Chinese Football Chaos: Serbian Coach Takes Over, Croatian Fired, and World Cup Dreams Shattered!
China is once again in football turmoil, starring Serbian expert Dejan “Švaba” Đurđević and Croatian coach Branko Ivanković. After China suffered a shocking 0-1 defeat to Indonesia in early June, mathematically ending any chance of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup in Mexico and Canada, the Chinese Football Association decided to sack Ivanković.
Ivanković, who took over from Serbian coach Aleksandar Janković in February this year, failed to deliver results, leading to the automatic termination of his contract. Đurđević, who previously coached China’s U19 team, has now been appointed as the interim head coach of the senior national team.
Currently, China ranks 94th on the FIFA rankings and last appeared in the World Cup in 2002, where they failed to earn a single point or score a goal. Clearly, Chinese football is still struggling to find its footing, and the coaching change is just another attempt to turn things around.
Meanwhile, Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic and Spanish player Carlos Alcaraz played a sparring match on Wimbledon’s central court, while Manchester City footballers crushed Orlando 5-2 in Group G of the FIFA Club World Cup, securing first place in the group.
This situation highlights how difficult it is to build a stable and successful football team, even with foreign experts at the helm. Will Đurđević manage to reverse the fortunes, or will China continue to sink into football obscurity? Only time will tell.
What do you think about this Chinese football soap opera? Is Đurđević the right choice, or just another change without a real plan? Drop your thoughts, let’s see who’s for and who’s against!
