Former World Cup and Champions League-winning coach Marcello Lippi has announced his resignation as manager of the Chinese national team after a World Cup qualifying defeat to Syria.
The game, doubling as a qualifying match for both the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and the 2023 Asian Cup in China, ended in a 2-1 win for Syria and saw them go five points clear of China at the top of their five-team group.
China are already qualified for the Asian Cup as hosts, but they are now level on points with the Philippines midway through the group, which also contains the Maldives and Guam.