The Asian World Cup qualifiers is underway during the current international break. Japan, Australia, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar are among the top teams participating in the AFC.
Japan and China are in Group C of the third round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying tournament. Japan is leading the group by seven points. Out of their first five games, the Samurai Blue have 13 points. They are the overwhelming favorites to qualify for the World Cup because they haven’t lost a single game in the group.
However, China is presently ranked fourth in Group C. The Dragon Team has six points from their first five games, with two victories and three defeats. They share the same number of points as Saudi Arabia and Australia in the group, so it will be intriguing to watch if they qualify for the next round.
The game has will be played on November 19, 2024 at 5:30 PM IST at Xiamen Egret Stadium.
Players In Focus
Shenglong Jiang (China): Shenglong Jiang is China’s most crucial player in this game. He rarely makes mistakes and gives China’s backline poise. Japan will find it extremely difficult to break China’s defense if he plays a fantastic game.
Kubo Takefusa (Japan): Take Kubo, whose real name is Takefusa Kubo, is one of the world’s best attacking players. For a nominal cost, he moved from Real Madrid to Real Sociedad in 2022, and he has since shown his worth on numerous times. As evidenced by his most recent performance against FC Barcelona, he is in excellent player.
Who Is In And Is Out?
Li Lei was hurt in China’s most recent match against Bahrain. He may not play for the home team.
On the other hand, the away team can choose from their entire roster.
Head-to-Head encounter
China has Japan has faced 14 times, where the Japan dominated the game. China managed to win just one match where Japan won 8. 5 matches ended in tie.
Possible Lineup: Wang(GK); Yang, Jiang, Zhu, Hu; Li, Wang, Lin; Wei; Zhang, Abuduwaili.
Japan: Suzuki(GK); Hashioka, Itakura, Machida; Mitoma, Morita, Endõ, Doan; Kubo, Minamino; Ogawa.
Who Will Win?
The visting team is the clear favorite of this match. They are in a strong position to advance to the next World Cup after dominating the entire group so far. After two consecutive victories, China is starting to improve, but this game will be a very different and challenging test for them.
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