‘Room for improvement’ for China but time running out on World Cup chances after Iran defeat
Marcello Lippi’s side lose 1-0 in Tehran on Tuesday and now must realistically win their final three games in group A just to secure a play-off place
China’s report card from their trip to Iran from coach Marcello Lippi read “room for improvement” but the 1-0 defeat at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran, while nothing to be ashamed of, means there is unlikely to be enough time left to rescue 2018 Fifa World Cup qualification hopes.
A home win over South Korea and an away defeat by Iran, with the pair representing Asia’s leading two sides, is not the worse return from two games in group A during this international window.
But with Uzbekistan beating Qatar and South Korea rebounding with a 1-0 victory over Syria, China find themselves seven points adrift of the play-off spot on offer for finishing third and realistically needing to win their final three games.
“Iran is the number one team in this group, they haven’t conceded a goal or lost a game. They are a very strong team,” said Lippi.
Watch: Iran 1 China 0 highlights
“After this game, we still have room for improvement. We did well in these two games, our defence was quite solid today, but if we want to beat a team like that, we still need to make a lot of effort.”