In the middle of the match, a subtle phenomenon attracted attention - the team's assistant coach Zheng Zhi repeatedly suggested to Coach Ivankovic to replace the exhausted Byelorussian. However, Ivankovic didn't listen to these suggestions and didn't replace Alan and Lin Liangming until the 90th minute of the game, but by then it was too late, and the team had to suffer the consequences of the defeat in their hometown stadium.
Faced with this situation, numerous media personalities have called for the replacement of Ivankovic, and have put forward a number of potential candidates, including Kujevic and Zheng Zhi. Zheng Zhi himself has also raised his voice in anticipation of a more substantial candidate to join the team. As an outstanding captain of the men's soccer team, he can still take over directly as an assistant coach after his retirement, as he has a deep understanding and control of the team's technical and tactical skills and personnel scheduling.
This is not simply because of the whopping $26 million in liquidated damages; the FA's contract with Ivankovic must have included clauses on match performance and content, and the liquidated damages were not an overriding factor. However, according to the latest reports, due to time constraints and the difficulty of finding a suitable replacement, the likelihood of Ivankovic staying on is quite high. The Chinese men's soccer team will face Australia and Indonesia respectively, and Ivankovic's performance in the match against Indonesia will be the key point to evaluate whether he will stay or not. If he loses this match, Ivankovic may face a direct dismissal.
