Miguel Solomons
Dailysports's expert
The Asian qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup continue, with China hosting Japan in the sixth round. Here is a breakdown of match facts and a betting suggestion focused on the individual total of one team.
China vs. Japan: Match Facts and Head-to-Head
- China has won their last two matches, while Japan remains unbeaten in their last nine games.
- China has scored at least one goal in their last four matches.
- Japan has an impressive scoring streak, netting at least one goal in 27 consecutive matches.
- Japan scores 3.5 goals in 60% of their matches and 4.5 goals in 40%.
- Japan scores in both halves in 70% of their games and has not conceded in both halves in recent matches.
- Japan has won 70% of their games while keeping clean sheets.
- In 80% of China’s home matches, both teams manage to score.
- In the first round of qualification, Japan crushed China 7-0. Over their last five meetings, Japan has won four, with one ending in a draw.
China vs. Japan: Match Preview
China had a poor start to the qualifiers, losing their first three matches while conceding 12 goals and scoring just two. However, they’ve recently turned things around with back-to-back wins against Indonesia (2-1) and Bahrain (1-0). These victories propelled China to fourth place in the group, giving them a slim edge over Indonesia and Bahrain. The fight for qualification is intense, and every point will matter as China aims to secure a spot in the fourth round.
Japan, on the other hand, has been dominant in this qualification campaign and is poised to be one of the first teams to secure a spot in the 2026 World Cup. In five matches, Japan has scored 19 goals while conceding just one. Their only dropped points came in a draw against Australia. Over two qualification rounds, Japan has conceded just one goal while netting 40, with three goals credited from a technical win. At the previous World Cup, Japan reached the Round of 16, where they were eliminated by Croatia in a penalty shootout.
Probable Lineups
- China: Wang; Li, Zhu, Jiang, Yang; Lni, Wang, Li; Wei, Zheng, Abduweli.
- Japan: Suzuki; Hasioka, Machida, Itakura; Doan, Endo, Morita, Mitoma; Kamada, Minamino, Ogawa.
Prediction
Japan is the clear favorite for this match. While China has improved with recent wins against comparable opponents, Japan operates on a different level, as demonstrated by their emphatic 7-0 victory in the first match. A similar result could be on the cards here. My prediction is an individual total for Japan over 2.5 goals, with odds of 1.61.
