Asian Cup: Marcello Lippi confirms Wu Lei fit for Thailand clash

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China have been handed a massive boost ahead of their Asian Cup round-of-16 clash against Thailand with head coach Marcello Lippi confirming Wu Lei has been passed fit.

The Chinese Super League top's scorer, who announced his arrival in the United Arab Emirates with two astounding goals during China's comfortable victory over the Philippines, missed the midweek defeat to South Korea due to a fractured collarbone.

Wu picked up the injury in the nail-biting triumph over Kyrgyzstan, with early indications suggest the Shanghai SIPG striker would be ruled out of the knockout tie. However, the 27-year-old made a rapid recovery and has now returned to full training, putting him in the frame to lead China's attack on Sunday.

"He (Wu Lei) can play tomorrow, there is no question about that. The match against Thailand is extremely important for us and I will put all my best players on the pitch," said Lippi.

Wu Lei has returned to full training after missing Wednesday's 2-0 defeat to South Korea due to a collarbone injury at the ongoing Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates. /VCG Photo

It's not lost on Lippi that Wu played a pivotal role in the last meetings between this pair, scoring both goals as China swat aside Thailand 2-0 in Bangkok last June. But the Italian tactician warned his players to guard against complacency, noting the Thais' quick turn of fortune since their opening 4-1 thrashing at the hands of minnows India.

"Thailand changed their head coach after their first game and they changed their tactics and formation. But what is more important is that they changed their attitude," observed Lippi.

"They are very aggressive, urgent and determined, so we have to be careful and smart. I think we are ready and we will do our utmost to achieve the best result."

Lippi also picked out Chanathip Songkrasin - dubbed 'Thai Messi' by local media - as one of the most dangerous players that China must be wary of on Sunday.

"He's a very quick and nimble attacking player with brilliant technical skills. Hopefully, we can play as we did against the Philippines because it's vital to press high and not to cede too much space to them."

Lippi insists there is no point practicing spot-kicks in training at the Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates. /VCG Photo

China head into their clash with Thailand with half an eye on the risk of a penalty shootout, but Lippi revealed that his team did not practice spot kicks ahead of the tie.

"We haven't done any particular training on that," said Lippi. "Because whether a team can win penalty ultimately depends on their players' physical condition, the strength of will, the winning mentality and the capacity to handle huge pressure."

"There is no point practicing spot-kicks every day in training," the World Cup-winning coach added.

Lippi was joined in the press conference by his skipper Zheng Zhi. The 38-year-old veteran was inevitably quizzed on his take on China's humiliating 1-5 loss to the Thais in an international friendly back in 2013.

Zheng Zhi (R) and Wang Dalei warm up during a China training session at Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium, in the United Arab Emirates, January 19, 2019. /VCG Photo

Zheng nonchalantly brushed off the question and attempted to focus his remarks on the importance of the tie on Sunday.

"I don't think it has anything to do with our next match. They beat us 5-1 five years ago, and we beat them 2-0 last year, but those are things of the past and mean nothing," said Zheng.

"We will stay focused and try to reach the quarter-finals. Everybody expects us to go through and we are very confident."