BEIJING, March 20 (Xinhua) -- China's men's national team on Thursday named a 26-player squad for the upcoming FIFA Series in Australia, featuring a notable influx of young talent with nine under-23 players included.

Eight of them were members of the China U23 side that finished runner-up at the AFC U23 Asian Cup in January, namely Wang Yudong, Xu Bin, Hu Hetao, Liu Haofan, Behram Abduweli, Yang Xi, Kuai Jiwen and Umidjan Yusup.

Shanghai Shenhua forward Liu Chengyu, 20, was also included, bringing the total number of U23 players in the squad to nine.

Goalkeeper Li Hao, who impressed during the U23 Asian Cup campaign, was not selected.

China will travel to Australia for two international friendlies, facing Curacao on March 27 and Cameroon on March 31, for the first matches under newly appointed head coach Shao Jiayi.

Following is the 26-man roster:

Goalkeepers: Yan Junling, Liu Dianzuo, Ma Zhen;

Defenders: Wei Zhen, Yang Xi, Umidjan Yusup, Zhu Chenjie, Hu Hetao, Liu Yang, Liu Haofan;

Midfielder: Kuai Jiwen, Gao Tianyi, Wei Shihao, Sai Erjiniao, Lin Liangming, Huang Zhengyu, Xie Wenneng, Ba Dun, Huang Jiahui, Cheng Jin, Wang Shangyuan, Xu Bin;

Forwards: Liu Chengyu, Behram Abduweli, Zhang Yuning, Wang Yudong. ■