The Red Dragons failed to book a place in the Asian Cup semis after being defeated by Iran 3-0 on Thursday.

The Italian confirmed that his two-year tenure as coach of China was over following his team’s exit from the Asian Cup.

“This match ends my contract with the Chinese national team, the end of my journey with China,” the 70-year-old told a news conference.

“I want to thank all of you. It was an honor managing the national team of such an important country and I tried my best to improve this team. I was really hoping to end this experience in a better way but you cannot make these kind of mistakes,” Lippi added.

“We had a good Asian Cup and played some good games but I find it unacceptable to commit these types of errors. I thank my players for their efforts but not for what they did against Iran,” the former Juventus coach stated.

“I’m a bit angry, this was just a lack of concentration. I knew they were stronger than us, I was expecting a tough match but you cannot give such gifts to a team like Iran,” Lippi concluded.

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The Chinese team will meet Iran in the AFC Asian Cup quarter-final at the Mohammad Bin Zayed Stadium on Thursday.

The Red Dragons made it to the quarters following their 2-1 comeback victory over Thailand in the Round of 16 but they are well aware this will be a completely different ball game altogether.

“Iran obviously is one of the top teams in Asia. It played well at the FIFA World Cup last year and here too, physically very strong, organized and has very good quality,” said China coach Marcello Lippi on the eve of the encounter.

“From what we know of Iran, there is no room for mistakes against Iranian players because they will punish you every chance they get,” the Italian added.

“Iran is technically and tactically very sound and very good in playing long balls. We must be focused against the team,” said Lippi, whose team has lost four and won two in its previous six meetings against Iran. The last meeting between them was in the qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup, which Iran won 1-0.

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The Italian World Cup-winning coach hailed his players after they overcame Thailand 2-1 to reach the last eight, saying they had proved they were among the best in Asia.

But Lippi, 70, said China still had a habit of drifting in and out of games after another Jekyll-and-Hyde performance in which they trailed 1-0 midway through the second half.

“Chinese players have to improve psychologically,” Lippi, who is expected to leave China after the Asian Cup following two-and-a-half years at the helm, told AFP.

“Sometimes they need to be much more focused and concentrated and pay more attention during the game. It’s a psychological thing. It’s very important to have the same intensity, the same determination from the beginning of the game,” the Italian coach added.

But Iran, Asia’s top-ranked team, will provide a much stiffer test and the expectation is that after Thursday’s game in Abu Dhabi, Chinese players will be packing their bags.

Lippi already appeared to be defending his record when he volunteered statistics that in his 10 competitive matches, China has won six and lost only two, to Iran and South Korea.

“That means I have to be very proud of my players,” he said, adding: “I’m very satisfied because this team is getting great results and we’re in the quarter-finals, which means we’re one of the top eight Asian teams.”

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