Football: China sacks coach Branko Ivankovic after World Cup qualifying failure

Beijing (China), June 27 (IANS) The Chinese Football Association (CFA) announced on Friday the dismissal of national team head coach Branko Ivankovic following China's failure to secure qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The CFA confirmed in an official statement that its contract with Ivankovic has been automatically terminated after China failed to advance into the playoff stage of the World Cup Asian qualifiers.

"The Chinese Football Association expresses gratitude to 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. We wish Ivankovic all the best in his future work and life," the statement said.

The CFA also announced that Dejan Djurdjevic will be as caretaker manager of the men's national team, and the Serbian will lead China's campaign at the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Football Championship, reports Xinhua.

In February, Djurdjevic led China's U-20 national team to the quarterfinals of the AFC U-20 Asian Cup.

China made it to the third round of the Asian Qualifying Tournament before they ran out of fuel., They finished fifth in Group C in the third round of the qualifying tournament. They defeated Bahrain 1-0 in their final league match on June 10, finishing fifth with three wins and seven defeats in 10 matches in the six-team Group C.

A powerhouse in many sports on the Continent and at the global level, China has been dreaming of making it to the FIFA World Cup, putting up a lot of effort in the qualifying matches. But they have failed to clear the final hurdle.

Japan, Iran, South Korea, Jordan, Uzbekistan, and Australia have qualified from Asia for the 2expanded 026 FIFA World Cup, which will be hosted jointly by the United States, Canada and Mexico, all three of whom qualified directly as hosts. In all, 45 qualified teams will join the three hosts in the 48-team Finals to be played from June 11 to July 19. The Finals will be played in 16 venues across the three countries

--IANS

bsk/