KICK-STARTING A NEW ERA

Undeterred by setbacks, China continued its quest to close the gap on the global elite in 2018

It was another tough year for Chinese men's soccer in 2018, but not an unproductive one as efforts were stepped up to close the gap on the world's elite.

On the pitch it was more of the same for Marcello Lippi's national squad, which won only three out of its 11 games in 2018, and had to watch from afar as their rivals slugged it out at the World Cup finals in Russia.