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the chinese national football team had a very bad start in the top 18 after being reversed by saudi arabia 1-2 and finishing at the bottom of the group with two consecutive defeats. although there are still eight rounds left in this stage of the competition, the chinese national football team is also mentally prepared for the losing streak, but the use of the head coach ivankovic has been questioned by all parties, and calls for him to "resign" have been heard one after another. according to a reporter from beijing youth daily, the chinese football association has considered changing the coach to stop the team's decline, but due to objective factors such as time constraints and huge costs of changing coaches, there are not many suitable coaches for the football association to choose from. in this case, the football association is likely to choose from the existing national team coaches and "put out the fire" for the national football team as a "transitional coach". among them, antonio pouch, the spanish coach of the u21 national football team, will be the main candidate.

on the morning of the 10th, the relevant leaders of the chinese football association made a special trip to the national football team's residence to cheer for the team and put forward clear requirements for the generals and coaches. in other words, if the team's spirit is not good in the match between china and saudi arabia, then accountability will follow. for ivan, if the performance of the team cannot satisfy the fans and all sectors of society, then "dismissal" can only be the only result.

the chinese football association has always been cautious about whether to change the coach. on the one hand, even though the national football team suffered two consecutive defeats, there are still 8 rounds to go. in other words, ivan has not yet "failed to complete the stage of leading the team as agreed in the contract." on the other hand, the various issues involved in the change of coach are complicated. in addition to dealing with contract issues with the current coaching team, the football association also has doubts about whether it can find a suitable successor in the short term. after all, if the coach is changed for the sake of changing the coach, once the effect is not good, the team will not only be unable to get out of the predicament, but the decision maker who made the change of coach must also bear responsibility. with only one month between the second and third rounds of the top 18, the risk of a hasty change of coach is actually very high.

however, judging from the current situation, the chinese football association has reached the point where it has to change the head coach. in addition to the pressure from public opinion and fans, the low morale of the national football team is also a fact that cannot be ignored. data shows that the national football team has played 6 games under ivan, with a record of 1 win, 2 draws and 3 losses. since the last round of the round of 36 away to south korea, the three consecutive defeats have caused certain doubts within the team about ivan's use of troops. if the head coach is not widely trusted, not only will the locker room be out of control, but the effectiveness of the team's technical and tactical execution during the game will also be greatly reduced, and this is what the chinese football association is most worried about.
considering various factors, the chinese football association is more likely to choose one of the current national men's football team coaches to take over the national football team. the serbian coach of the 2005 u19 national football team, djurdjevic, and the spanish coach of the 2003 u21 national football team, antonio, are both relatively suitable candidates.
however, the u19 national football team will compete in the finals of the u20 asian cup in february next year, and as the age-appropriate team for the 2028 los angeles olympics, it has the important task of impacting the olympics. at this juncture, choosing djurdjevic to "put out the fire" will have an adverse impact on the u19 national football team's preparations.

the u21 national football team will not participate in the 7th u23 asian cup qualifiers until september next year. it is worth noting that antonio was able to be hired by the chinese football association again mainly because of his satisfactory performance in the past. during the u20 asian cup last year, antonio led the original u20 national football team in 2003 to the top eight. the current international player baihelamu was one of the players antonio reused. after coaching for the past few years, antonio has also gained a considerable understanding of the situation of chinese football.

it is understood that ivankovic returned to beijing on the afternoon of the 11th and will then communicate with the chinese football association on work. whether the football association decides to change the coach or what kind of new coach to choose, the answer will soon be clear.

source: text/beijing youth daily sports xiao zan