The head coach of the national football team, Ivankovic, left China alone and the scene was deserted, and the hometown media held grievances for him

The head coach of the national football team, Ivankovic, was unable to lead the team to the fourth stage of the 2026 World Cup Asian qualifiers, and was expected to be unilaterally terminated by the Chinese Football Association.

The national football team defeated Bahrain 1-0 in the final round of the third stage of the World Cup qualifiers

The national football team lost to Indonesia a few days ago and announced that it would miss the 2026 World Cup one round in advance, but the final game of the third stage of the qualifiers defeated Bahrain at home to avoid the embarrassing situation of being at the bottom of the group. According to domestic media reports, according to the contract between the Chinese Football Association and coach Ivankovic, if the national football team cannot enter the fourth stage of the qualifiers, the Chinese Football Association can be free of compensation and unilaterally terminate the cooperation with Ivankovic's coaching team, and the report said that the Chinese Football Association has decided not to renew the contract with the other party, and Ivankovic's departure is "irreversible".

After the game against Bahrain, Ivankovic avoided talking about his future work plans, but on the afternoon of the 13th, he was photographed appearing in the Chinese Football Association, allegedly before returning to his hometown Croatia, and communicating with the Football Association on the last working day about the termination of the contract.

Ivankovic left China alone, and the scene was deserted

The 71-year-old handsome man was also photographed appearing at Beijing Airport in the early morning of the 14th, leaving China by plane, but what is embarrassing is that the scene is quite deserted, and there is no official personnel to send him off, so he has to be assisted by a lady to check in, and even he has to push Li himself, and his eyes are a little lonely.

The opponent won by the national football team, Bahrain, was also led by Croatian coach Dragan Talajic, known as the "Croatian coach civil war", so Ivankovic's situation received attention from the media in his hometown. "Osijek Danas" with the title of "Winners are fired, losers are supported" refers to the fact that the two teams also missed the World Cup, but China, which finished fifth in the group, fired the coach, and Bahrain, who was at the bottom and lost, expressed support for the coach, believing that the team was on the right track.

The last time the Chinese team qualified for the World Cup was in 2002, that is, 23 years ago. Since then, the Chinese team has almost changed 14 or 15 coaches, and the results have deteriorated. China is currently ranked 94th in the world, while Bahrain is ranked 84th. There is a saying circulating on Chinese social media, "Is it really the teacher's fault that students can't get into prestigious universities?" "Why do we always change coaches and never think if it's our problem?" ”

Ivankovic is expected to "step down"

The media clearly supported the well-respected coach in Croatia: "Remind everyone that Ivankovic is the only Croatian coach who has played in the World Cup with two national teams (assistant coach of Croatia in the 1998 World Cup and head coach of Iran in the 2006 World Cup) and has a wealth of experience in international competitions. ”

He also won league titles in Croatia, China and Iran, and even won the AFC Champions League once. Dragan Talajic was quoted as saying after the game: "He is one of the best coaches in our country, and the Chinese should be happy to have a coach like him." ”

Ivankovic was unable to lead the national football team to the World Cup

According to reports, Ivankovic is not worried about not having a new owner, and he has received offers from Iran, Iraq, Russia, Croatia, Saudi Arabia and other places this year. Ivankovic's departure means that the national football team will be led by a new coach to participate in the finals of the East Asian Football Championship in Yongin, South Korea, in July.