China coach under pressure with World Cup hopes in peril

BEIJING: China coach Branko Ivankovic was under pressure Wednesday to quit after less than seven months in the job with their hopes of reaching the 2026 World Cup in danger.

China are bottom of their group in the third round of Asian qualifying following two defeats in as many games, the latest a 2-1 home loss to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. The Saudis played much of the game in Dalian with 10 men following the 19th-minute dismissal of Mohamed Kanno, but they were the better side in the second half and scored the winner at the death through Hassan Kadish’s second header of the night.

Boos rang around the stadium at the final whistle with Croatian coach Ivankovic the target of much of the home fans’ anger. On the social media platform Weibo, the hashtags “Chinese football. No hope” and “Ivankovic step down” began trending within minutes.

Since being appointed in February to replace Serbia’s Aleksandar Jankovic, Ivankovic has won one of his six games in charge, drawing two and losing three. Asked about his future afterwards, the 70-year-old said: “The question shouldn’t be directed at me.”

China have reached the World Cup only once, in 2002, suggesting problems run deeper than the coach. Hours before the game Chinese football banned 43 people, most of them players, for life over alleged gambling and match-fixing. Nevertheless, heavyweight state media pointed the finger on Wednesday at Ivankovic, whose side was hammered 7-0 at Japan last week.