After losing to the Australian women's football team, the Chinese women's football team ended their journey to this Asian Cup. The Chinese women's football team, which qualified for the World Cup as a semi-finalist, achieved its set goal, but in terms of the process, the team did not bring any more surprises to the outside world.
Although the reversal of the North Korean team was impressive, the Chinese women's football team failed to show sufficient dominance against opponents such as Bangladesh, Uzbekistan and Chinese Taipei that were obviously inferior. Especially in the quarter-finals against the Chinese Taipei team, after being scored by the opponent for the first time in the East Asian Cup last year, this time they historically failed to win within regular time, once again setting an embarrassing record. If last year's 0-8 loss to the England team exposed the huge gap between them and today's world's top teams, then this Asian Cup clearly reflects the reality of the Chinese women's football team's dilemma of "whether they are weak or not strong". Compared with three months ago, apart from a tougher style of play, the team under Milicic has not shown significant improvement. In that case, maybe it's time to say goodbye.
Last year's eight-goal defeat had put Milicic's coaching position in jeopardy. However, as the Asian Cup was about to start, out of safety considerations, the Chinese Football Association finally chose to let him continue to lead the team. This "conservative treatment" played a certain role, and the team won the World Cup ticket as expected. But within Asia, the Chinese women's football team should have such stability. The overall level of women's football under the AFC is limited. The only five teams that are truly competitive are Japan, North Korea, Australia, China and South Korea. It is normal for the Chinese team to get one of the six World Cup places.
With the Asian Cup mission coming to an end, the Chinese women's football team will usher in a "empty window period" of more than a year – there will be no international competition until the Women's World Cup in Brazil in June 2027. The coaching change process was started immediately, and this precious intermission period can be left for the new coach to adjust the lineup and practice tactics. Of course, the Chinese Football Association's selection of coaches must be fully considered and prudent in decision-making. The salary of women's football coaches is generally low and there are not many good opportunities. The choice of Chinese women's football team is far easier than that of men's football team. Milicic had been unemployed for more than two years before coaching the Chinese team, and had only coached in women's football for just over a year. A coach with such obvious resume flaws should no longer be a candidate.
