China’s new coach promised to advance to the 2026 World Cup

According to the informants quoted by China Daily, Aleksandar Jankovic, the new coach of the Chinese national football team, who in his debut off the bench in the team should be away from home against New Zealand, promised in his first press conference to lay the groundwork for the country’s promotion to the 2026 World Cup. .

China is ranked 80th in the FIFA rankings and has not been able to qualify for the World Cup since 2002. Recently, the Chinese national team failed in its bid to reach the 2022 World Cup led by Li Xiaopeng, and the former coach, Li Tai, was also investigated and arrested for corruption. Preparations for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup and the 2026 World Cup qualifiers will be among the first priorities for this coach in China.

“The opportunity to coach the Chinese national team is a great reward and I am very happy to work here,” the 50-year-old Serbian coach said in a press conference. As a head coach, I must have a clear picture of my goal. The overall goal is to bring China to the 2026 World Cup.

The 2026 World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada, will be the first edition of the World Cup that will include 48 teams instead of 32, which means the participation of at least eight Asian teams. However, Yankovic does not think that China’s task of ascending has become easier.

And he said in another part of his speech: We have a lot to do before we reach the 2026 World Cup. We have no time to waste now. I spent 28 months watching Chinese matches and saw players not only from the Chinese Super League, but also from the first and second leagues. I know very well all levels of Chinese players. If we want to compete with the good teams in the world, we must improve our physical and attacking conditions.

Before moving to China, Janković coached Serbia’s U-19 and U-21 teams and worked for several European clubs, including Red Star Belgrade in Serbia and Standard Liège in Belgium.

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