Branko Ivankovic's explanation on why Li Yuanyi, the Shandong Taishan midfielder, was not selected into the squad: "When it comes to player selection, we bring those who are performing well into the national team. In the last match, due to some injuries, we brought in Li Yuanyi to strengthen the midfield. But for this match, we placed more emphasis on attacking, so we decided not to include Li Yuanyi in the squad."