MTI said Li Tai, the federal captain of the Chinese national football team, will be replaced by Li Xiaoping.
| Lee Tae resigns (Image: Getty Images) |
The former Everton midfielder, who took over the squad following the departure of Marcelo Lippi two years ago, has come under heavy criticism recently as the national team’s performance so far has been poor in World Cup qualifiers. He is currently only fifth in his group, and only the first two will qualify for the Qatar World Cup next year, while he may be in the third qualifiers.
The national team defected by four points before the end with six points against the third Australian and seven points against the second Japanese. The qualifying series will continue in late January, with the launch of the Chinese Guard in Japan.
The Chinese alliance announced Li Tai’s resignation on Friday, and also named his successor, Li Xiaobo.
Asian World Cup Qualifiers
third section
Round 7 (January 27, 2022)
Japan and China
Australia and Vietnam
Saudi Arabia – Oman
Round 8 (February 1, 2022)
Japan and Saudi Arabia
Oman and Australia
Vietnam and China
Round 9 (March 24, 2022)
Australia and Japan
China – Saudi Arabia
Vietnam – Oman
Round 10 (March 29, 2022)
Japan and Vietnam
Saudi Arabia and Australia
Oman and China
| 1. Saudi Arabia | 6 | 5 | 1 | – | 9-3 | +6 | 16 |
| 2. Japan | 6 | 4 | – | 2 | 5-3 | +2 | 12 |
| 3. Australia | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 9-4 | +5 | 11 |
| 4. Oman | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6-7 | -1 | 7 |
| 5. China | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7-11 | –4 | 5 |
| 6. Vietnam | 6 | – | – | 6 | 4-12 | -8 | 0 |
