# China national football B team

China B is a secondary football team run occasionally as support for the China national football team.

## History

Before Joining FIFA, the Chinese national football team's main duty was to play friendlies with friendly countries. Sometimes a B team was created when the national team was occupied elsewhere. There was no obvious age or skill difference between the A and B teams. In 1957, the national white team was defeated by the national red team and lost the ticket to Melbourne. After the defeat, the national white team was regarded as the national B team before relegating to a regional team, the Tianjin Football Team. More B teams were created from time and time since. Coaches include Zhang Jingtian, Ha Zengguang, Fang Renqiu and Chen Fulai,
Chinese Football Association organised a China B team in 1981 with the name of China Hope in order to provide more international experiences for the young talents of the league. The team was dissolved in 1982 after a brawl with the Tunisia national football team. In 1984 another B team was established, coached by Zhang Jingtian. In 1986 a third national team, the national yellow team was created based on the championship team Liaoning FC.
The B team sometimes compete in the CFA leagues and won the league title in 1989 under the coaching of Xu Genbao. In the same year FIFA and IOC agreed to limit soccer players participating in the Olympics to be under 23, and the China B was rebranded as the China national under-23 football team.
On 2 May 2017, a new China B team was reorganised by China national football team manager Marcello Lippi.

## Coaching staff

| Position | Name | Nationality |
| Head coach | Marcelo Lippi | Italy |
| Assistant coaches | Li Tie | China |
| Assistant coaches | Massimiliano Maddaloni | Italy |
| Assistant coaches | Narciso Pezzotti | Italy |
| Assistant coaches | Fabrizio Del Rosso | Italy |
| Goalkeeper coach | Michelangelo Rampulla | Italy |
| Fitness coach | Claudio Gaudino | Italy |
| Management | Massimo Neri | Italy |
| Tactics analyst | Silvano Cotti | Italy |
| Technical employee | Enrico Castellacci | Italy |
| Staff | Ricardo Gallego | Spain |

## Players
### Current squad

* The following 22 players were called up in the training camp as China national B football team. Before the training began, injured Xu Xin and Yang Xu were replaced by Liu Junshuai and Yang Liyu.
* Match date: 15 - 17 May 2017
| Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
| 1GK | Shi Xiaotian | (1990-03-06) 6 March 1990 (age 34) | 0 | 0 | Liaoning FC |
| 1GK | Zou Dehai | (1993-02-27) 27 February 1993 (age 31) | 0 | 0 | Hangzhou Greentown |
| 2DF | Deng Hanwen | (1995-01-08) 8 January 1995 (age 29) | 0 | 0 | Beijing Renhe |
| 2DF | Gao Zhunyi | (1995-08-21) 21 August 1995 (age 29) | 0 | 0 | Hebei China Fortune |
| 2DF | Shi Ke | (1993-01-08) 8 January 1993 (age 31) | 0 | 0 | Shanghai SIPG |
| 2DF | He Guan | (1993-01-25) 25 January 1993 (age 31) | 0 | 0 | Shanghai SIPG |
| 2DF | Wang Shangyuan | (1993-06-02) 2 June 1993 (age 31) | 0 | 0 | Guangzhou Evergrande |
| 2DF | Fu Huan | (1993-07-12) 12 July 1993 (age 31) | 0 | 0 | Shanghai SIPG |
| 2DF | Liu Junshuai | (1995-01-10) 10 January 1995 (age 29) | 0 | 0 | Shandong Luneng |
| 2DF | Liu Yiming | (1995-02-28) 28 February 1995 (age 29) | 0 | 0 | Tianjin Quanjian |
| 2DF | Li Shuai | (1995-06-18) 18 June 1995 (age 29) | 0 | 0 | Dalian Yifang |
| 2DF | Yao Junsheng | (1995-10-29) 29 October 1995 (age 28) | 0 | 0 | Meizhou Hakka |
| 3MF | Liao Lisheng | (1993-04-29) 29 April 1993 (age 31) | 0 | 0 | Guangzhou Evergrande |
| 3MF | Liu Binbin | (1993-06-16) 16 June 1993 (age 31) | 0 | 0 | Shandong Luneng |
| 3MF | Chen Zhizhao | (1988-03-14) 14 March 1988 (age 36) | 0 | 0 | Guangzhou R&F |
| 3MF | Li Lei | (1992-05-30) 30 May 1992 (age 32) | 0 | 0 | Beijing Guoan |
| 3MF | Wu Xinghan | (1993-02-24) 24 February 1993 (age 31) | 0 | 0 | Shandong Luneng |
| 3MF | Tang Shi | (1995-01-24) 24 January 1995 (age 29) | 0 | 0 | Beijing Guoan |
| 3MF | He Chao | (1995-04-19) 19 April 1995 (age 29) | 0 | 0 | Changchun Yatai |
| 4FW | Xiao Zhi | (1985-05-28) 28 May 1985 (age 39) | 0 | 0 | Guangzhou R&F |
| 4FW | Wei Shihao | (1995-04-08) 8 April 1995 (age 29) | 0 | 0 | Shanghai SIPG |
| 4FW | Yang Liyu | (1997-02-13) 13 February 1997 (age 27) | 0 | 0 | Tianjin Teda |

### Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up within the last twelve months.
| Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club | Latest call-up |
| MF | Xu Xin | (1994-04-19) 19 April 1994 (age 30) | 0 | 0 | Guangzhou Evergrande | Training Camp, 15–17 May 2017 $^{INJ}$ |
| FW | Yang Xu | (1988-02-12) 12 February 1988 (age 36) | 0 | 0 | Liaoning FC | Training Camp, 15–17 May 2017 $^{INJ}$ |