"The first phase of the 'Shao' national team framework has been established, with youth integration to follow.

Reported by journalist Chen Yong. On January 1st, the Chinese Football Association announced the first training roster for the national team in 2026. This marks the inaugural training under head coach Shao Jiayi. Since the U23 team is competing in the U23 Asian Cup, players born in 2003 and after are absent from this list. The process of bringing in younger players will continue in future training sessions.

The national team's coaching staff is brand new, with Shao Jiayi as the head coach and Tong Jie as the team leader; naturally, they are the two main figures in charge of the team.

The coaching team consists of five members: Rainer Maurer, Yang Zhi, Zhou Ting, Emilio Fernández, and Telmo Noval. Maurer, Noval, and Yang all previously worked with Shao Jiayi at Qingdao West Coast. Maurer serves as Shao's primary assistant, Noval is the fitness coach, and Yang is the goalkeeper coach. Among the two new additions, Zhou Ting is head coach of Dalian Yingbo Haifa U21 team and led them to the 2025 U21 league championship, while Emilio Fernández is entirely new to the coaching squad.

The two trainers are Liu Jian and Yu Hanchao. Liu was part of Shao Jiayi’s coaching staff at Qingdao West Coast, while Yu Hanchao has just retired and is joining the national team coaching group in a sort of 'internship' capacity. Trainers have always been a key pathway for developing local coaches at various national team levels.

Other team members include the usual roles such as management, technical analysts, team doctors, sports therapists, equipment managers, and translators. Among the foreign coaches, Sergio Gagli is the technical analyst, and Leo Cheresa is the sports therapist.

This 26-player national team roster does not include the U23 squad. Chengdu Rongcheng center-back Li Yang, Tianjin Jinmen Tiger goalkeeper Yan Bingliang, and Dalian Yingbo full-back Lv Zhuoyi are all first-time call-ups; additionally, Shanghai Shenhua goalkeeper Ma Zhen, who was loaned to Yunnan Yukun last season (and was a supplementary call-up in 2023), and Shandong Taishan midfielder Duan Liuyu, who performed well at Qingdao West Coast last season (and was in the 39-player training list in 2022), are considered new faces despite previous training camp participation.

The age distribution of the 26 players is as follows:

1989/1990 age group (1 player): Liu Dianzuo;

1991/1992 age group (2 players): Yan Junling, Li Lei;

1993/1994 age group (2 players): Li Yuanyi, Wang Shangyuan;

1995/1996 age group (6 players): Wei Shihao, Serginho, Gao Zhunyi, Liu Yang, Barton, Cheng Jin;

1997/1998 age group (8 players): Wei Zhen, Ma Zhen, Li Yang, Zhang Yuning, Lin Liangming, Cao Yongjing, Huang Zhengyu, Duan Liuyu;

1999/2000 age group (5 players): Zhu Chenjie, Xu Haoyang, Wu Shaocong, Yan Bingliang, Huang Jiahui;

2001/2002 age group (2 players): Xie Wenneng, Lv Zhuoyi.

Looking at the age groups, players born in 1997/1998 form the largest group, which coincides with the prime of their careers, followed by those born in 1995/1996 and 1999/2000. The five senior players aged 33 and above provide experience for the team. Since the U23 squad is preparing for the Asian Cup, players born in 2003 and later were not selected.

Because no younger players were included, this national team is not a full representation. Therefore, this training camp mainly focuses on fundamental tactical and technical training to familiarize players with Shao Jiayi’s strategies and to begin team cohesion. Of course, as this is Shao Jiayi’s first training session as head coach with several new faces and returning players, evaluating the players is also a key objective.

There are no further matches after this U23 Asian Cup, so once it concludes, the national team can fully call up young players. At that time, many young players are likely to be selected, such as current national team members Hu Hetao and Wang Yudong, as well as promising talents born in 2003/2004 like Bai Helamu, Wumitijiang, Liu Haofan, Xu Bin, Li Hao, and those born in 2005/2006 such as Kuai Jiwen, Li Xinxiang, Yang Xi, Mao Weijie, Zhu Pengyu, and Peng Xiao. These players have shown good performances either in the national team or the Chinese Super League. In fact, other young players may also be called up based on their league performances.

At that point, the current 26-player national team list combined with the dozen or so players born after 2003 will likely form the national team’s extended roster. Naturally, whether veteran or young players, anyone who performs outstandingly and consistently will have the door open to the national team.