Yankovic made his first public appearance after becoming the coach of the national football team and shouted to impact the 2026 World Cup
Peninsula media reporter Pan Lichao
On the afternoon of March 1, the Chinese Football Association arranged a media meeting for the new head coach of the national football team, Jankovic. Jankovic made it clear that the team will go all out for the 2026 World Cup. In addition, the Qatar Asian Cup will be held from January 12 to February 10, 2024 local time. Although Jankovic shouted loud slogans, there are many practical difficulties, and the Asian Cup will be one of the important tests.
Goal impact 2026 World Cup
At the first press conference after taking office, Jankovic shouted the slogan of impacting the 2026 World Cup: “First of all, as a head coach, I have various ways to avoid this problem. I can say that my daily work is my job. Goal, but I think we must set a clear goal, which is to go all out for the 2026 World Cup.”
The 2026 World Cup has expanded to 48 teams, and the number of qualifying places in Asia has increased to 8.5. Jankovic believes that this is not only an opportunity but also a challenge. “Whether it is 4.5 places or 8.5 places, our goal is to hit the World Cup with all our strength. We will start preparing for the game tomorrow. Since we set the tone to hit the World Cup, we must have good organization and discipline, work hard and work hard to achieve the goal. Starting tomorrow, we will combine the details and wear the national team jersey and we’re going to fight for it.”
For some opponents in Asia, Jankovic will respect the achievements of Japan and South Korea at the national team level. They not only track domestic players, but also players in Europe, but they mainly focus on me: “We I will not pay too much attention to the situation of the opponent, but pay more attention to myself. As the head coach, I must first lower my posture. Every day in life, every day in training, we start from every little bit. Since there are 8.5 If the Chinese team qualify for the Asian Cup, then we must work hard every step of the way. A concept I want to instill is that whether it is fighting against a world-class team, or the usual training match, For friendly matches, our players must maintain a consistent attitude and take it seriously, and we must be eager and competitive for the victory of every game.”
Master the basic information of all players
Jankovic looked back on his coaching experience and the four and a half years of working in China, and talked about his understanding of Chinese players: “I have coached for 22 years, half of the club and half of the national team. In 2010, as Antić Mr.’s coaching team participated in the World Cup in South Africa. When I was 39 years old, I had coaching experience in both the national team and the club. The desired goal. In the past four and a half years, I have worked in the Chinese Football Association and served as the head coach of the 1999 age group. During this period, I not only inspected players of this age group, but also paid attention to the Chinese Super League, Chinese League One games and some Chinese League Two games. , I have the basic information of all the players in China.”
Regarding the naturalized players, Jankovic said that he would not distinguish any players: “First of all, it is clear that no distinction should be made between any players. I am very grateful to Chengdu Rongcheng for bringing Exxon back to China, so that at the national team level It provides us with more choices. Of course, from another perspective, my selection criteria are attitude, mental attributes and determination. Coaches need to lead by example. From daily life to preparations for training and competitions, the staff need to be the first One in place. After that, the process is relatively simple. The standard is set to see which players can be integrated and suitable for this system. Whether it is a veteran or a young player, it is not a personal matter who will play and who will not, but I know how we should play. “
Regarding the evaluation of Chinese players, Jankovic believes: “I want to say that Chinese people have a strong learning ability and are very intelligent. Based on this characteristic, I want to create different systems and styles. In different games, we should Pay more attention to yourself and play your own things. This selection is the result of careful consideration. I will set standards to judge players. The door of the national team is open. There is no difference between every player. We only consider adapting to the country. People in the team system. I will prepare various styles of play, no matter what formation is used, but the basic values are the same. Our team needs players who are willing to pay and sacrifice for the team. We don’t know who will play, but I know what kind of players to choose and how to play. The turnover is also normal, and everyone who meets the employment criteria will be recruited.”
The end of the year will usher in the test of the competition
For Jankovic, the big test after taking office is the World Cup at the end of this year and the Asian Cup at the beginning of next year. Regarding how to balance these two events, Jankovic also has his own views: “Although the two events are interspersed, they are actually not complicated. We just need to advance step by step with time. As a coach, I cannot waste Every day, we will prepare step by step for these two events. I want to build a competitive team, which is what I think at the moment, and hopefully the Asian Cup will prove that this path is the right one.”
According to the FIFA match day calendar, the national football team will go to New Zealand at the end of March to play two warm-up matches with their opponents (tentatively scheduled for the 23rd and 26th). show. The real test for Jankovic will be the top 36 Asian preliminaries in November this year. The 36 Asian teams will be divided into 9 groups with 4 teams in each group for a double round-robin match. The top two will advance to the third stage, which is 18. After the strong match, the quota for the direct World Cup and the quota for the play-offs will be determined. According to the world ranking of the Chinese team, there is a high probability that they will be in the second tier. The six strong Asian teams that have participated in the World Cup in Qatar will be the first tier teams, and there is a high probability that they will be in the same group as the Chinese team. According to the current strength of the Chinese team, it is still difficult to defeat strong enemies in Asia. Even against Southeast Asian teams such as Thailand in the third tier, it is difficult to say that they have absolute certainty of victory. Therefore, in November The round of 36 will be a major test for Jankovic.
In January 2024, the national football team will play in the Asian Cup in Qatar. After the Asian Cup, whether Jankovic can continue to coach the Chinese team is still unknown.
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