London-born Nico Yennaris has become the first naturalised player to be called up to the Chinese national team.
The former Meadow Lane midfielder was named in Marcello Lippi's 25-man China squad on Thursday.
Yennaris, who made two appearances for Notts County while on loan from Arsenal in 2012, joined Beijing Guoan in January.
Due to the Chinese Super League's limited quota for foreign stars he opted to renounce his UK passport and become a Chinese citizen so that the club could register him as a home-grown player.
And in doing so, made himself eligible for selection for the national team.
Now he has been named to represent Team Dragon in games against the Philippines and Tajikistan, as they prepare for the East Asia Cup.
Since making the £4.9m switch from Arsenal, Yennaris has made nine appearances for Guoan, scoring twice.
