The defeat in the tournament made him the worst in history → It's a problem until he's old! The 71-year-old coach of the national team is not supposed to be the coach!

Jun 08, 2025

Voices of criticism against the Chinese national team coach, Branko Ivankovic, continue to appear.

China's Sohu reported on the 8th (Korea time) 'Criticizing the Chinese national team coach appeared'

Sohu said 'China's national team finished last in the third Asian qualifying round for the third time since 1998. China's central media did not hold back and criticized Ivankovic. He pointed out that his attitude was not the problem, but that nothing had been achieved.

China lost 0-1 in the ninth away match of Group C against Indonesia in the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North-China World Cup at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia on the 5th. It was a graduation exhibition. China, which had only one effective shot, did not have any strength against Indonesia, and the defeat left it at the bottom of Group C. As Saudi Arabia beat Bahrain to rank third (13 points), China's hopes of advancing to the World Cup have completely disappeared.

In the 45th minute of the first half, China committed a foul in the process of blocking Kambuaya, which penetrated recklessly into the box, and the referee declared a penalty after activating a VAR on-field review. Romeni scored the first goal in the opposite direction of the goalkeeper's body toward the right corner. China then lost after failing to overcome a one-goal gap.

This is the first World Cup in which the number of countries that qualify for the finals will increase from 32 to 48. However, China has failed to overcome even the Asian stage despite the increased number of tickets to the World Cup, continuing its humiliating history of failing to advance to the World Cup finals for six consecutive times since the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup.

After the game, the criticism was directed at Ivankovic. Chinese fans criticized every word of his remarks. Coach Ivankovic "Congratulations to Indonesia" after the match"I knew before I came that the weather conditions for the away game were very bad. Nevertheless, I thank the players for their hard work" When the remarks were reported, Chinese fans criticized the "worst coach of all time", "The players are terrible, the coach is worse", "It's really easy to make money", "The worst coach of all time in China".

China's central media also joined the move. He pointed out Ivankovic's age. The central media raised the issue of age, saying 'Ivankovic is 71 years old', and some Chinese fans joined the criticism. Sohu said 'Ivankovic lags far behind advanced football. The formation was also fixed 10 years ago. Nor does he want long-term development. A 70-year-old man has neither energy nor physical strength. You can't just play with your experience."

However, there are not a few coaches in their 70s in the soccer world. Head coaches in their 70s, including Roman coach Claudio Ranieri, Jorge Jejues, and Senol Guinez, are also active in European soccer. Not only the managerial problem, but also the sluggishness of Chinese soccer itself cannot be ignored.

Still, Ivankovic is expected to step down as head coach. Sohu says 'Ivankovic will now be packing. We haven't shown anything over the past year, and this will be a lesson for the association.'

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.