Coach Ivankovic, who shattered the dream of 1.4 billion continents, is likely to lead the East Asian Cup...Why?
Jun 08, 2025
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China (No. 94 in FIFA rankings) lost 0-1 after a rough match against Indonesia (123rd) in Group C of the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North-China World Cup at Gelora Bungarno Stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia, on the 5th (Korea time).
China, which failed to reach the World Cup after the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, remained at six points due to the defeat, and failed to advance to the World Cup finals for the sixth consecutive time as the score gap with fourth-place Indonesia (12 points), which is qualified for the fourth qualifying round, widened to six points with one game left in the final match.
In addition to players who showed lethargy throughout the third qualifying round of the World Cup, fierce criticism was poured out against Chinese coach Branko Ivankovic, who consistently used conservative players','insufficient offensive tactics', and'insufficient discipline'.
Coach Brankovic of Croatia, who took the helm of China in February last year, won only three A matches and had a winning rate of about 23%. It is a disastrous report card compared to any team he played, including Hanover, Iran's national team, Dynamo Zagreb, Persepolis, Al Ahli and Oman's national team.
However, citing recent remarks by soccer journalist Mother Sing, the Chinese portal 'Sohu Dotcom' predicted that Ivankovic is likely to take over the team without being replaced even after he is eliminated from the World Cup finals.
'The Chinese Football Association is, at best, only an executive body, and whether or not to replace the coach requires judgment from various organizations. The reason is that there is no possibility of a clear statement of position right away because it takes a considerable amount of time to change the coach.
'In addition, the biggest challenge for the Chinese Football Association is that it has no funds. Also, some qualified leader cannot take a risk. In the end, Chinese soccer continued to lose due to the influence of these non-competitive and non-football elements. This is the most genuine Chinese football, he pointed out.
The 2025 EAFF E-1 Championship (East Asian Cup) will be held in Yongin, Korea from the 7th to the 16th of next month. In the men's team, four teams from Korea, Japan, China, and Hong Kong will compete for self-defense. China should participate in the tournament in the worst atmosphere.
China's third qualifying round for the World Cup is not over yet. On the 10th, in Chongqing, China, he is scheduled to hold a 'escape war' with Bahrain. The last pride of China's 1.4 billion continent is at stake.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
