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AFC Asian Cup: Lippi demands more intensity from China ahead of quarterfinal against Iran

The Italian World Cup-winning coach hailed his players after they overcame Thailand 2-1 to reach the last eight, saying they had proved they were among the best in Asia.

Marcello Lippi

Bengaluru, January 21: China's coach Marcello Lippi has demanded more intenstity from his team ahead of their crunch AFC Asian Cup quarterfinal against Iran, which could possibly be the last game of his tenure.

The Italian World Cup-winning coach hailed his players after they overcame Thailand 2-1 to reach the last eight, saying they had proved they were among the best in Asia.

However, the 70-year-old said China still had a habit of drifting in and out of games after another Jekyll-and-Hyde performance in which they trailed 0-1 midway through the second half.

"Chinese players have to improve psychologically," said Lippi, who is expected to leave China after the AFC Asian Cup following two-and-a-half years at the helm.

"Sometimes they need to be much more focused and concentrated and pay more attention during the game. It's a psychological thing.

"It's very important to have the same intensity, the same determination from the beginning of the game."

China were under the cosh against Thailand until Lippi switched his formation at half-time, turning the tables as they swamped the Thais for much of the second period.

But Iran, Asia's top-ranked team who reached last eight after beating Oman 2-0, will provide a much stiffer test and the expectation is that after Thursday's (January 23) game in Abu Dhabi, China will be packing their bags.

Lippi already appeared to be defending his record when he volunteered statistics that in his 10 competitive matches, China have won six and lost only two, to Iran and South Korea.

"That means I have to be very proud of my players," he said, adding: "I'm very satisfied because this team is getting great results and we're in the quarterfinals, which means we're one of the top eight Asian teams."

Reaching the quarters matches China's performance of 2015, when the AFC Asian Cup had only 16 teams rather than 24. China have never won the trophy in 11 previous attempts.

(With Agency inputs)

Story first published: Monday, January 21, 2019, 16:33 [IST]
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