NEWS
【Scouting report】Team seeking first appearance on the world stage since 2002 faces tough competition in final qualifying round (AFC Asian Qualifiers - Road To 26) - China PR National Team
30 August 2024
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)
23 June 1975 | ○2-1 | 6th Asian Cup Qualifier |
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11 June 1980 | ○1-0 | Guangzhou International Football Tournament |
26 December 1980 | ○1-0 | 1982 FIFA World Cup Spain™ Asian Qualifier |
2 June 1981 | △0-0 | Japan Cup Kirin World Soccer 1981 |
31 May 1984 | ●0-1 | Japan Cup Kirin World Soccer 1984 |
4 October 1987 | ●0-1 | Games of the XXIV Olympiad (Seoul 1988) Asian Qualifiers final round |
26 October 1987 | ○2-0 | Games of the XXIV Olympiad (Seoul 1988) Asian Qualifiers final round |
2 June 1988 | ○3-0 | Kirin Cup Soccer '88 |
10 May 1989 | △2-2 | International friendly match |
13 May 1989 | ●0-2 | International friendly match |
29 July 1990 | ○1-0 | 1st Dynasty Cup |
24 August 1992 | ●0-2 | 2nd Dynasty Cup |
6 November 1992 | ●2-3 | 10th Asian Cup (Hiroshima) |
23 February 1995 | ●1-2 | 3rd Dynasty Cup |
12 December 1996 | ●0-1 | 11th Asian Cup (UAE) |
7 March 1998 | ○2-0 | 4th AFC Marlboro Dynasty Cup |
15 Mar 2000 | △0-0 | Kirin Beverage Soccer 2000 |
26 October 2000 | ●2-3 | AFC Asian Cup Lebanon 2000 |
4 December 2003 | ●0-2 | East Asian Football Championship 2003 |
7 August 2004 | ●1-3 | AFC Asian Cup China 2004 |
3 August 2005 | △2-2 | East Asian Football Championship 2005 |
20 February 2008 | ●0-1 | East Asian Football Championship 2008 |
6 February 2010 | △0-0 | East Asian Football Championship 2010 |
21 July 2013 | △3-3 | EAFF East Asian Football Cup 2013 Final |
9 August 2015 | △1-1 | EAFF East Asian Cup 2015 |
12 December 2017 | ●1-2 | EAFF E-1 Football Championship 2017 |
10 December 2019 | ●1-2 | EAFF E-1 Football Championship 2019 |
7 September 2021 | ●0-1 | AFC Asian Qualifiers (Road to Qatar) |
27 January 2022 | ●0-2 | AFC Asian Qualifiers (Road to Qatar) |
24 July 2022 | △0-0 | EAFF E-1 Football Championship 2022 |
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
Association | Chinese Football Association (CFA) |
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FIFA Confederation | Asian Football Confederation (AFC), East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) |
President | SONG Kai |
Official Site | www.thecfa.cn |
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