Camacho’s 25 Man Roster for Iraq Match Released

Camacho has learned that all black is slimming, plus he's taking up the local habit of carrying a murse...

There was a lot of talk about what potential changes Jose Antonio Camacho would make to the national team side as they face off against Iraq on October 11th. A number of names were thrown out as players who Camacho had his eye on, as it turns out, very few were accurate.

Camacho dropped Gao regulars Qu Bo, Yang Xu, and Yang Hao from the current lineup. There is not a lot of surprise about the dropping of Qu and Yang Xu, though it seems a rash decision. For whatever reason, Camacho doesn’t seem to like Yang Hao, he hasn’t used him at all despite Gao calling him one of China’s most important players. The injured Rong Hao is out of the lineup as well, replaced by youngster Zheng Zheng, who has yet to play for the national team.

New inclusions Wu Pingfeng and Zhang Lie come as a massive surprise to anybody watching Chinese soccer. The two 29 year olds have each played in only one national team match, for Wu that one came back in 2002. Beyond these two veterans, Camacho is bringing in youngsters like the already mentioned Zheng as well as Liu Xuepeng, Zhang Wenzhao and the somewhat unknown Zhang Chengdong. With that in mind, it appears obvious that Gao Lin will be the striker Camacho relies on to take down Iraq.

The 25 players called into camp are:

Guangzhou Evergrande: Sun Xiang, Gao Lin, Feng Xiaoting, Zheng Zhi, Wu Pingfeng
Shandong Luneng: Deng Zhuoxiang, Hao Junmin, Zheng Zheng
Tianjin Teda: Li Weifeng, Yu Dabao, Chen Tao
Shaanxi Renhe: Zhang Lie, Yu Hai, Zhao Xuri
Hangzhou Greentown: Du Wei, Jiang Bo
Shanghai Shenhua: Feng Renliang, Wu Xi
Beijing Guoan: Yang Zhi
Dalian Shide: Li Xuepeng
Qingdao Jonoon: Liu Jian
Changchun Yatai: Zhang Wenzhao
Jiangsu Sainty: Liu Jianye
SC Biera-Mar: Zhang Chengdong
Jeonbuk Hyundai: Huang Bowen

by bcheng