Ivankovic and China part ways
AFC – Branko Ivankovic has left his role as head coach of the China PR national team after his side were eliminated from the AFC Asian Qualifiers – Road to 26 earlier in June.
The 71-year-old Croatian was removed from his role as a result of his team’s fifth place finish in Group C, which ended the country’s hopes of a first FIFA World Cup appearance since their debut at the Finals in Korea-Japan in 2002.
“The Chinese Football Association expresses gratitude to Mr. Branko Ivankovic and his coaching staff for their dedicated efforts during their tenure with the men’s national team and their contributions to Chinese football,” the CFA said in a statement.
“We wish Mr. Ivankovic all the best in his future work and life.”
Ivankovic had been appointed in February 2024 to replace Aleksandar Jankovic following a disappointing performance at the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 during which the Chinese failed to score in their three group phase matches, resulting in elimination.
He oversaw an immediate upturn in fortunes and the team qualified for the third round of Asia’s preliminaries for the FIFA World Cup 2026.
That phase of the qualifiers started poorly for China PR, with a 7-0 defeat at the hands of Japan at Saitama Stadium followed by losses against Saudi Arabia and Australia.
A 2-1 win over Indonesia in Qingdao in October kick-started the campaign, however, and a subsequent 1-0 victory over Bahrain rekindled Chinese hopes of a place in the fourth round of the preliminaries.
But losses to Japan, Saudi Arabia, Australia and, crucially, Indonesia ended Chinese prospects of a place in the next round, with a 1-0 win over Bahrain in the last qualifier on June 10 only enough to deliver a fifth place finish in the Group C standings.
Dejan Djurdjevic, who led China PR during the AFC U20 Asian Cup in Shenzhen in February, have been appointed to replace Brankovic in a caretaker capacity and will lead the team at the East Asian Football Federation E-1 Football Championship in Korea Republic next month.