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South China Morning Post
07-07-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
China boss Djurdjevic eyes South Korea clash as fresh start for struggling national team
China's interim head coach Dejan Djurdjevic said his side's East Asian Football Championship clash with South Korea on Monday would usher in a new era for the beleaguered national team. Advertisement Previous boss Branko Ivankovic was fired last month after China bombed in qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. Now, Djurdjevic, the China under-20 manager, has been tasked with leading a relatively inexperienced squad in games against the hosts, Japan and Hong Kong over the next eight days. 'This is a new cycle for us, we are playing three strong teams, but we will try to give our best performance and get a good start,' the 58-year-old Serb said. 'Such strong opponents will fully test our players and show how our new team performs.' Ashley Westwood has embraced his side's status as underdogs in South Korea. Photo: May Tse China have sunk to No 94 in the world rankings, their lowest position since they were down at No 96 in March 2016.
Asharq Al-Awsat
28-06-2025
- Sport
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Coach Ivankovic Fired by Chinese Following World Cup Elimination
Branko Ivankovic has been fired as China's national team coach following his side's elimination from the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup this month, the Chinese Football Association announced on Friday. The 71-year-old Croatian coach was removed from the post as a result of China finishing fifth in Group C of the continent's preliminaries for next year's 48-team finals, which will be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada. "The Chinese Football Association expresses gratitude to Mr. Branko Ivankovic and his coaching staff for their dedicated efforts during their tenure with the men's national team and their contributions to Chinese football," Reuters quoted a CFA statement as saying. "We wish Mr. Ivankovic all the best in his future work and life." Ivankovic, who led Iran at the World Cup finals in Germany in 2006, was appointed China's coach in February 2024, replacing Aleksandar Jankovic. He steered the country into the third phase of Asia's World Cup qualifying. His team recovered from a poor start, which included a 7-0 thrashing at the hands of Japan, to maintain their hopes of a place at their first World Cup since the nation's debut appearance at the finals in 2002. Wins over Indonesia and Bahrain kept China in contention for a berth in the fourth round of qualifying, but losses to Japan, Saudi Arabia and Australia were followed by a defeat against Indonesia on June 5 that ended any prospect of progressing. The Chinese association said Dejan Djurdjevic, who led China to the quarter-finals of the Under 20 Asian Cup in Shenzhen in February, will take over on a caretaker basis for next month's East Asian Championship in South Korea.
