China predicted to lose without scoring against Saudi Arabia at World Cup qualifier

Transfermarkt, a German football database, values Saudi Arabia's squad at US$33 million, more than double China's $15 million. The Saudi lineup includes AS Roma defender Saud Abdulhamid, along with Faisal Al-Ghamdi, Muhanad Al-Saad, and Marwan Al-Sahafi, who all play in Europe.

Saudi Arabia's strength comes from their Saudi Pro League stars, especially left midfielder Salem Al-Dawsari. He has scored 15 goals and provided 12 assists in 34 matches across the Pro League and AFC Champions League Elite. As the team's playmaker, he leads Saudi Arabia’s offense and famously netted the winner in their 2-1 victory over Argentina at the 2022 World Cup.

In contrast, China's squad are not in their best state. Their top striker, Wu Lei, is out due to injury. To compensate, coach Branko Ivankovic has added naturalized Brazilian-born midfielder Serginho to the team.

China's recent match history against Saudi Arabia is not preferable. In their last match at Dalian Stadium, China lost 1-2. Analysts expect a similar outcome in the next game in Saudi Arabia.

U.K. sports site SportsMole predicts a 2-0 victory for Saudi Arabia, while Singapore-based news site KhelNow forecasts a 1-2 loss for China.

China's FIFA ranking of 90th places them 31 spots behind Saudi Arabia. Elo ratings is similar, ranking China 98th and Saudi Arabia 75th.

A screeshot shows Zhang Yuning (number 9) about to score in China's 1-0 victory against Bahrain at the 2026 World Cup third qualification round, Nov. 14, 2024.

China will enter Thursday match (early Friday Hanoi time) following a 1-0 away win against Bahrain, it was only the team's second victory in their last 16 away matches.

Saudi Arabia have also struggled in their last four third-round qualifiers, drawing twice and losing twice, including a 0-2 defeat to Indonesia in Jakarta.

With four rounds remaining in the third qualifying stage, five teams are only behind Japan by just one point. A loss in Round 7 will not eliminate any team yet.

After facing Saudi Arabia, China will have matches against Australia, Indonesia, and Bahrain to fight for the 2026 World Cup qualification.