China 2023 AFC Asian Cup Squad

China 2023 AFC Asian Cup Squad

Head Coach: Aleksandar Jankovic

No. Pos. Player Date of Birth/Age Caps Goals Club 1 GK Yan Junling 28 January 1991 (age 32) 53 0 Shanghai Port 13 GK Wang Dalei 10 January 1989 (age 34) 29 0 Shandong Taishan 25 GK Liu Dianzuo 25 June 1990 (age 33) 4 0 Wuhan Three Towns 12 GK Jian Tao 22 June 2001 (age 22) 0 0 Chengdu Roncheng 5 DF Zhang Linpeng 9 May 1989 (age 34) 101 6 Shanghai Port 3 DF Zhu Chenjie 23 August 2000 (age 23) 23 1 Shanghai Shenhua 19 DF Liu Yang 17 June 1995 (age 28) 23 0 Shandong Taishan 2 DF Jiang Guangtai 30 May 1994 (age 29) 21 1 Shanghai Port 4 DF Li Lei 30 May 1992 (age 31) 12 0 Beijing Guoan 22 DF Wu Shaocong 20 March 2000 (age 23) 7 0 Gençlerbirliği 24 DF Jiang Shenglong 24 December 200 (age 23) 6 0 Shanghai Shenhua 13 DF Xu Haofeng 27 January 1999 (age 24) 4 0 Shenzhen F.C. 15 MF Wu Xi (captain) 19 February 1989 (age 34) 88 9 Shanghai Shenhua 8 MF Xu Xin 19 April 1994 (age 29) 13 1 Shanghai Port 6 MF Wang Shangyuan 2 June 1993 (age 30) 12 1 Henan 18 MF Dai Weijun 25 July 1999 (age 24) 12 0 Shanghai Shenhua 16 MF Gao Tianyi 1 July 1998 (age 25) 4 0 Beijing Guoan 26 MF Wang Qiuming 9 January 1993 (age 30) 6 1 Tianjin Jinmen Tiger 7 FW Wu Lei 19 November 1991 (age 32) 91 32 Shanghai Port 20 FW Wei Shihao 8 April 1995 (age 28) 26 3 Wuhan Three Towns 9 FW Zhang Yuning 5 January 1997 (age 26) 25 5 Beijing Guoan 21 FW Liu Binbin 16 June 1993 (age 30) 18 1 Shandong Taishan 11 FW Tan Long 1 April 1988 (age 35) 17 3 Changchur Yatai 10 FW Xie Pengfei 29 June 1993 (age 30) 13 0 Wuhan Three Towns 17 FW Chen Pu 15 January 1997 (age 26) 7 0 Shandong Taishan 23 FW Lin Liangming 4 June 1997 (age 26) 7 2 Dalian Pro

Most Capped Player: Li Weifeng – 112
Top Goalscorer: Hao Haidong – 39

China 2023 Asian Cup Preview

The 2023 Asian Cup gets underway in January, and the original hosts China head to Qatar dreaming of lifting the title for the first time ever. China were originally due to host the competition last summer, but were relinquished of their hosting rights due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the country’s zero-COVID policy.

Led by Serbian head coach Aleksandar Jankovic, the Chinese finished as runners-up to Syria in their second round Group A qualifying matches with star forward Wu Lei finishing as the group’s top scorer with eight goals.

Having been allocated a position in ‘Pot 2’ based on their FIFA World Ranking in April 2023, China were drawn into Group A for the tournament’s finals, and will battle hosts Qatar, Tajikistan and Lebanon for a spot in the knockout rounds.

Their campaign gets underway against Tajikistan on the 13 January, followed by a clash against the group’s third seeds Lebanon on 17 January, before they close out the group stage against Qatar in Al Rayyan on 22 January.

China Player To Watch

Shanghai Port striker Wu Lei is undoubtedly the one to watch from a Chinese perspective.

As previously alluded to, the 32-year-old finished the qualifying campaign as top scorer with eight goals, and ended the 2023 Chinese Super League as the joint-second highest goalscorer with 18 goals as his side went on to lift the league title. Not only that, but he is currently the joint all-time top scorer in the Chinese Super League alongside Elkeson, boasting 131 goals apiece.

His name is perhaps a recognisable one to those that follow La Liga, as he spent three years with Spanish side Espanyol between 2019 and 2022, joining from Shanghai SIPG for reported fee €2 million, before making a return to China in August 2022.