The mood is that Chinese football has ultimately failed the naturalization of Oscar Mariutu (26, Yunnan Yikun).
Chinese 'Sohu' reported on the 15th (Korea time), "The real reason for Oscar's failed naturalization has been revealed. It was an unreasonable demand unrelated to football."
The Chinese national team will play two matches in the final Asian qualifiers for the 2026 North and Central American World Cup during the A matches in March. They will face Saudi Arabia on the 21st and then meet Australia at home on the 25th.
China is facing the crisis of being eliminated from the qualifiers. Currently, China is in last place in Group C with 6 points. They are tied on points with third-place Indonesia, fourth-place Saudi Arabia, and fifth-place Bahrain, but they are significantly behind Bahrain in goal difference (-10 compared to -5). With four games remaining, it is difficult to overturn the goal difference.
The remaining schedule includes matches against Saudi Arabia, Australia, Indonesia, and Bahrain. If China fails to qualify for the World Cup again, it will mark six consecutive failures to reach the finals. Since the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, China has never made it to the final stage.
Therefore, Chinese football is betting everything on this March A match. Chinese media are uniformly describing it as "a fight for life and death." Blanc Ivanovic, the head coach, has also made the decision to select young players, excluding veterans like 1989-born defender Zhang Linpeng.
A new naturalized player has also joined the team. Heo Yungyung (Yunnan Yikun), who won the scoring title in the 2nd division of Norway for the 2024 season, has received his first call-up from coach Ivanovic. He is a midfielder from Norway who changed his nationality under the Chinese government's naturalization policy.
Additionally, Brazilian-born midfielder Serginho (naturalization name Saiyaljiniaow) has also joined the team. Born in 1995 in São Paulo, he developed in the youth team of Santos, where Neymar once played, and successfully made his professional debut. Although he did not share the field with Neymar as he joined the first team at a very young age, Saiyaljiniaow was part of the youth team during Neymar's time there.
Later, Saiyaljiniaow joined Japan's Kashima Antlers in 2018, stepping onto the Asian stage, and began his connection with Chinese football when he signed with Changchun Yatai in early 2020. After five years at Changchun, he joined Beijing Guoan, which was formerly Kim Minjae's team, on a free agent basis last month.
Saiyaljiniaow recently completed his naturalization process in China. He has already received a legitimate Chinese identification card and flew to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates to join the Chinese national team training. The Chinese national team plans to field Saiyaljiniaow starting from the March A matches.
However, the naturalization of the Congolese striker Oscar, who was also expected to be a naturalized resource, did not materialize. China tried to integrate him into the national team before the March A matches but failed to complete the procedures in time.
Oscar made his debut in Chinese football when he joined Yanbian Funde in 2018. He transferred to Shanxi Chang'an the following year, and in 2020, he joined Changzhou Sungzu, where he was active for four years. His career stats in the Chinese Super League (CSL) include 159 matches, 64 goals, and 27 assists. Earlier this year, he found a new home with Yunnan Yikun but has yet to play a match.
Now, the atmosphere is one where his naturalization might be canceled. Sohu reported, "Oscar's naturalization is said to be 99% likely to fall through. The Chinese national team has been focused on the naturalization of Oscar and Serginho since January. However, neither has yet obtained eligibility. Given the current situation, Serginho may complete the procedures, but Oscar seems to be facing a situation where he cannot participate."
If Oscar's naturalization fails, he could also be released by his team. The media pointed out, "Oscar, who failed to naturalize, has disappeared from the view of Chinese fans. If he ultimately cannot naturalize, there is a high possibility he will be discarded by Yunnan Yikun, who has already signed five foreign players and thus has a full roster."
The reasons for the difficulties in Oscar's naturalization have also been revealed. Initially, it was reported that there was a lack of relevant materials due to the unstable situation in his home country, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, citing incomplete documentation.
However, Sohu contended, "In fact, Oscar's naturalization documents are complete and not lacking at all. This means that his naturalization failure is not due to typical factors. According to internal sources, Oscar's naturalization did not proceed because of issues unrelated to football. External factors are a hindrance."
The real reason seems to be the conditions Oscar proposed for his naturalization. The media stated, "The most likely assertion right now is that Oscar wants to bring his family with him for the naturalization. This is certainly an unreasonable demand. As is well-known, the barriers to naturalization in China are relatively high. If conditions are not met, it is difficult to pass."
In addition, Sohu added, "Oscar himself clearly meets the naturalization conditions. However, his family does not meet the conditions. This is likely the true reason for Oscar's failure to naturalize."
For now, Chinese football has changed its position to one that does not care if Oscar does not naturalize. Sohu stated, "In fact, Oscar's naturalization status does not significantly affect the Chinese national team. After years of stagnation in the Super League, his actual ability is nearly on par with Chinese forwards. Therefore, fans are not overly concerned."
Now, Chinese media are shouting that they only need Saiyaljiniaow. Sohu explained, "Oscar is not an essential player for the Chinese national team. Serginho is the core player who can change the team's skill and tactics. He can provide sweet assists to Zhang Yuning."
Instead, it seems there is an expectation for other Chinese forwards. The media remarked, "In Oscar's position are Wei Shaohao, Lin Liangming, and Behram Abduwelih. Furthermore, since Oscar last played in August of last year, he cannot be an immediate asset. The attacking line has relatively many players to choose from. Rather than hoping for the unknown Oscar, young players like Wang Yidong and Liu Chengyu should be given opportunities."
Among them, Wang Yidong, born in 2006, is drawing attention. Sohu stated, "Coach Ivanovic has transformed Wang Yidong into a central striker during training. Zhang Yuning has had little playing time with his team, and Behram has suffered a minor injury. Therefore, Wang Yidong will be favored. He is the fastest and most capable of breaking through in the national team."
[Photo] CSL, Sohu.
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