On March 2, new coach Jankovic is at risk of being dropped if the World Qualifiers get off to a poor start or if the Asian Cup does not do well, according to a report by Punch News Network.
Although 50-year-old Serb Jankovic's fame and resume are very different from the last foreign coach Lippi, he at least did not lose his aura in his first appearance as national soccer coach. He is aware of the skepticism and the fact that the national soccer team is "pressed for time and tasked with a lot of work" - but for Jankovic, the first thing he should do is to avoid falling under the curse that has characterized the Association of Football Associations (AFA) World Qualifiers in recent years.
After the two matches of the Top 36 this November, the national team will hold the Asian Cup finals in January next year, which is a stage for Jankovic to assess. Jankovic risks being sacked if the world qualifiers get off to a bad start or if the Asian Cup results are poor.
In fact, since the Lippi era, the CFA has conducted a phased assessment of the national team's coaches-Li Tie also led the team in the Top 40 before he was awarded a contract to coach in the Top 12. In the previous two World Qualifiers, the Chinese team experienced a number of coaching changes-2018 World Qualifiers, first Pellan led the team to poor results, Gao Hongbo took over the team into the top 12. But in the next four games, Gao Hongbo chose to resign and the CFA invited Lippi to coach.
As to whether the CFA has set milestones for itself, Jankovic mentioned the qualification for the group stage of the Asian Cup, which should be the minimum goal. "After the qualifying rounds, I will always set higher goals for myself - my goal is to build a competitive team and prove that I am doing the right job through the Asian Cup."
