‘I’ll pick more naturalised players’: China boss Marcello Lippi casts net as widely as possible as he hopes to secure Qatar 2022 place

Italian World Cup winner open to including foreigners with five years in country or those overseas eligible because of family

Elkeson expected to become first player without any Chinese ancestry to represent the country when they play Maldives

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Marcello Lippi looks on before the 2019 AFC Asian Cup match against South Korea. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 8:00am, 27 Aug 2019Updated: 8:00am, 27 Aug 2019

China head coach Marcello Lippi has hinted in an interview with Chinese media he will pick more naturalised players to train for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers.

Brazilian-born striker Elkeson has been the focus of much interest after becoming the first player without Chinese heritage to naturalise and so qualify to play for China.

Lippi said he will consider selecting players like Elkeson, who are eligible to represent China having spent five years in the country, or like Nico Yennaris, who is eligible because of his Chinese ancestry. There are many more players overseas who could be eligible to represent China and Lippi said all will be considered as he looks to build the strongest team possible.

“I hope to build a team of about 30 people to attack the World Cup, which is why these new players will come here for inspection,” Lippi said of the training camp, which will eventually see 35 players meet up before he picks his final squad.

Elkeson in action for Shanghai SIPG in the AFC Asian Champions League. Photo: AFP

London-born Yennaris became the first naturalised player to represent China when he started in the June friendly win over the Philippines. Despite being eligible to represent China under Fifa rules, the former Arsenal academy player had to give up his UK citizenship and become a Chinese national because China does not allow dual nationality.