Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the World Cup 2026 qualifying match.
Even before the previous round, China were at the bottom of the table, but their victory has thrust them back into the race for a World Cup spot. However, they are now set to face the toughest opponent in the group—Japan. How will they handle this challenge?
China
An away victory over Bahrain (1:0), which marked their second consecutive win in the third qualifying stage, significantly improved China's position. They had a bit of luck: the hosts had a goal disallowed in the 87th minute, and then China scored comfortably in the 91st. They have already faced all the group favourites in the first three rounds—Japan (0:7), Saudi Arabia (1:2), and Australia (1:3).
Japan
Japan boast the highest FIFA world ranking among the Asian confederation teams (15th), so it's no surprise they easily defeat their opponents. In the last round, they thrashed Indonesia (4:0), a team that held both Australia (0:0) and Saudi Arabia (1:1) to draws. It took only 35 minutes for Japan to secure this result.
China vs Japan Prediction
Despite some progress from the Chinese side, Japan remain the favourites, and even playing away is not a significant hurdle for them. They have not lost to their western neighbours in eight matches, keeping a clean sheet in four. Before the rout in Saitama, their victories over the past five years were by just one or two goals. This time, Japan are also expected to conserve energy, and the Chinese players will put up much fiercer resistance, so the score is likely to be around 0:2 or 1:2.
