China held to a 1-1 draw by North Korea in Japan as late equaliser consigns Marcello Lippi’s team to third
Shanghai SIPG youngster Wei Shihao nets for second time at the tournament as manager admits he is likely to turn to experience for his next squad
The Shanghai SIPG striker gave China the lead 28 minutes into the country’s final game of the East Asian Championship at Ajinomoto Stadium as Lippi’s team finished the tournament with two draws and a loss to take third place overall.
But, as Lippi continues to steer the team towards what he hopes will be a successful showing at the Asian Cup finals in the United Arab Emirates in 2019, the World Cup-winning Italian revealed he is looking to further strengthen his team’s attacking options.
“To improve the quality of the squad is very important and Wei Shihao showed his quality at this tournament and I had hoped he would improve our performance,” he said of the 22-year-old, who also scored on his debut last week as China drew 2-2 with South Korea.
“He’s not the best player in his club team because there are a lot of good foreign players there, but I was able to identify his strength. We needed to have a striker who would strengthen the attacking side and that’s why I called him up.