Ivankovic no longer serves as head coach, the national football team failed to advance and his contract was automatically terminated

The Chinese Football Association issued an announcement today: Officially announcing that Ivankovic will no longer serve as the head coach of the Chinese National Men’s Football Team. The full text is as follows:The top 18 matches of the Asian region of the 2026 US-Canada-Mexico World Cup qualifiers have ended. Since the Chinese national men's football team failed to advance to the play-off stage, the coaching contract of the head coach and the coaching team has been automatically terminated as agreed.

After review by an expert review group, the Chinese Football Association decided that Blanco Ivankovic will no longer serve as the head coach of the Chinese national men's football team.

The Chinese Football Association thanks Mr. Ivankovic and the coaching team for their hard work and contribution to Chinese football while coaching the Chinese men’s football team, and wishes Mr. Ivankovic all the best in his future work and life.