"As a result of this defeat, I bring an end to my time in charge of the China national team," he said. "I hope the China national team will be better in the future and we will meet in football again." The People's Daily didn't recognize any improvement in its editorial, instead saying "China's national team is merely marching in place or even going backward in terms of quality." Only the top two teams in both six-team qualifying groups will advance to the World Cup. China's only appearance at the World Cup was in 2002, when it failed to score a goal in the tournament that was co-hosted by South Korea and Japan.

Source: New Zealand Herald October 12, 2016 09:33 UTC