China want nothing but 3 points
Team Dragon not inferior to any other Asian team: Lippi
China captain Zheng Zhi said Wednesday the national team need nothing but a win in the home game against South Korea on Thursday.
“We need to do everything to win the match,” Zheng told a pre- match news conference. “We need nothing but three points.”
He said restraining South Korea captain Ki Sung- yueng, a former teammate of Zheng during his days at Scottish club Celtic, will be a key tactic for Thursday’s match in Changsha, Hunan Province.
“He [ Ki] is a player we need to take good care of in midfield. I believe we have means to limit him,” Zheng said, before adding that most of his teammates are well aware of South Korea due to their encounters with Korean players in club games.
China’s head coach Marcello Lippi said his players understand the importance of the match, saying they only care about the match result.
“We only care about the match result,” Lippi said. “If we want to keep our World Cup hopes alive, we must win three points.”
The World Cup- winning coach was cagey on revealing his tactics ahead of the game, only saying he will make the best use of what his players are capable of.
The Italian said he didn’t acknowledge that He Long Stadium is a lucky place for China as the team have an unbeaten record there.
Lippi held his training sessions mostly behind closed doors, with giant posters carrying the slogan “Don’t crack down when under pressure” surrounding the training pitch.
“I have told my players re- peatedly to put down their pressure and fear when playing for the national team,” Lippi said. “We are here to defend the dignity of the 1.4 billion Chinese people.
“When you are wearing the national team uniform, you should do your best on the pitch. And if they can play what they are really capable of, we are not inferior to any other Asian team.”
Though the rain only stopped Wednesday afternoon after lingering in the city for more than a week, Lippi said he is very satisfied with the condition in the stadium and hopes it could prove being lucky on Thursday.
China are at the bottom of the table with only two points in the six- team qualifying group after five rounds, while South Korea are in the second place, which is enough for a World Cup berth in 2018.
South Korea coach Uli Stielike has summoned four Korean players who are playing for Chinese Super League teams, including Hong Jeong- ho of Jiangsu Suning and Jang Hyunsoo of Guangzhou R& F.
The duo are under criticism back home in South Korea for dropping form, with some Korean fans arguing the Chinese Super League has lowered their level.
Both Hong and Jang said they hope to defend their reputation by solid performance, adding that “our team members are better than our counterparts individually.”
German Stielike also rubbished the talk that the absence of Korean star Son Heung- min will have a big impact on his side, noting that a team hoping to play in the World Cup should be able to handle the situation when players are troubled by injuries or suspension.