Croatia coach urges China to invest more in soccer

Croatia head coach Niko Kovac advised China to invest as much in soccer as in other sports.

"I don't see any reason why the Chinese team wouldn't have a success on international level if China would invest in soccer like they do in some other sports," Kovac said.

"That's not something that can happen fast. We are talking about a 10 to 15 years process. It took Germans 10 to 12 years to make some reforms and now we can see results. They have to do the same in China. When this happens, I can tell you, we have to be beware when Chinese get going."

Same goes for the whole Asian continent, according the Croatia coach.

"I think that Asian teams have a better chance than Africans to challenge Europeans and South Americans because they have bigger population and therefore with right investment they can produce not only quality players but clubs and national teams, as well," he said.