Gao back in charge of battling China team

Former national player and coach Gao Hongbo will return as manager of China's team, the Chinese Football Association announced on its website on Wednesday.

Gao, the national team's striker in the early 1990s, will take over as interim coach after Alain Perrin of France was dismissed by the CFA last month in the wake of the squad's poor performances in 2018 World Cup qualifying.

Gao, who coached the national team from 2009-11, will be tasked with guiding the squad through the remainder of the 2018 Russia World Cup Asian qualifying tournament.