Saudi Arabia are gearing up to go head-to-head against China in the in the third round of Group C in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Asian qualifiers at Al-Awwal Park Stadium on Thursday. The Green Falcons are looking for a victory to keep their qualification hopes alive.
Both teams only trail second-placed Australia by a single point and ten points behind leaders Japan, with four group games remaining.
Saudi Arabia’s Quest for Redemption
The Green Falcons head into their first game of 2025 on Thursday aiming to end a winless run in Asian World Cup qualifying and strengthen their bid to reach the competition for a third consecutive time. Following back-to-back appearances in 2018 and 2022, the Saudis began their latest bid in the second round of qualifying and advanced with a second-placed group finish, earning 13 points from their six outings.
That booked them a spot in group C in the third round, with the top two spots granting progression to the World Cup and the next two advancing to a fourth round, and Herve Renard’s team enjoyed a positive start, drawing with Indonesia and beating China in their first two outings in September.
Their four outings since have produced just two more points, though, with draws against Bahrain and Australia followed by a disappointing 2-0 away defeat to Indonesia in the previous round of the qualifiers, struggling to fashion any noteworthy chances to get on the scoresheet despite finishing the game with 77% ball possession.
China’s Uphill Battle
On the other hand, China head to Riyadh in an almost identical position with second spot in their sights.
Aiming to reach their second-ever World Cup and first since 2002, China also began qualifying in the second round and booked their place in Group C by advancing in second spot on eight points, pipping Thailand to that spot thanks to their head-to-head record.
Branko Ivankovic’s team endured a dismal start to the third round, suffering a 7-0 beating at the hands of Japan and a 2-1 loss in the reverse fixture at home to Saudi Arabia, before seeing the losing run stretched to three games owing to a 3-1 defeat away to Australia.
The Dragon Team have since moved into a competitive position, though, thanks to back-to-back wins over Indonesia and Bahrain across October and November, before they hosted Japan most recently and again fell short in a 3-1 loss, despite Lin Liangming’s goal early in the second half, marking the worst defensive record in Group C with a goal concession tally of 16.
Head-to-Head History
Both sides clashed 21 times previously, with Saudi Arabia emerged victorious in 8 while China have won one fewer, with six ending level. Their most recent encounter dates back to September 2024 in the same qualifiers which saw the Green Falcons snatch a 2-1 victory.
Saudi Arabia: Al-Kassar; Abdul Hamid, Al-Tambakti, Lajami, Boushal; Kanno; Al-Sahafi, Al-Juwayr, N Al-Dawsari, S Al-Dawsari; Al-Buraikan
China: D Wang; Z Yang, S Jiang, Zhunyi, Hetao; Xu, S Wang, Xie; Serginho; Yuning, Liangming
Saudi Arabia’s latest result ended a run of back-to-back victories and they will be looking to bounce back here. They are, however, winless in their last four home games and will need to step things up significantly this week.
China also saw their latest result end a run of wins and will be looking to get back on track. The sheer gulf in class and quality between the two teams could, however, see the visitors lose here.
