Coach Shin Tae-yong to debut in China national team in July, facing Korea?

If he leads the Chinese team, coach Shin Tae-yong will immediately face the Korean team.

Coach Shin Tae-yong will almost certainly reach an agreement with the Chinese Football Association (CFA) to lead the national team to replace coach Branko Ivankovic, who was fired due to poor results in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Asia, CNN Indonesia reported on June 15.

Photo: AFP

If he officially accepts, the former coach of the Indonesian national team will return to work after more than 7 months of unemployment, but he will likely have to face his home team, South Korea, at the upcoming East Asian Championship (EAFF E-1 2025), CNN Indonesia expressed.

At the EAFF E-1 2025 tournament, which will be played from July 7 to 15, the Chinese team will face South Korea, Japan and Hong Kong (qualifiers). The tournament will be held in South Korea, with all matches taking place at the Yongin Mireu Stadium in Yongin City.

However, the teams will not have the participation of star players playing in Europe, mostly using only domestic players.

Therefore, if he accepts the offer from CFA, coach Shin Tae-yong could surprise with his return to work at the national team level, after a period of being idle since being fired by the Indonesian Football Federation (PSSI) in January 2025.

Previously, coach Shin Tae-yong was sought after by the CFA to lead the Chinese national team. However, the 54-year-old coach refused, then he went to work for the Indonesian national team from 2020 and led the country's U.23 team.

CNN Indonesia also said that coach Shin Tae-yong's return to work as the head coach of the Chinese national team in the near future is very likely, as the Korean newspaper Football Asia also confirmed this news and said that the two sides are negotiating very actively. If everything goes well, coach Shin Tae-yong could be announced as soon as June.

In another case, the CFA will also have a temporary solution, which is to appoint an interim coach to lead the Chinese team at the EAFF E-1 2025 tournament, while they continue to negotiate with coach Shin Tae-yong to become the new and long-term coach of the national team.

CFA aims for the Chinese team to participate in the 2027 Asian Cup with positive results, and prepare its forces to return to compete in the 2030 World Cup qualifiers.