China, looking to better their chances of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, are set to take on AFC qualifying Group C leaders Japan on Tuesday afternoon.
The hosts are fourth in the table after five games, joint on six points with Australia and Saudi Arabia, while the visitors are top of the group with 13 points from five outings.
© Imago
China made their only FIFA World Cup finals appearance in 2002, when they finished bottom of their group after losing all three matches, conceding nine goals without scoring once.
The Dragon Team advanced to the third round of AFC qualification by finishing second in their second-round group, edging out third-placed Thailand thanks to a superior head-to-head record, with one win and one draw, after both teams ended with eight points.
Branko Ivankovic, appointed in February 2024, saw his team placed in a challenging third-round group featuring Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Indonesia.
After a challenging start that saw China lose their first three fixtures, 7-0 to Japan, 2-1 to Saudi Arabia and 3-1 to Australia, Ivankovic’s men have since bounced back with back-to-back wins.
They beat Indonesia 2-1 and Bahrain 1-0, seeing them climb to fourth place and keeping their hopes alive for a top-two finish that would grant them automatic qualification for the 2026 World Cup.
Three points against Japan on Tuesday would massively boost their qualification chances, with the visitors undoubtedly the strongest team in the group, but China will be major underdogs heading into this one.
Japan have dominated Group C, winning four and drawing one of their five matches to sit atop the table with 13 points, seven ahead of second-placed Australia, while boasting an impressive goal record of 19 scored and just 1 conceded.
Hajime Moriyasu‘s side did drop points for the first time in October as they drew 1-1 with Australia, but the Samurai Blue superbly returned to winning ways with a 4-0 win against Indonesia last time out.
Now looking to move one step closer to securing a place at their eighth consecutive World Cup tournament, having qualified for every edition since hosting the tournament in 2002, Japan will be looking for a win here.
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Shangyuan Wang and Lei Li were both taken off with injuries in China’s 1-0 victory against Bahrain last time out, leaving both as doubts for this game.
Yuning Zhang has scored in each of China’s two victories in Group C, and the striker is likely to start alongside Baihelamu Abuduwaili on Tuesday.
As for the visitors, they secured a comfortable 4-0 win against Indonesia in their last game, and Moriyasu could opt to name a similar side here.
Kyogo Furuhashi has not made an appearance for Japan since scoring in a 2-0 win against Tunisia in October 2023, and the striker could be in line for a start here.
China possible starting lineup:
D Wang; Yang, Jiang, Zhu, Hu; Li, H Wang, Lin; Wei; Zhang, Abuduwaili
Japan possible starting lineup:
Suzuki; Hashioka, Itakura, Machida; Doan, Endo, Morita, Mitoma; Minamino, Kamada; Furuhashi
Japan have been dominant in Group C after five matches, including securing a 7-0 win against China in the reverse fixture in September, and we expect a similarly comfortable win for the visitors here.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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