Japan (ranked 18th in the world) entered the third stage of the direct World Cup ticket with a perfect record in the previous stage. They won the maximum 18 points, scored 24 goals, and did not concede a goal when playing against the DPRK, Myanmar and Syria.
Meanwhile, the Chinese team (ranked 87th in the world) played very poorly. They finished 2nd in Group C, equal on points with the Thai team and only ranked above their opponents thanks to their head-to-head record. The Chinese team is also one of the teams that has changed coaches, with Branko Ivankovic replacing Aleksandar Jankovic.
Ahead of their opening match against China, Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu set a goal of winning and qualifying for an eighth consecutive World Cup. To achieve this goal, Japan added Makoto Hasebe, a recently retired player, to their coaching staff.
“The Japanese team will have fierce competition in the lineup. We will play persistently, aiming to win every match. First, we will focus on reviewing the condition of each player, so that we can select the strongest lineup, with the goal of winning the first match against the Chinese team,” said coach Moriyasu.
In this training session, the Japanese team has the best squad with the participation of many players playing in Europe. Notable among them are midfielders playing in the Premier League such as Kaoru Mitoma, Daichi Kamada and Wataru Endo.
For the Chinese team, coach Ivankovic has called up many experienced players, especially in attack such as 32-year-old Wu Lei, 35-year-old A Lan and 31-year-old Fei Nanduo. The Chinese team has only called up one new player, Wang Haijian.
In terms of form, Japan have won their last four matches. Their last defeat was against Iran at the 2023 Asian Cup. Meanwhile, China have only won one of their last 10 matches.
The head-to-head record also favors Mitoma and his teammates. The two teams have met 40 times in the past. Japan has 16 wins, China has 15 wins, while 9 matches have ended in draws.
However, since 1998, the Chinese team has not won against the Japanese team, they lost 9/14 matches when the two teams met.
Score prediction: Japan 3-0 China.
