China announces the recruitment of 3 Brazilian players to qualify for the 2022 World Cup

The Chinese Football Association (CFA) on Monday summoned five foreign players born abroad to join the national team, in order to participate in the Asian double qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup and the 2023 Asian Cup later this month.

China, which aspires to become a football superpower, has begun a policy of recruiting players born outside the country in 2019, in a quick solution to qualify for the Qatar World Cup.

Coach Lee Tae called up 26 players to the squad that included the Brazilian attacking trio of Elkeson, Fernando Henrique and Alan Carvalho, as well as their Gwangju teammate Tias Browning, the former Everton center-back who was born in Liverpool and played for the age groups in England.

The fifth naturalized is Nico Yenares, a former Arsenal midfielder, who also played matches with the Three Lions youth.

In the last game "Dragon" (77 in the world rankings) played in the qualifiers in November 2019, when they lost 1-2 against Syria under the supervision of former Italian coach Marcello Lippi, only Elkeson and Yenares were in the squad.

China's hopes of reaching the World Cup appear shaky, but they are also strengthened by the return of striker Wu Lee, who did not participate in recent training sessions, to commit himself with his Spanish team Espanyol.

Under Lee, the former Everton player who took over when Libby resigned after the defeat against Syria, China is second in Group A, eight points behind leaders Syria.

The leaders of each of the eight groups and the top four second-placed teams advance to the third round of the qualifiers.

The rest of the Group A matches are scheduled to take place in China between May 30 and June 15, with the host nation facing Guam, the Maldives, the Philippines and Syria.

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