China names a revamped 23-player squad ahead of AFC Women’s Asian Cup opener against Taiwan
- The national team are expected to land in Mumbai on Saturday ahead of their opening Group A match
- Head coach Shui Qingxia has axed several players after poor performance at the Tokyo Games
China’s national women’s football team has named a 23-player squad ahead of next week’s AFC Women’s Asian Cup opener against Taiwan.
The new-look squad, a mix of experienced and fresh talent, follows a month-long training camp in Shanghai, where 34 of the country’s top female footballers were vying for a place in the team.
Newly appointed head coach Shui Qingxia has seemingly stuck to her guns in reshaping the squad, with several key members of the Tokyo Olympics team omitted from December’s training camp.
Among those named for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup team are Li Ying, China’s first openly gay athlete, who has appeared more than 100 times for her country, but not played since the Tokyo 2020 qualifiers in Australia last February.
Wang Shuang, an integral member of the Tokyo Olympics squad and arguably the biggest name in Chinese women’s football, will form the core part of the midfield, alongside Yao Wei of Wuhan Jiangda FC and Shanghai Shengli’s Yang Lina and Zhang Xin.
But perhaps the biggest move from coach Shui is the inclusion of Tottenham Hotspur forward Tang Jiali, another to return to the fold having been omitted from last summer’s tournament in Japan.
