China extends Alain Perrin's coach contract to 2018

Beijing: The Chinese Football Association (CFA) has extended its French coach Alain Perrin's contract till 2018.

The estimated salary for Perrin and his two assistants will be around $2 million annually, Xinhua reported.

Perrin coached the Chinese team to the Asian Cup quarterfinals with three victories in the group stage in January, but ultimately lost 0-2 to Australia, the eventual winners of the tournament.

China's overall performance under Perrin since March last year is impressive and the Frenchman's pragmatic style also played a role in persuading CFA to bestow faith on him.

China has played a total of 14 games, including 10 friendlies, with Perrin in charge, losing only two games - 1-3 to Mali in a friendly and 0-2 to Australia - winning seven of them.

The Frenchman's primary challenge will be to guide the team towards the goal of reaching the World Cup in 2018 in Russia with a series of qualifying matches awaiting him.

Perrin took over from Spaniard Jose Antonio Camacho last year on an interim basis. But following his impressive stint, CFA has decided to extend his contract.

China's national team remains a lowly 82nd place, tied with Guatemala, in FIFA's latest global rankings.

China has reached the World Cup finals only once at the 2002 Korea/Japan tournament under the leadership of Serbian manager Bora Milutinovic.