August 13, with the AFC Asian Qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup final round approaching, Chinese national team head coach Aleksandar Ivanković recently gave an interview to AFC, expressing his understanding of Japan, the first opponent, and that he would not give up any match in the final round.
The AFC website first wrote that Ivanković took over from Dragan Stojkovic to lead the Chinese team, and commented that he has the task of saving the Chinese team’s World Cup dream.
Regarding the prospect of the final round
Ivanković looked ahead to the World Cup qualifying prospects in the interview: “We will not give up easily any match we participate in. We hope to fight any team from the first minute to the 90th minute. We will try to create some surprises. We have qualified for the final round, which makes me very satisfied. This will help the players build confidence and come to the field with the idea of how to beat their opponents.”
About the football atmosphere in China
Ivanković talked about the current football atmosphere in China: “The football atmosphere here is getting stronger. Many matches in the league have 4-60,000 people coming to watch. With the national team achieving these results, everything about football has gotten better. Culture is one of the most important factors in creating good results in football.”
Regarding the team’s style
“Young players have joined the team, and they respect every opponent on the field. They want to fight everyone, just like the last time they played against South Korea. They didn’t let the Korean players easily beat China, which is the most important thing for me. We will strive to shape this mindset and character, to establish a winning mentality. This is perhaps the most difficult thing, but we will do it with confidence and our style of play.”
Regarding the first opponent, Japan
“Japan is a bit of an old rival. I know Japan well because I coached Oman, and I led Oman against them in the qualifiers. We even defeated them in Japan.”
“They have more than 20 players in the top five leagues, not only in Europe. Japan is a good team, as are Australia and Saudi Arabia. But football is round, you never know what will happen on the field.”
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