Fernando Henrique quits China national team ahead of World Cup qualifiers, as naturalised players arrive in Japan after travel delays
- Fernando Henrique has returned to Brazil just days out from China’s opening World Cup qualifier against Japan
- Returning naturalised players were stuck in Amsterdam for 24 hours on their way to Japan for their opening game
Naturalised Chinese forward Fernando Henrique has returned to Brazil just days out from China’s opening World Cup qualifier against Japan, as three other naturalised players arrive in Tokyo after a 24 hour flight delay that left them stranded in an Amsterdam airport.
In a statement, the Chinese national football team said the 29-year-old Henrique, also known as Fei Nanduo, had returned to Brazil for family reasons.
“During the layover in Amsterdam, Fei Nanduo learned of his family members’ health problems and applied to return to Brazil. After the discussion and approval of the national team coaching team, he has returned to Brazil and will unfortunately miss the following games,” the statement said.
The naturalised players, however, had been clearly upset by the travel disruptions, with Aloisio, or Luo Guofu as he is known in China, taking to social media to vent his frustrations.
“Congratulations to the organisation of the agency and CFA. You have no respect,” Aloisio posted on Weibo. “The 3 Brazilian-Chinese players, now stuck in Amsterdam where they transit, have to wait for nearly 24 hours for the next flight to Tokyo. They were not informed of this.”