BEIJING, Nov 12: Beleaguered China coach Arie Haan said he will be sacked if his team are dumped out of qualifying for the 2006 World Cup when they take on Hong Kong next week.
China's dreams of reaching the finals in Germany are hanging by a thread going into their game against Hong Kong in Group Four, where they trail leaders Kuwait by goal difference.
If China are knocked out - a scenario that would be a crushing disappointment after the country's first ever appearance at the World Cup in 2002 - Haan said his contract would be terminated.
"Right now we don't want to think about this question because it is a negative question," Haan told journalists when asked about whether he expected to be fired. "Of course if we do not qualify then the contract is automatically terminated," the Soccer Daily quoted him as saying.
China will probably need to score a big win over Hong Kong and hope that Kuwait fail to rattle up a similary emphatic victory against Malaysia, who have lost all of their group matches.
If both China and Kuwait win the final group qualifier, goal difference will decide which team advances to the next round. Haan said that China will adopt a strategy of all-out attack against Hong Kong as they seek to secure the big victory that will boost their chances of going through.
"Certainly we need to score goals in this match. When playing a relatively weak team like Hong Kong, we have to bring everyone forward and play in front of their goal mouth," Haan said. -AFP
