Dragon Country team are no longer a grade team.

Not to mention, the Lebanese team has always been the belly of Asia, and the FIFA ranking is outside the top 100 all year round, and there is no threat to the current Dragon Team.

It wasn't until December 24 that Wu Lei, Zhang Xizhe and other players who played in major European leagues after the end of the previous round of games, got out of the club and flew to the United Arab Emirates to join the Dragon team.

In fact, it is not only the Dragon Team that has such a situation, but also the Japanese team, the South Korean team, the Australian team and other teams that also have players who play in Europe, and it is only at this time that the team lineup is considered complete.

And like the current "Asian first brother", South Korean player Son Heung-min, who plays for Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League, did not get out of the club until December 26, after the "Christmas War" of the English Premier League, flew to the United Arab Emirates, and joined the South Korean team to enter the preparation for the Asian Cup.

There is no way, who will arrange the time of this Asian Cup in January, which is not the mainstream, and Europe, as the center of world football, will not open up for the Asian Cup.

However, the next World Cup will be held in Qatar, which is located in the same West Asian region as the United Arab Emirates, and FIFA has also announced that in order to adapt to the local climate conditions, the 2022 Qatar World Cup will also be held in the non-mainstream January.

At that time, Europe, as the center of world football, will also have to adjust the schedule of its respective leagues for the World Cup!

Wu Lei, Zhang Xizhe and others, although they met with the Dragon Country team much later than other players, but after coming to the United Arab Emirates, they adjusted the time difference and quickly integrated into the team, and there was no discomfort.

First, it is because they have been cooperating with most of the players of this Dragon Country team for several years, and they have cultivated enough tacit understanding with each other.

Second, they have been in Europe for half a season, with their own strength, in their respective teams to get a stable playing time, in their respective teams successfully gained a firm foothold, have been greatly exercised, although due to the short time to land in Europe, they are at the peak of their careers, growth space is limited, ability has not undergone earth-shaking changes, but, this half season of experience, but also let their horizons broaden a lot, the reading and comprehension of the game, than before.

The changes of Wu Lei, Zhang Xizhe and others can be clearly felt in training: the running position is more flexible, the ball handling is more reasonable, and the choice of the ball is more decisive and resolute!

Their return has raised the overall strength of the Dragon Country team to a new level!

Seeing their changes, Lippi is really happy and has more confidence in the prospects of the Dragon Country team in this Asian Cup.

The growth of Wu Lei, Zhang Xizhe and others has also been seen by young players such as Hu Jingheng, Liu Heng, Wei Shihao, etc., and they are more looking forward to their future and yearning for the European arena.

As the opening time of the Asian Cup approaches, the teams that have entered the finals of this Asian Cup have announced their final 23-member squads to participate in this event.

Of course, the Dragon Country people are no exception, Hu Jingheng, Liu Heng and other young players who were selected for the first time in the training squad of the Dragon Country Team, as expected, failed to be selected into the final 23-person squad, Wei Shihao, Liu Yiming and other players of their age, as the best of their peers, were fortunate to enter the Dragon Country Team once again on the competition list.