Your current location:HOME >travel >China to make World Cup finals ultimate goal, says new coach Ivankovic 正文
TIME:2024-05-22 10:10:11 Source: Internet compilationEdit:travel
Newly appointed Chinese men's national football team head coach Branko Ivankovic attends a press
Newly appointed Chinese men's national football team head coach Branko Ivankovic attends a press conference in north China's Tianjin Municipality, March 8, 2024. [Photo by Sun Fanyue/Xinhua]
Branko Ivankovic, the new head coach of the Chinese men's national football team, said here Friday that his primary goal is to help China reach the Asian Qualifiers third round, with the ultimate goal of competing in the World Cup.
It was the Croatian's first appearance since being appointed by the Chinese Football Association (CFA) in February. He believes the new role means a big challenge, but he is confident that the team can achieve good results with everyone working together.
China is third in Group C of Asian qualifiers after beating Thailand 2-1 and then losing 3-0 to South Korea in its first two matches. The top two teams in each group will advance to the next round, where 18 teams will compete for World Cup tickets.
"Our primary goal is to make the last 18, and we will work to build a strong national team. Our ultimate goal is to qualify for the World Cup," Ivankovic stated.
The 70-year-old had coached famous European clubs, including Germany's Hannover 96 and Croatia's GNK Dinamo Zagreb, before leading Shandong Taishan to lift the Chinese Super League (CSL) trophy in the 2010 season.
The Croatian, who coached Oman in the Asian Cup in January, commented on China's tournament performance and emphasized the need for the team to be more offensive.
"According to my experience and football philosophy, China needs to be more offensive in the next games. China didn't even score a goal in the Asian Cup."
"We have to improve our passing accuracy, be more efficient, and be more aggressive," said the veteran coach.
Ivankovic also mentioned the Chinese players' mental situations, claiming that his footballers lack confidence.
"We need to give our players more confidence and belief in winning by changing our training methods and communicating with them during training."
Ivankovic's first test with the Chinese team will be their back-to-back World Cup qualifying games against Singapore, on March 21 and 26 respectively.
According to Ivankovic, China needs new faces to become more competitive.
"There are many good players in China, and we will need to take our time finding them. Every time we train in the future, we will bring in two to three new players," said the coach.
"It is important for us to choose new players, and I believe many CSL players have the ability to play for the national team," he added.
State Supreme Court and Republican congressional primary elections top Georgia ballots2024-05-22 09:54
China's Guangdong downgrades flood control emergency response2024-05-22 09:36
Humanitarian crisis in Gaza exposes Western double standard on human rights2024-05-22 09:33
The Village Super League and the rural awakening2024-05-22 09:23
What to expect in the California 20th District special election2024-05-22 09:00
Guangdong hand Sichuan 14th defeat in a row2024-05-22 08:41
Liang seals narrow win as WTT Champions Incheon kick off2024-05-22 08:22
USC president makes her first remarks over recent campus controversies on Israel2024-05-22 07:29
Iran's nuclear policy unlikely to change even after president's death2024-05-22 07:26
Chinese tourist arrivals to Cambodia's Angkor up significantly2024-05-22 07:26
A Canadian serial killer who brought victims to a pig farm is hospitalized after a prison assault2024-05-22 10:05
Chinese pickle spices up export hopes with Mexico2024-05-22 09:55
How to upgrade your outdated acronyms to keep up with Gen Z2024-05-22 09:34
WADA astonished by 'politically motivated' allegations against Chinese swimmers2024-05-22 09:26
Hundreds of hostages, mostly women and children, are rescued from Boko Haram extremists in Nigeria2024-05-22 08:58
Chinese premier stresses consolidating achievements in poverty alleviation2024-05-22 08:55
China sees 160M domestic tourist trips during May Day holiday2024-05-22 08:40
China sees 160M domestic tourist trips during May Day holiday2024-05-22 08:32
Syrian first lady Asma Assad diagnosed with leukemia, president's office says2024-05-22 08:15
Thousands rally in Madrid to urge Spanish leader Pedro Sánchez not to resign2024-05-22 07:58