China's football association announced on Friday the sacking of national coach Branko Ivankovic, a decision that comes in the wake of the country's failure to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. This move follows a series of disappointing setbacks for the Chinese national team, which has only ever participated once in a World Cup tournament.

The critical blow to China's qualification hopes came in early June with a 1-0 loss to Indonesia. This result effectively dashed the team's chances, leading to their finish as second-to-last in their Asian group, having suffered seven defeats in 10 matches during the qualifying campaign.

In an official statement released on Friday, the Chinese Football Association (CFA) confirmed the termination, stating, "As the Chinese men’s national team failed to qualify for the play-off stage, the contract of the coach and his staff has been automatically terminated, in accordance with the stipulated terms." The association also expressed gratitude to the Croatian coach, who has a history of coaching teams like Dinamo Zagreb and Iran, for his dedicated efforts.

Following Ivankovic's departure, the CFA has appointed Dejan Djurdjevic, the Serbian coach of the Chinese U-19 men’s national team, as the interim national coach. The senior team's current FIFA ranking stands at 94th in the world, reflecting a consistent downward trend observed over several years.

The Chinese side has long been a subject of frustration and ridicule among its domestic fans, primarily due to its persistent poor results and the pervasive multiple corruption scandals that have plagued the sport within the country. Despite President Xi Jinping's expressed ambition for China to one day win the World Cup, the latest qualification flop underscores the team's historical struggles, with its sole World Cup appearance in 2002 yielding neither a point nor a single goal scored.