Dutchman Arie Haan is set to step down as China head coach following the country's bitter exit from the Asian 2006 World Cup qualifiers, a top Chinese soccer official said on Thursday.

China thrashed Hong Kong of China 7-0 Wednesday night in its last Asian zone World Cup Group Four qualifying match but it was not enough to send them into the final qualifying round.

Kuwait routed Malaysia 6-1 on the same day and China finished with 15 points from six matches and shared the same goal difference and head-to-head record but the Gulf side secured top spot to progress with 15 goals to China's 14.

"The Chinese Football Association (CFA) will strictly follow the terms in its contract with Haan," said Yang Yimin, one of the CFA vice presidents.

The CFA appointed Haan as the head coach in December 2002, assigning him the task of taking the Chinese team to the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany.

Both sides reached an agreement that the contract would expire when China ends its 2006 World Cup campaign.

"As a coach, Haan is diligent and modest. I have to admit that he made contributions to Chinese soccer, but he failed at last," said Yang.

"I feel sorry about that, but we have to implement the contract," he added.

Haan, who had vowed to quit the job if China failed to reach the second stage of the World Cup qualifying tournament, side-stepped the issue after Wednesday's match.

"China's failure is not the result of today's game," Haan said.