The national soccer team will officially begin its 2026 World Cup qualifying tour after warm-up matches against Vietnam and Uzbekistan. According to the latest official news from AFC, China will face its first opponent in the group stage, Thailand, away from home at 20:30 on November 16th. After the match with Thailand, the national soccer team will return to Shenzhen to host South Korea, the strongest team in the group. If the national soccer team loses to Thailand and South Korea in the first two group matches of the World Cup qualifying tournament, according to the Tianjin Daily News. The Chinese Football Association (CFA) may consider sacking current coach Jankovic and hiring a new coach to lead the national soccer team through the remaining World Cup qualifiers.
Many fans have suggested that if Jankovic is dismissed, the CFA could consider hiring Choi Kang-hee, the current South Korean coach of Shandong Taishan, to coach the national soccer team. However, Cui Kangxi still has a contract with Shandong Taishan. In addition, judging from the overall level of the current national soccer team, Cui Kangxi seems reluctant to be a part of the muddy waters of the national soccer team. Therefore, although fans are unanimously calling for Cui Kangxi to be the new coach of the national soccer team, it is highly unlikely. And I personally believe that if the national soccer team loses to Thailand and South Korea in the first two group matches, China's hopes of making it out of the 36-team group stage will become extremely slim. This is the time to invite high level foreign coaches to serve as national.
After Lippi resigned as head coach of the national soccer team during the last World Cup, two domestic coaches, Li Tie and Li Xiaopeng, became the new coaches of the national soccer team. The coaching ability of domestic coaches cannot be compared with foreign coaches, but domestic coaches are paid lower salaries, the CFA has announced 2021. , the 2022 financial report reportedly shows that the CFA's income has decreased significantly in recent years, and the total debt has increased to 1.2 billion. It can be seen that all the wealth accumulated by the CFA has been defeated by the former chairman Chen Xuyuan and the corrupt officials of the CFA. I am afraid that CFA does not have enough budget to hire high level foreign coaches to coach the national soccer team. Therefore, the money and the outgoing situation dictate that once Jankovic is dismissed, CFA can only hire a local coach to coach the national soccer team.
Among the local coaches, I personally think the most likely to become the new coach of the national soccer team is Zheng Zhi, the former meritorious captain of the national team. During his playing days, Zheng Zhi was the captain of the national soccer team and Guangzhou Evergrande for a long time, and has high prestige in the Chinese soccer world and in the hearts of the national soccer players. After his retirement, Zheng Zhi entered the national team coaching staff as an assistant coach under Lippi, and briefly served as the coach of Guangzhou team after Guangzhou Evergrande exploded. But did not help Guangzhou Evergrande successfully complete the relegation task. From the coaching experience and qualifications, Zheng Zhi in the coaching career still belongs to the rookie level, but in addition to his current domestic domestic coach with a certain level.
For Zheng Zhi, if he has the chance to succeed Jankovic as the new coach of the national soccer team. He will return to the camp of the national soccer team in a different capacity, and he himself will especially cherish the opportunity to fight for his country. Zheng Zhi will also use this coaching opportunity to accumulate coaching experience and be fully prepared for his return to coaching in the future.
