As the knockout stage of the Asian Cup draws near, our soccer team has embarked on an early return journey to welcome the Chinese New Year. However, in the group stage of the tournament, they only won 0, drew 2 and lost 1 in 3 matches, a granular failure, a performance that is widely regarded as the low point in the history of our soccer team. Nonetheless, with the success of being among the top 24 in the Asian Cup, the team will still be able to collect a generous bonus. According to the domestic media, the team will split the $200,000 participation bonus, which is about 1.43 million yuan, and each player will earn tens of thousands of dollars.
It is worth mentioning that the AFC has set a minimum guaranteed prize for each participating team, which is $200,000 even if they fail to qualify in the group stage. If they perform better, the prize money will naturally go up. The semi-finalists will receive US$1 million, the runners-up US$3 million and the winners US$5 million. The aim is to motivate players to give their best on the field.
The dust has settled from the group stage of the Asian Cup, and our soccer team set a record for the worst finish in history with 18th place. Sadly, the team could have progressed with just a draw against Qatar, while the opposing core players did not play most of the game. This excellent opportunity was missed, leaving many fans feeling indignant.
According to Beijing Youth Daily, China's soccer team is about to slip to 13th place in Asia, which is the worst result in recent years. It is worth mentioning that Bahrain, Jordan and other third-ranked teams that performed brightly in the Asian Cup will also overtake our soccer team. Next up, the world qualifiers in March, we expect the national soccer team to be revitalized.
Head coach Jankovic has been met with widespread skepticism after the national soccer team finished its Asian Cup campaign. Domestic journalists have called for his dismissal and suggested potential successors such as Cui Kangxi, Xu Zhengyuan and Qiaodi. Recently, renowned sports journalist Ma Dexing revealed the inside story of Jankovic's appointment. The entire selection process was rushed and lacked forethought, and it was clearly a bad decision to let Jankovic, who was originally in charge of the Asian Games team, take over the national team.
According to Madsen, it may not be fair to blame Jankovic for the national soccer team's failures. At the Foshan selection meeting in mid-February 2023, it was decided that Jankovic would be promoted directly to head coach of the national team, but there were already concerns about this at the time. It is worth noting that the leader of the CFA at the time was Du Zhaocai, who was taken away for review in early April last year and will face legal trial on suspicion of serious violations of the law and disciplinary actions.
Jankovic's dismissal seems to be a foregone conclusion, and the biggest concern is whether he will be able to continue to lead the team to the World Qualifying Tournament in a little over a month's time. A hasty change of manager may not be able to revitalize the Chinese national team. However, if Jankovic continues to coach and ultimately fails to qualify for the 18-team tournament, the soccer association will bear a huge responsibility. Song Kai, the new president of the soccer association, is also under tremendous pressure to weigh the pros and cons and make the most favorable choice.
