Shin Tae-yong emerges as potential China national team coach after Ivankovic dismissal

According to Sohu reports, Shin Tae-yong — former Indonesia national team coach — has emerged as one of the main candidates to fill the newly vacant China national team coaching position.

The coaching vacancy occurred after Chinese Football Association (CFA) decided to terminate Branko Ivankovic — the 71-year-old Croatian coach — following poor results in World Cup 2026 qualification.

The Dragon Team only managed to collect 9 points from 10 matches and stopped at fifth place in Group C third round qualifiers — a result that ended their hopes of reaching World Cup 2026 finals.

CFA now faces pressure to appoint new coach quickly as China national team will compete in the East Asian Cup starting in the near future.