The Chinese Football Association has appointed Croatian Branko Ivanković as new head coach of the Chinese men’s national team. 

“In order to prepare for the upcoming 2026 World Cup qualifiers, the CFA decided, after the assessment of experts, to hire Branko Ivankovic as the new head coach of China’s men’s national team,” said a statement from the CFA.

The 69-year-old Croatian, who was last head coach of the Oman national team, replaces Serbian Aleksandar Janković who was sacked after China’s poor results from the Asian Cup.

“Due to the Chinese team’s failure to enter the knockout stage in Asian Cup, the contract between CFA and Jankovic terminated automatically. The CFA is thankful for the hard work of coach Jankovic and his coaching team, and wish them all the best,” the statement read. 

Ivanković has managed a number of clubs and countries in his lengthy career. He was assistant to Ćiro Blažević in the late 1990s, and also was in charge of the likes of Hannover 96, Dinamo Zagreb and Iran.

The Croatian’s debut on the bench is set to be next month when China plays Singapore in World Cup qualifiers.