YOU WON’T BELIEVE THE BRAZILIAN PLAYER CHINA GAVE A CITIZENSHIP TO PLAY IN THEIR NATIONAL

Serginho has become a Chinese citizen and officially enrolled in the Chinese national team roster. Sérgio Antônio Soler de Oliveira Júnior, commonly known as Serginho, is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Chinese Super League club Beijing Guoan which he joined this February from Changchun Yatai. Reports say he has already joined the Chinese squad in Saudi Arabia where they are preparing for their FIFA World Cup Asia qualifiers against Saudi Arabia on the 20th of March and Australia on the 25th. Currently China is 6th that is bottom of group C on shared points with 3 other teams in the group.

China is hoping the inclusion of Serginho in the team will help them go closer to international success. His debut matches are highly anticipated, especially against formidable opponents like Saudi Arabia. Last season he featured in 24 games for Changchun Yatal scoring 8 goals with 8 assists.
Serginho, 29, is not the only new naturalized player joining the national team. Midfielder Hou Yongyong (Yunnan Yikun), who won the scoring title in the Norwegian 2nd division in the 2024 season, has been called up by coach Ivankovic for the first time. However, the naturalization of striker Oscar Maritu (Yunnan Yikun), from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is expected to be delayed.
However, it remains uncertain whether China can truly overcome Saudi Arabia. This is because, in September of last year, China suffered an astonishing 1-2 upset loss to Saudi Arabia even at home.