Cutting a long story short

World Cup woe

Having struggled in World Cup qualifying, Team China now requires something of a minor miracle to reach this year's finals in Qatar and add to the country's solitary appearance in 2002. With four games left to play, Team China sits fifth in the six-team Group B of Asian zone qualifying, six points off a third-place playoff spot, the squad's last hope of advancing. China's lackluster performances also led to the resignation of head coach Li Tie. To make new head coach Li Xiaopeng's task even harder, many of the squad's naturalized players are unsure if they will make themselves available for selection in the remaining qualifiers.