China unveil 25-man squad for Fifa World Cup qualifiers, naturalised Brazilian players dropped from national team

Ai Kesen, Luo Guofu, Fei Nanduo and A Lan, who terminated their contracts with Guangzhou FC, have not been called for the next World Cup qualifiers

China cannot qualify for the tournament in Qatar after losing 3-1 to Vietnam, they face Saudi Arabia on March 24 and Oman five days later

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Ai Kesen along with several other naturalised players have been left out of China’s national squad. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 3:15pm, 17 Mar 2022Updated: 3:32pm, 17 Mar 2022

Star forward Wu Lei and four Brazilian-born naturalised players will not form part of the 25-man squad when China meet Oman in the next round of the World Cup qualifying matches on March 24.

China’s hopes of qualifying for the Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022 ended after their 3-1 defeat to Vietnam in February, the team play Saudi Arabia in Group B on March 24, and take on Oman five days later.

After much speculation about the future of naturalised players in the national team, head coach Li Xiaopeng unveiled his 25-player squad, all but confirming the end of a long-standing relationship.

Luo Guofu (right) vies with Jameel Al Yahmadi of Oman during a Group B match between China and Oman during the 2022 Fifa World Cup Asian qualifiers. Photo: Xinhua

Wu has opted out of the next two matches as he fights for a position in his club Espanol of Spain’s La Liga. Forward Wei Shihao and midfielder Chi Zhongguo were not listed in the starting line-up due to injury.

Naturalised Chinese players Ai Kesen, Luo Guofu, Fei Nanduo and A Lan, who terminated their contracts with Chinese Super League side Guangzhou FC last month have since relocated to Brazil.

After China’s 3-1 defeat to Vietnam, the four players went straight to the airport and flew home, as did Espanyol forward Wu Lei, who left Hanoi for Barcelona, ahead of his side’s La Liga fixture against Athletic Bilbao.

There had been talk online that the Brazilians would be part of the next two games in the UAE. Their omission is now being attributed to a lack of fitness.