China's national team coach aims for three points against Thailand.

China 's national team coach, Aleksandar Jankovic, declared that he would defeat Thailand in their opening match of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers - Asian region.

"We are ready," coach Jankovic said at a press conference on the afternoon of November 14 in Thailand. "We are very happy and excited to participate in the World Cup qualifiers. I and the whole team have been waiting for this day for a long time. We will do our best to win three points against Thailand."

On November 21st, China will return home to face formidable opponent South Korea. However, Jankovic affirmed that he and his players are fully focused on the away match against Thailand on the evening of November 16th. He sees this as the first step in the World Cup qualifiers and doesn't want to think too far ahead.

Coach Jankovic held a press conference after China's 2-0 victory over Vietnam on October 10th at the Dalian Stadium.

Jankovic also stated that China's goal is to qualify. He hopes the players can represent their country strongly and fulfill their mission. "The players are all motivated, determined, and courageous to serve their country," the 51-year-old Serbian coach added. "We want to start a new chapter with full strength to achieve our goal of qualifying for the World Cup. We will do our best to reach that goal."

Jankovic also stated that the goal in every match is always three points. He and the players will not change this, nor their confidence, regardless of the opponent. However, depending on the match, he will adjust his approach accordingly.

China, Thailand, South Korea, and Singapore are in Group C of the second round of the Asian qualifiers. The four teams will play a double round-robin format. The top two teams in the group will advance to the third round and qualify for the 2027 Asian Cup.

Jankovic began coaching China in 2022, after four years managing the U19, U20, and U23 teams. His record in 11 matches as coach of China includes four wins, three draws, and four losses. In 2023, Jankovic's team played eight friendly matches: a 0-0 draw and a 1-2 loss against New Zealand, a 4-0 win against Myanmar and a 2-0 win against Palestine, a 1-1 draw against Malaysia, a 0-1 loss against Syria, a 2-0 win against Vietnam, and a 1-2 loss against Uzbekistan.

China has only participated in the World Cup once, in 2002, where they were eliminated in the group stage. The 2026 World Cup will increase the number of participating teams from 32 to 48. Asia will have eight direct qualification spots, in addition to one play-off spot against a representative from another continent.

Thanh Quy (according to Sanook )

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