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| ◇Sportschosun DB |
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The Chinese national team, which was eliminated from the third qualifying round for the 2026 North-China World Cup, is expected to play the upcoming East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Championship (hereinafter referred to as the East Asian Cup) without a head coach.
Citing a local media report on the 16th, China's Sohu Dotcom reported that the East Asian Cup to be held in Korea in July will be an acting head coach system unless something unexpected happens.
China terminated their contract with manager Branko Ivankovic after losing 0-1 to Indonesia. Coach Ivankovic returned to China after the match against Indonesia and left the country immediately after a meeting with Song Kai, president of the Chinese Football Association. It is known that the foreign coaching team with Ivankovic left China earlier than this.
Since then, various figures have been mentioned for the next head coach position. The names of Korean leaders have been mentioned, including Seo Jung-won, who leads Chengdu Longcheng in the Chinese Super League, Choi Kang-hee of Shandong Taishan, who has always been a candidate for the Chinese national team's leadership, and Shin Tae-yong, who led Indonesia to unprecedented success but handed over the baton to Patrik Clawybert for dubious reasons. In addition to them, leaders who are active in the Super League, such as Wiganwei (Tianjin Jinmanhu) and Milan Ristic (Meizhou Hakka), were also mentioned as candidates. However, the upcoming East Asian Cup seems to be left to the Chinese coaches who worked under Ivankovic. Sohu said there is a possibility that coach Chen Tao or coach Chung Zhi will lead the national team.
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| Suwon World Cup Stadium/ K League1/ Suwon Bluewings vs Gyeongnam FC/ Coach Seo Jung-won/ Photo by Lee Wan-bok |
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| Incheon Football Stadium/ 2023-2024 AFC Champions League/ ACL/ Group G/ Group 3rd Group Qualifier/ Incheon United vs Shandong Taishan/Coach Choi Kang-hee/ Photo by Lee Wan-bok |
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The men's match at the East Asian Cup will be held at Mir Stadium in Yongin from the 7th to the 16th of next month. South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, and China will determine the winning team in the full league. Since it is a competition that is not subject to FIFA rules, players who are active in their own and Asian leagues will participate. Although it weighs less than the Asian Cup, which can join the European leagues, it is not a tournament of low importance because it is a stage where you can find a new face that showed good performance in the domestic league. Japanese national team coach Hong Myung-bo and Moriyasu Hajime, who confirmed their advance to the North Korea-China World Cup finals, also expressed their willingness to find a new face through the East Asian Cup.
After breaking up with Ivankovic, opinions on the next head coach are divided in China. There is a voice that a European master should be brought in to overcome the reality of Chinese soccer, which is rarely developing. However, many argue that even though 12 European leaders have passed, they should bring in Korean leaders who know China well and achieve the same development as the Southeast Asian team. Some argue that leaders in China should be used, but they do not seem to be empowered due to deep-rooted distrust. Regardless of the direction, the best option is to launch a new system and seek to reshuffle the organization in the wake of the East Asian Cup. However, as the organization is leaning toward an agency system, it seems that the organization is effectively giving up the East Asian Cup.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
