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the two consecutive defeats in the round of 18 were not surprising for the chinese national football team. however, from the humiliating 0:7 loss to japan in the first match to the 2:1 reversal by saudi arabia in the second match at home despite the advantage in score and numbers, the performance of this team in the game still surprised everyone.

the chinese football association's goal for the national football team in this tournament is to strive to reach the top four in the group and qualify for the play-offs. judging from the current situation, if the team cannot take effective measures to get out of the predicament, such a request is tantamount to a foolish dream. according to the beijing youth daily, the football association is already considering changing the coach, and u21 national football coach antonio is expected to take over ivankovic's coaching position. at the same time, we should realize that the change of head coach cannot solve the fundamental problems of the national football team. in the case of the general lack of strength of local players, the national football team urgently needs to promote a new round of player naturalization plan to recruit more fresh blood for future preparations.

ivan refuses to resign

the football association wants to be “backward compatible” again?

after the match with saudi arabia, the topic of "ivankovic's dismissal" became the focus of public attention. at the post-match press conference, a reporter asked ivankovic about this, and his answer was: "this question should not be asked to me." this statement also shows that ivankovic's options are not to resign voluntarily.

after leading the team into the top 18, ivankovic's contract with the football association was automatically extended until the end of the top 18. since ivankovic refused to resign, the football association would have to pay a financial price for changing the coach of the chinese national football team. although the financial resources of the football association are far less than before, ivankovic has been proven to be unsuitable to coach the team in the context of frequent controversial defeats, and the public's dissatisfaction also needs to find an outlet. therefore, the football association is already considering the specific details of the coaching change.

according to beijing youth daily, the football association has made clear requirements before the match between the chinese national football team and saudi arabia. due to the poor performance of the team, accountability will follow. however, ivankovic's contract is difficult to resolve, and it is even more difficult to find a new coach who meets the salary and strength standards. therefore, the probability of letting the head coach of the national team of a younger age group take on the role concurrently is quite high. among them, antonio, the head coach of the u21 national football team, has become the main candidate.

antonio led the u20 national football team to the top eight of the u20 asian cup in 2023. after the contract expired, he left for a short time and finally received a new contract from the u21 national football team. while the national football team was competing in the top 18, antonio led the u21 national football team to two wins and one draw in the changsha football invitational tournament, and the team's overall performance was acceptable. antonio is quite familiar with the current situation of chinese football. as a spanish coach, his current tactical concept mainly emphasizes defensive counterattacks, which is mainly based on the objective strength of chinese players. however, antonio does not have much experience on the stage of major international events. if the football association chooses him for "downward compatibility" this time, it will be tantamount to another gamble. if the bet loses, the national football team's dream of the 2026 world cup will be completely shattered.

changing the coach can't cure the stubborn disease

the chinese national football team urgently needs to promote a new round of naturalization

the chinese national football team must change its coach. this is a realistic issue due to the technical and tactical aspects and the team's situation. but can one coach save chinese football? the answer is no. lippi, camacho, cannavaro, hiddink...all levels of national football teams have had encounters with big-name coaches, but the final result was nothing.

the lack of local players is the achilles' heel of the chinese national football team, which has been fully exposed in the matches against japan and saudi arabia. in terms of individual technical and tactical abilities, chinese players are also lagging behind in asia, and even have a certain gap with southeast asian teams such as thailand and vietnam. therefore, if the chinese national football team still has some ideas for this round of 18, it must make changes to the lineup as soon as possible, and the most critical thing is to introduce new naturalized players.

cangzhou lions striker oscar and changchun yatai midfielder serginho were both popular candidates for naturalization, but due to contractual reasons, their naturalization was not smooth. at present, it is not realistic to expect the chinese super league clubs to independently operate the naturalization of foreign players. the fate of the national football team is still the core issue of the entire chinese football industry. therefore, as a management department, the football association should also provide more convenient conditions. after all, this is the simplest and most effective way to improve the strength of the team.

the best example is the indonesian team, the chinese national football team's opponent in the same group. in the first two rounds of the top 18, the indonesian team drew with strong opponents such as saudi arabia and australia, becoming the biggest dark horse in the group. they relied on the large number of naturalized players. in the match against australia on september 10, there were 9 naturalized players in the starting lineup of the indonesian team. among them, goalkeeper paes, who had just completed naturalization last month, performed steadily in the face of 19 shots from the opponent and was the first contributor to indonesia's points. previously, indonesia also naturalized central defender hilgers, who plays for twente in the dutch eredivisie. his value is as high as 7 million euros, which is also top in the chinese super league. hilgers is expected to play in the top 18 in october, which is definitely not good news for the chinese national football team.

therefore, judging from the ranking of team value and overall strength, the chinese national football team is already at the bottom of the group. even if there is a "real prince" on the coaching bench, there still needs to be enough players to display their talents.

instead of putting all your eggs in one basket, the chinese national football team should take a two-pronged approach.

reporter: hou chao editor: li fujie photographer: xinhua news agency proofreader: gao xin