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Director Jankovic ‘Raise the line’

The match between Qatar and China in Group A of the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup held at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar on the 22nd (local time).China's coach Aleksandar Jankovic is instructing his players on strategy while shouting 'up'.

Coach Aleksandar Jankovic of the Chinese national soccer team, who suffered the humiliation of a 'draw' in the group stage of the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup, mentioned the possibility of himself being sacked and said, 'I am not afraid.'

China lost 0-1 to the host nation, Qatar, in the final match of Group A of the tournament held at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar, on the 22nd (local time).

With 2 draws and 1 loss in the group stage, China fell to 3rd place in the group and was forced to hope that the teams ranked 3rd in other groups would perform poorly.

It has been 48 years since the 1976 tournament that China failed to win even one game in the Asian Cup group stage.

According to AFP, coach Jankovic said at the post-match press conference, "If we don't score a goal, we can't expect much success. It's disappointing that we can no longer decide our own fate."

At the same time, he said he was not afraid of stepping down from his position as a coach and also expressed his opinion on the possibility of dismissal.

“There are generally two types of managers: those who have been sacked and those who will be sacked,” Jankovic said. “If you want to do this job, you have to accept both cases.”

He added, “Thinking about the moment when you will stop working (as a director) means being afraid of all situations,” and added, “A person who feels that afraid of everything cannot be a director.”

Coach Jankovic, who is from Serbia, was appointed as the coach of the Chinese national team in February last year.

Coach Jankovic encouraging his players

After coaching the under-19 and under-23 national teams in China since 2018, China has also entrusted him with leading the adult national team.

Previously, former coach Li Tian, ​​a former star player of the Chinese national team, took responsibility for the elimination of the 2022 Qatar World Cup qualifiers and resigned in December 2021, and was even investigated by the authorities for discipline. His successor, former coach Li Xiaopeng, also resigned after a year of poor performance. took off

Director Yankovic, who received the position of Chinese coach, which is considered a 'poisoned chalice' amidst a series of bad news, is also unable to laugh.

China, which drew scoreless against Tajikistan and Lebanon in the first and second group matches, was also unable to find a net against Qatar.

China took 35 shots in three games combined, but poor goal-scoring ability hindered them each time.

Coach Jankovic said, "We weren't lucky enough to score a goal right now, but I'm sure the moment will come when all the balls go in." 섯다