Chinese striker Zhang Yuning (No.9) competes in the World Cup Asian qualifying match against Indonesia on October 15, 2024 in Qingdao, East China’s Shandong Province. Photo: Cui Meng/GT

The Chinese Football Association (CFA) announced Thursday the line-up for a 27-man squad that will train in preparation for the World Cup Asian qualifiers in June.

Under-20 players Wang Yudong of Zhejiang FC and Liu Chengyu of Shanghai Shenhua are included on the list.

Wang, currently tying at second place with eight goals across 12 Chinese Super League (CSL) appearances, has been pinned as the national team's new hope for offense.

Wang is the only Chinese player in the top 10 in the CSL scoring list, while Liu has also scored three goals across four appearances this season.

The Chinese national team will need to secure two wins against Indonesia and Bahrain in June to keep their World Cup qualifying hopes alive. They will visit Jakarta, Indonesia on June 5 before hosting Bahrain in Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality on June 10.

Domestic leagues are now on hiatus until mid-June, which will allow the China internationals to gather and train together for their national duties.

Besides, the new squad will also see the return of star striker Wu Lei of Shanghai Port, who was sidelined due to a knee surgery since the beginning of 2025.

The inclusion of Chengdu Rongcheng player Yang Mingyang, a former Switzerland U21 international who recently completed his switch to China, will also boost the squad depth of the Chinese national team in the midfield, especially after midfielder Xie Wenneng of Shandong Luneng was suspended from playing in the Indonesia match.

The game against Indonesia remains the most critical one, though historically the Chinese team holds the upper hand. China defeated Indonesia 2-1 in October 2024 at home in the previous meet between the two teams in the Asian qualifiers.

Indonesia unveiled their 32-man squad on May 18. Eighteen of their players are naturalized, including German Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach-bound Kevin Diks, a former Netherlands U21 international.

The Indonesian team stunned Saudi Arabia at home with a 2-0 victory in November 2024, and won against Bahrain 1-0 in March.

Both the Chinese and Indonesian teams will trim their squad to 23 players before the qualifying game starts.