to Uzbekistan next month. Gao Hongbo resigned. His team had been winless in the first four matches of the final qualifying stage for the World Cup, including a home loss to Syria which was criticised by a number of fans. Lippi's tenure On 22 October 2016, Marcello Lippi was appointed manager of the team ahead for the last remaining matches. A match saw China defeat South Korea for the first time in a FIFA-sanctioned tournament, amidst the heat of tensions over South Korea's deployment of THAAD. However, China's away loss to Iran and a 2–2 draw to Syria meant China was unable to compete with and dragged behind by Syria who managed a 2–2 draw with Iran and not to be qualified for the 2018 World Cup under Lippi's tenure, but improvements could be seen following two late wins over Uzbekistan and Qatar. Lippi led the side during the final stage of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, where China won 2–1 to Kyrgyzstan and 3–0 to Philippines, before losing 2–0 to group leaders South Korea on 16 January. China then beat Thailand 2–1 to earn a place in the quarter-finals, where it was knocked 3–0 out by Iran; Lippi subsequently confirmed his departure. Another Italian, Fabio Cannavaro was appointed as the next China's manager in conjunction with coaching Guangzhou Evergrande but he stepped down after only two matches. Lacked of option in searching for a new coach, CFA reappointed Marcello Lippi. To improve the team, China had begun a series of naturalization on foreign-based players, with Nico Yennaris, an English-born Cypriot, and Tyias Browning, another English-born player, being naturalized. Subsequently, Elkeson, a Brazilian player with no Chinese ancestry, was naturalized. Despite the process of naturalization, the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification for China proved to be rockier than expected, the team could only beat the Maldives and Guam, before being held goalless in the Philippines and followed with a denting 1–2 away loss to Syria, and Lippi resigned as coach. Li Tie's era 2002 FIFA World Cup ace Li Tie was appointed as China's head coach on 2 January 2020. Trailing behind Syria by five points before Li took charge, China were still unable to reclaim their first place but nonetheless managed to win all of their remaining fixtures, including an important 2–0 win over the Philippines and notably a 3–1 win over Syria to guarantee them as the best