China's national soccer team managed only two draws and one defeat in their three group stage matches at the Asian Cup in Qatar, resulting in the team failing to advance to the round of 16. The national team's failure to advance in the group stage has made head coach Jankovic the target of much finger-pointing. According to several media reports, Jankovic's decision to be fired has been finalized and the FA will immediately start looking for a new coach to lead the Chinese team. In addition, Jankovic's achievements will be taken into account when he joins the national team as coach, including participation in world qualifiers and the Asian Cup.
Jankovic has performed well in his first two matches leading the national soccer team in the World Qualification Tournament, and his record is in line with the requirements of the Football Association. In one of them, the national soccer team won 2-1 on the road against a strong Thai team. As a result, Jankovic was able to continue leading the national soccer team to the Asian Cup. The FA's requirement for the national soccer team in the Asian Cup in Qatar is to make it to the round of 16 as a minimum. If Jankovic fails to achieve this goal, then he will be forced to step down.
As a result, the FA did not have to pay any liquidated damages in firing Jankovic. Meanwhile, Jankovic has already bid farewell to the team members in turn after the national soccer team's group stage exit. Renowned soccer journalist Zhao Yu pointed out that the FA preferred to find suitable candidates from the Chinese Super League when selecting the new national team manager. Among them, Xu Zhengyuan, Qiaodi, and Cui Kangxi were all included in the shortlist of the new national team manager and became the three popular candidates in the spotlight.
The CFA's most favored candidate is Xu Zhengyuan. He is in his prime and has led Chengdu to an outstanding performance in the Chinese Super League last season. Although Chengdu Rongcheng's overall squad is not the best in the Super League and the team does not have any outstanding local players, Xu Zhengyuan was able to lead Chengdu Rongcheng to the top of the Super League, which is a proof of his coaching ability. Xu's tactical approach is very pragmatic and he knows the characteristics of Chinese players very well, which is his biggest advantage as the head coach of the national football team. However, the FA's invitation to Xu Zhengyuan to become the head coach of the national soccer team means that Chengdu Rongcheng will need to look for a new coach in advance. From the perspective of Chengdu Rongcheng fans, they are not willing to let Xu Zhengyuan go to the national team.
With Chengdu Rongcheng agreeing to Xu Zhengyuan to coach the national soccer team, finding another suitable coach for the team will turn out to be a difficult task. However, if the CFA takes the initiative to ask Chengdu Rongcheng to provide the personnel, the club will certainly not dare to refuse. Jordy and Cui Kangxi are the two alternatives after the CFA failed to invite Xu Zhengyuan to coach the national team, among which Jordy has a higher possibility to go up to coach the national team. As we all know, Zhejiang team has encountered some problems recently, and it is unknown whether they can provide the new players that Jordy needs. Therefore, it is possible that Jordy will leave the Zhejiang team and coach the national team is also a good choice.
