After the preparation tournaments with Vietnam and Uzbekistan, our national soccer team will embark on the journey to the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. The latest announcement from the AFC reveals that on November 16 at 8:30 p.m., the Chinese team will face their first opponent in the group stage, Thailand, on the road. Immediately after that, the national soccer team will move to Shenzhen to face South Korea, the group's power leader, at home. According to the Tianjin Daily News, if the Chinese soccer team fails to beat Thailand and South Korea in the first two rounds of the World Cup qualifying tournament, the Football Association may consider replacing current coach Jankovic and recruiting a new coach to lead the team for the rest of the tournament.
Many fans eagerly suggested that if Yankovic left, the FA may wish to consider hiring the current Shandong Taishan Korean coach Cui Kangxi to take charge of the national football coaching whip. However, Cui Kangxi and Shandong Taishan still have a contract in the body. Plus, from the overall level of observation of the national football team, Cui Kangxi seems to have no intention to trip this muddy water. Although the fans are unanimously in favor of Cui Kangxi, but the possibility of this is very slim. My personal speculation, if the national football team in the first two group games lost to Thailand and South Korea, 36 group stage prospects will be increasingly bleak. At that time, I'm afraid that high-level foreign coaches will be hard to find.
Recalling the last World Cup, Lippi stepped down, domestic coaches Li Tie and Li Xiaopeng took over as the new coach of the national football team. Compared to foreign coaches, domestic coaches, although the salary is lower, but the Chinese Football Association 2021 and 2022 financial report shows that the Association's income in recent years has dropped sharply, the total debt of up to 1.2 billion. This shows that Chen Xuyuan and the corrupt officials of the Association have squandered the wealth of the Association, and I am afraid that it is difficult to afford the high salary to hire foreign coaches. Funds and the situation decided that Yankovic was dismissed, the FA can only choose local coaches.
Among the local coaches, I think Zheng Zhi is expected to be the new coach of the national soccer team. During his playing days, Zheng Zhi was the captain of the national soccer team and Guangzhou Evergrande for a long time and was loved by the fans. After his retirement, Zheng Zhi joined Lippi's national team coaching team and coached briefly when Guangzhou Evergrande was in trouble. Although he did not complete the task of relegation, Zheng Zhi still has a certain level among domestic coaches. If Zheng Zhi takes over Yankovic, he will return to the national soccer team in a new capacity, cherishing the opportunity to play for his country. At the same time, he will also take this opportunity to accumulate coaching experience, for the future coaching career to be fully prepared.
