Editor's Note: Marcello Lippi, the head coach of the Chinese men's soccer team, announced his resignation after the team lost to Syria in a World Cup qualifier. Thepaper.cn comments:

All soccer fans can accept the fact that our national men's soccer team is not among the best in Asia. However, losing to Syria was still beyond their expectations. The Syrian team ranks 10th in Asia and 83rd in the world, which means it is not really a strong competitor.

Social media was abuzz with the news of Lippi's resignation, with many people analyzing his tactics and team selection. However, frankly speaking, neither of the two is so important compared with the future of the men's national soccer team.

Lippi said that if a player is afraid and has no fighting spirit or desire, he will not be able to perform on the pitch. Wu Lei, a famous player, also said that the Chinese team lacks the will to win.

That is where the national soccer team has to improve. Simply employing the best coaches and naturalizing some top players from around the world is not the answer. The fundamental answer is for the Chinese national team to work hard and gain some fighting spirit.

There is still a chance the team can qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. However, whether they do or not does not depend on luck, but on how hard they work.

We hope to see them training hard and playing with spirit in the future in the remaining matches. They should at least try to win back some respect.