BEIJING -- Marcello Lippi has urged his China team and the nation to pull together to accomplish the improbable task of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup before he begins a thorough overhaul of the struggling football program.The Chinese Football Association formally unveiled Lippi as head coach of Chinas Dragons at a news conference on Friday, almost a week after the deal was agreed.Chinese media reports say Lippis three-year contract is worth 20 million euros ($21.8 million) annually and makes him the highest paid national team coach in the world. Association officials have declined to discuss specifics of the compensation package for Lippi, who led Italy to World Cup victory in 2006.China is ranked No. 84 by FIFA and is a perennial under-achiever in international football competition, despite massive spending on foreign players and coaches in the domestic league. High-profile managers including World Cup winner Luiz Felipe Scolari and former England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson have also arrived to take charge at Guangzhou Evergrande and Shanghai SIPG.I believe the players are all skillful and have no need to feel inferior or envy toward players of other countries, because they can reach the same level, Lippi told reporters. What they need is a sense of responsibility, mission and belief.Still, its unlikely China will even qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Gao Hongbo quit as head coach after the 2-0 loss to Uzbekistan earlier this month left China with just one point from four games in Asias last round of World Cup qualifying. China has qualified for the World Cup only once, when the tournament was co-hosted by South Korea and Japan in 2002, but was bounced out of the group stages without scoring a goal.In the qualification stages, our chances are not great, but what we need to do is pull together -- the entire squad, the CFA, logistics, medical team -- and maximize our chances and accomplish this improbable mission, Lippi said. After that, we can consider our long-term issues.Above all, the Chinese team -- frequently derided by Chinas soccer-loving public as a national embarrassment -- needs to fix its mentality and gain self-confidence, said Lippi, who said his first priority is to psychologically evaluate his players.What I need to know first is why our players play very well for their club but only at 40 percent for their country, he said. I want to tell them its the highest honor to put on the countrys shirt and they need to fight and perform at the same level.Lippi is already familiar with Chinese football at the club level, having coached Guangzhou Evergrande from 2012 to 2015. He led Evergrande to multiple domestic titles and, most notably, the Asian Champions League trophy in 2013.The financial details of Lippis arrangement remains murky, with domestic media reporting his salary will be partially paid for by the real estate group Evergrande, whose owner, Xu Jiayin, is an avid supporter of Chinese football. Other Chinese commentators have questioned whether Lippis services are worth the expense.CFA president Cai Zhenhua declined to address Lippis salary on Friday, citing his privacy, but said the amount was fair for a manager of his credentials.The investment is part of a national soccer push. President Xi Jinping, a big fan of the game, has made improving Chinese football from the grassroots all the way to the international level a priority of his administration, saying it could boost childrens physical education as well as national pride. Wholesale College Jerseys . The mixed zone is not a place to make friends. Stitched College Jerseys . The Hall of Fame defenceman told Landsberg that he believes fighting still has a place in todays game, but thinks staged fighting needs be outlawed. http://www.cheapcollegejerseys.us.org/ . The Lightning are 2-0 so far on a four-game road trip, giving the club five straight wins as the guest and improving Tampas away record this season to 11-8-2. Cheap College Basketball Jerseys . -- Derrick Rose shook off poor shooting early to hit clutch shots late and Carlos Boozer had 20 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 104-95 preseason victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night. Cheap NCAA Football Jerseys . Newcastle dominated in the early stages but City weathered the storm and then raised its game in extra time. Negredo broke the deadlock from close range after a simple move in the 99th minute before Dzeko took the ball round goalkeeper Tim Krul to seal the victory in the 105th. It was a good night to be a wild-card contender. In the American League, the Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Houston Astros and New York Yankees all won, with only the Detroit Tigers and Toronto Blue Jays losing among the top contenders. In the National League, the San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets all won, with the Cardinals perhaps striking a death blow to the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Seattle Mariners also lost, and were knocking them from the list of contenders. Sorry, Mariners fans, but six games back with five teams to jump over is too tall of a task.Lets take a quick look at the state of the wild-card raaces.ddddddddddddCurrent wild-card odds (from FiveThirtyEight.com):American League Blue Jays: 35 percent (plus 41 percent to win division, 1 percent behind Red Sox) Tigers: 35 percent (15 percent to win division) Orioles: 34 percent (15 percent to win division) Astros: 26 percent (up 4 percent) Royals: 11 percent Yankees: 8 percent (2 percent to win division)National League Cardinals: 63 percent (up 5 percent) Mets: 61 percent Giants: 60 percent (12 percent to win division) Pirates: 4 percent (down 4 percent) ' ' '