On May 11, Beijing time, the Chinese Football Association officially announced the new coach of the Chinese women's football team, and Ante Milicic became the head coach of the Chinese women's national football team.
The announcement of the Chinese Football Association reads:
In order to further prepare for the 2026 Women's Asian Cup and the 2027 Women's World Cup, the Chinese Football Association decided to appoint Ante Milicic as the head coach of the Chinese women's national football team after the evaluation of the expert review panel.
Ante Milicic (born 4 April 1974 in Australia) is an AFC professional coach. As a player, he played in the top leagues of Australia, the Netherlands and Croatia, and was selected for the Australian men's national football team. After serving as a coach, she has coached teams such as the Australian U-23, U-19 national men's football team, and Australian women's national football team.
Born in 1974, Milicic has just turned 50 this year, and as a player, he played as a striker, scoring five goals in six appearances for his country. Milicic has played in two World Cups with Postecoglou and Van Marwijk and helped the Australian men's team win the Asian Cup in 2015.
Milicic took over as Australian women's national team manager in February 2019 and led the team to the round of 16 of the 2019 Women's World Cup in France. In February 2020, the Australian women's football team drew 1-1 at home to China in injury time in the group B group stage of the Tokyo Olympic qualifiers, and both teams advanced to the play-offs, and then defeated the underdogs Vietnam women's football team in the play-offs to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.