With the Hangzhou Asian Games approaching, time is running out for the national football team to prepare for the World Preliminary Round. In November, China will travel to Thailand to face their arch-rivals, a 5-1 defeat that has been etched in memory, and now the battle for revenge is about to be staged, which will directly determine the future of the national football team in the World Qualifiers.
However, the team's poor performances against Malaysia and Syria have led to growing suspicions that incumbent coach Jankovic alone may not be able to achieve his goal of qualifying for the World Cup. After he took office, he led the national football team to the cold on many occasions, and even failed to defeat the relatively weak Malaysia, which can be said to be extremely disappointing. It is worth noting that the national football team has some excellent players, but Jankovic's selection criteria have made some strong players desperate, he favored Wang Dalei, and overused Li Lei and Xu Xin, and these decisions have caused widespread controversy.
As a result, the number of seats in Asia to qualify for the World Cup has expanded from 4.5 to 8.5, and the Chinese Football Association has clearly shown greater ambitions. For veterans like Wu Lei, Zhang Linpeng and Wu Xi, this may be their last chance to qualify for the World Cup. In view of the current limited talent pool of the national football team, the strength of the national football team may further decline in the next few years. Therefore, seizing this opportunity to achieve the goal of qualifying for the World Cup is a wise decision for Chinese football. In addition, the new president of the Chinese Football Association, Song Kai, also needs to achieve political achievements as soon as possible to help the national football team enter the World Cup, which will undoubtedly become a milestone in his political career.
According to domestic media, the Chinese Football Association is currently actively contacting Spanish coach Pedro. The 51-year-old Pedro enjoys a high reputation in Chinese football circles after a successful coaching record for Wuhan in the Chinese Super League, leading the team back to the glory of Kaiserslautern. Pedro has said he is eager to coach the Chinese national team, but before that, Chen Jiayuan's occupation of the national football head coach has prevented him from doing so. But now, Song Kai is the president of the Chinese Football Association, and he is extremely optimistic about Pedro's coaching ability, so he is expected to become a new coach.
Pedro is currently on a free agency, it is relatively easy to sign him, and since he is not a world-class manager, he does not need to pay a high salary. It is reported that his annual salary will be about 4 million euros, equivalent to 30 million yuan. Compared with the previous contracts of famous coaches such as Ricamacho and Perran, Pedro's salary is more cost-effective. This change will have a profound impact on the future fate of the Chinese national team, and it is hoped that he can lead the national football team to regain its strength and contribute to the development of Chinese football.