Lippi to remain as China coach till 2019 Asian Cup

Beijing, August 24: China coach Marcello Lippi will stay on until at least the 2019 Asian Cup to be held in the United Arab Emirates, the Chinese Football Association said on Thursday.

The Italian, who replaced Gao Hongbo last October, has kept China's slim hopes of qualifying for the next year's World Cup finals alive since taking over.

China take on Uzbekistan and Qatar in their final two qualifiers over the coming weeks, with Lippi's team needing to win both and hope other results go their way to have any hope of progressing into the playoffs for a place in Russia.

"We will strictly carry out our contract with Lippi, which expires after the 2019 Asian Cup," the Chinese Football Association (CFA) abnounced on their website on Thursday.

"We won't interfere with his preparation and the line-up. In the meantime, we will support his group as always. We hope to support and trust each other."

By progressing to the final round of Asia's World Cup qualifiers, China have already secured their place at the quadrennial Asian Cup, which has been expanded to feature 24 teams for the first time.

China's best performance in the Asian Cup came on home soil in 2004, when they lost to Japan in the final. They reached the quarterfinals in the most recent edition, in Australia in 2015.

The team have shown some progress under Lippi, securing only their second win over South Korea in March, but their hopes of qualifying for a second World Cup finals were always remote after a poor start under Gao.