SAMURAI BLUE's quest for an eighth consecutive appearance at the FIFA World Cup™ is finally underway as they enter the final round of Asian qualifiers. Their first match at the Saitama Stadium 2002 on Thursday 5 September will be against China PR, who will be seeking for their first appearance on the world stage since the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan™. With the number of countries eligible to participate in the tournament increasing from 32 to 48, the number of places allocated to Asia will also increase from 4.5 (excluding the host nation) at the previous FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ to 8.5, giving the team a boost in their bid for a second appearance at the tournament after missing out on the last five editions.

However, the road to the main competition is by no means an easy one. In the FIFA world rankings (updated on 18 July 2024), opponents Japan (18th), Australia (24th), Saudi Arabia (56th) and Bahrain (80th) are all ranked higher than China PR (87th). Indonesia (133rd) have also been on the rise in recent years, reaching the knockout stages of the AFC Asian Cup played from January to February this year, when China PR was eliminated in the group stages. The top two finishers in this group of six teams qualify automatically, while the third and fourth-placed teams advance to the fourth qualifying round.

China PR were also treading on thin ice in their bid to reach the final round of qualifying. In the second qualifying round, in which the top two teams advance, the team vied with Thailand for second place behind Korea Republic. After six matches, their record was exactly the same as Thailand's: with two wins, two draws and two defeats, nine goals scored and nine conceded. The team narrowly slipped into the final round on the strength of their head-to-head record with Thailand, which was one win and one draw.

In February this year, China PR underwent a coaching change after being knocked out of the Asian Cup, with Croatian coach Branko IVANKOVIC taking the reins. He led Oman to a 1-0 win over Japan at Suita City Football Stadium in their first match of the final qualifying round for the World Cup in Qatar. From 23 August, the players were summoned to Dalian for intensive training in preparation for the match against Japan at Saitama Stadium, the same stadium they lost 0-2 to Japan in the previous final qualifying round in January 2022.

China PR were outshot 14-2 by Japan in the match and lost to goals from OSAKO Yuya and ITO Junya. This time around, the team's solid defence, led by Englishman Jiang Guangtai (Tyias BROWNING), will try to hold off the Japanese attack, while also trying to increase the number of attacks. Expectations are also high for players from Brazil such as A Lan (Alan) and Fei Nanduo (Fernandinho), who have been granted citizenship of China PR. The team can also count on WU Lei, who scored a team-high five goals in the second qualifying round.

Record against Japan

7 wins, 8 draws, 15 losses (28 goals, 37 against)

Results at the FIFA World Cup™

Appearances: 1
1930　Did not participate
1934　Did not participate
1938　Did not participate
1950　Did not participate
1954　Did not participate
1958　Eliminated in the qualifier
1962　Did not participate
1966　Did not participate
1970　Did not participate
1974　Did not participate
1978　Did not participate
1982　Eliminated in the qualifier
1986　Eliminated in the qualifier
1990　Eliminated in the qualifier
1994　Eliminated in the qualifier
1998　Eliminated in the qualifier
2002　Group stage
2006　Eliminated in the qualifier
2010　Eliminated in the qualifier
2014　Eliminated in the qualifier
2018　Eliminated in the qualifier
2022　Eliminated in the qualifier

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