It is a very different Asian Cup for China than what their fans expected. This edition of the tournament was supposed to be held on Chinese soil last year but a resurgence of the COVID-19 virus in the country led to dropping out of hosting.
What to expect
Now China will head to Doha as unfancied tourists though will no doubt expect to do better their quarter-final appearance from the last edition. Recent form suggests that they might be hard-pressed to do so.
They have had no issues beating lesser teams like Palestine, Myanmar and Thailand but when it comes to the top teams in Asia they have struggled to get results.
The Chinese lost friendly matches to Syria, Uzbekistan and Oman over the last five months and lost a 2026 World Cup qualifier to South Korea. A 2-1 loss to Hong Kong, the first since 1995, in the new year does not augur well for their chances in Qatar.
But then, China were runners-up in 1984 and 2004. The more superstitious among their fans might hope for something similar in 2024.
Star player
Wu Lei may not be the force of nature that he once was, but China will once again look to him for goals. The former Espanyol forward is the only player in the squad with a scoring record in double digits.
The 32-year-old is the all-time top goalscorer in Chinese Super League history and scored 18 times in the 2023 CSL season for Shanghai Port. He will look to carry forward that form for the national team.
Manager
Aleksandar Jankovic has been part of the Chinese football system since 2018, as the coach of various age-group teams.
He was elevated to the senior team role less than a year ago and China has had a mixed run since then.
This is the first senior national team assignment for the former Red Star Belgrade midfielder; he did have a stint with Serbia’s U21 team a decade ago.
Given his experience working with youth, it is unsurprising that Jankovic has included a bunch of youngsters in his Asian Cup squad. But whether he has the experience to lead them in a major tournament remains to be seen.
Schedule
13 January 2024, 5.30 pm: China – Tajikistan – Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha
17 January 2024, 2.30 pm: Lebanon – China – Al Thumama Stadium, Doha
22 January 2024, 6 pm: Qatar – China – Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan
| No. | Position | Name | Club | Caps | Goals |
| 1 | Goalkeeper | YAN JUNLING | SHANGHAI PORT FC (CHN) | 53 | 0 |
| 2 | Defender | JIANG GUANGTAI | SHANGHAI PORT FC (CHN) | 21 | 1 |
| 3 | Defender | ZHU CHENJIE | SHANGHAI SHENHUA FC (CHN) | 23 | 1 |
| 4 | Defender | LI LEI | BEIJING GUOAN FC (CHN) | 12 | 0 |
| 5 | Defender | ZHANG LINPENG | SHANGHAI PORT FC (CHN) | 101 | 6 |
| 6 | Midfielder | WANG SHANGYUAN | HENAN FC (CHN) | 12 | 1 |
| 7 | Forward | WU LEI | SHANGHAI PORT FC (CHN) | 91 | 32 |
| 8 | Midfielder | XU XIN | SHANGHAI PORT FC (CHN) | 13 | 1 |
| 9 | Forward | ZHANG YUNING | BEIJING GUOAN FC (CHN) | 25 | 5 |
| 10 | Midfielder | XIE PENGFEI | WUHAN THREE TOWNS FC (CHN) | 13 | 0 |
| 11 | Forward | TAN LONG | CHANGCHUN YATAI FC (CHN) | 17 | 3 |
| 12 | Goalkeeper | JIAN TAO | CHENGDU RONGCHENG FC (CHN) | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Defender | XU HAOFENG | SHENZHEN FC (CHN) | 4 | 0 |
| 14 | Goalkeeper | WANG DALEI | SHANDONG TAISHAN FC (CHN) | 30 | 0 |
| 15 | Midfielder | WU XI | SHANGHAI SHENHUA FC (CHN) | 88 | 9 |
| 16 | Midfielder | GAO TIANYI | BEIJING GUOAN FC (CHN) | 4 | 0 |
| 17 | Midfielder | CHEN PU | SHANDONG TAISHAN FC (CHN) | 7 | 0 |
| 18 | Midfielder | DAI WEIJUN | SHANGHAI SHENHUA FC (CHN) | 12 | 0 |
| 19 | Defender | LIU YANG | SHANDONG TAISHAN FC (CHN) | 22 | 0 |
| 20 | Midfielder | WEI SHIHAO | WUHAN THREE TOWNS FC (CHN) | 26 | 3 |
| 21 | Midfielder | LIU BINBIN | SHANDONG TAISHAN FC (CHN) | 18 | 1 |
| 22 | Defender | WU SHAOCONG | GENCLERBIRLIGI SPOR KULUBU(TUR) | 7 | 0 |
| 23 | Defender | LIN LIANGMING | DALIAN PROFESSIONAL FC (CHN) | 7 | 2 |
| 24 | Defender | JIANG SHENGLONG | SHANGHAI SHENHUA FC (CHN) | 6 | 0 |
| 25 | Goalkeeper | LIU DIANZUO | WUHAN THREE TOWNS FC (CHN) | 4 | 0 |
| 26 | Midfielder | WANG QIUMING | TIANJIN JINMEN TIGER FC (CHN) | 5 | 1 |
