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Li Tie has resigned as coach of the Chinese men’s national team and has been replaced by former teammate Li Xiaopeng, the China Football Association announced on Friday.
The former Everton midfielder left him in the midst of criticism over his team’s work in the 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign, as he wants to reach the finals for the first time since the country debuted almost 20 years ago.
China is the fifth of the six Group B teams, and only the first two are guaranteed a place in Qatar.
“Li Tie has applied to the Chinese Football Association to resign as coach of the Chinese men’s soccer team,” the CFA said in a statement.
“The Chinese Football Association decided to accept his resignation after the debate.
“After extensive consultation, the Chinese Football Association decided to hire Li Xiaopeng as the head coach of the Chinese men’s soccer team.”
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Marc Tie Lippi was appointed coach of Li Tie after his resignation in November 2019 and extended his contract with the CFA until August 2026.
The 44-year-old previously worked as an assistant coach for Lippi before the Italian coached Guangzhou Evergrande and the Chinese national team before training with the Chinese Super League teams Hebei China Fortune and Wuhan Zall.
He was officially established as coach in January 2020 and took China to the final round of the Asian qualifiers.
However, he has only won one game – in October against Vietnam – in six games in the group, and has drawn with Oman and Australia.
Li Tie was heavily criticized for replacing the naturalized Brazilian Aloisio winger – known in China as Luo Guofu – after a meeting with Oman in November, despite a notable performance.
He then set himself on fire for using his personal social media account to promote his products despite the disappointing results of the group.
Li Xiaopeng will take over as coach after being sidelined for two years with Shandong Luneng, who ended up with health problems last year.
Li Tier’s midfield partner in the 2002 World Cup finals, Li Xiaopeng recently worked with Chinese Super League team Wuhan FC.
His first match will be on January 27, before China will face Japan and five days later against Vietnam.
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