*This content was translated by AI.
He missed last year's East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Championship (East Asian Cup) by allowing South Korea to draw. Ante Milicic, the coach of China's women's national soccer team, eventually put down the baton shortly after the Asian Cup was eliminated.
"Coach Milic was replaced after the Asian Cup schedule," Chinese media Sohu reported on the 18th (Korea Standard Time), adding, "However, the Chinese Football Association does not have to pay Milici a separate penalty."
Coach Milicic's replacement has already been ignited since last year. According to "Sina Sports," China's distrust of Coach Milic reached its peak after losing 0-8 to England last year.
According to local reports, the Chinese Football Association considered firing under pressure from its superiors at the time, but Coach Milic has reportedly maintained a contractual relationship, suggesting, "If you let me lead the team to the Asian Cup, I will step down without penalty."
In the end, Coach Milic's last stage was this Asian Cup. China failed to advance to the final after losing 1-2 to her home country, Australia, in the semifinals of the 2026 Asian Football Confederation Women's Asian Cup. As a result, China continues its humiliation of never winning against Australia for 14 years since 2012.
Coach Milic was heavily criticized by his own fans for his bad relationship with Korea last year. During the 2025 East Asian Cup, China was on the verge of winning the first match against South Korea, but they gave up a dramatic equalizer to Ji So-yeon just before the end of the match and drew 2-2. If they had won the match, China could have lifted the trophy, but they eventually bowed their heads to South Korea, giving them a come-from-behind victory.
At the time, Coach Milicic said, "The 94th minute of the against South Korea / vs. Korea was the decisive cause of missing the tournament," adding, "I learned a lesson that if you lose your concentration at the end of the game, you will pay."
However, Coach Milicic failed to recover his honor at the Asian Cup later, and headed to his country forlornness after being eliminated from the tournament.
According to Sina Sports, Coach Milicic, who was dismissed just three hours after the Asian Cup semifinal elimination, was confirmed to have left for his home in Croatia without returning to China with the team. Chinese women's soccer achieved the minimum goal of advancing to the World Cup finals for the fifth consecutive time, but after losing pride, it ended up leaving the head coach.
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*This content was translated by AI.
