China team plays poorly, coach Ivankovic remains 'indifferent'

The Chinese team is in a crisis, losing all three matches in the 2026 World Cup qualifying round 3. On the afternoon of October 10, coach Branko Ivankovic's team scored first, but Australia won 3-1.

Previously, China lost to Saudi Arabia and Japan with scores of 1-2 and 0-7 respectively. Including the loss to South Korea in the final round of the second qualifying round, China's losing streak has now extended to four matches.

Despite the poor performance, coach Ivankovic is not too impatient with the situation of Chinese football: "We still have 7 matches left to play. China's goal is to finish in 4th place. That is enough for the whole team to have hope of attending the World Cup. I think the match with Indonesia in the 4th round is just the beginning of our journey. Of course, the whole team needs to try harder."

China lost their fourth consecutive match in all competitions.

The last time China lost three consecutive matches in the World Cup qualifiers was in 2011. As a result, they did not have a ticket to the 2014 World Cup. If they continue to lose to Indonesia on October 15, coach Ivankovic will set a very unforgettable record with this country's football.

When asked to evaluate the performance of the players, coach Ivankovic said: "This is quite a regrettable result. We had the lead, but made a mistake that allowed them to equalize. However, I believe the players fought with all their might. I am satisfied with what they showed. It should be noted that our opponents in the first three rounds were all very strong in the region. Of course we wanted to score points, but a defeat was predicted in advance," said Mr. Branko Ivankovic.

The Chinese team under Ivankovic has played 7 matches, seen 29 different players on the field but has only won 1 match. They have lost 4 matches and drawn 2.

Fans are demanding that the Chinese Football Association sack Ivankovic after a series of poor results. The Croatian was appointed in February 2024, replacing Aleksandar Jankovic, who failed to get China past the group stage of the Asian Cup.

Thanh Loc

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/tuyen-trung-quoc-thi-dau-bet-bat-hlv-ivankovic-van-dung-dung-ar901244.html