World Cup Qualifying - Asia | Game 10 | 2nd Leg

Jun 10, 2025 at 12pm UK

China vs Bahrain

Match preview

China’s hopes of reaching the fourth qualifying group phase came to an end on Thursday, when they were defeated 1–0 by Indonesia in their crucial Group C match.

Ole Lennard Ter Haar Romenij, who plays for Oxford United, made the difference at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium when he scored a penalty just before half-time, handing Indonesia three crucial points in their qualifying race.

This result means that China have now lost each of their last four qualifier matches, conceding seven goals and scoring just once since beating Bahrain 1-0 in November, thanks to a 91^(st)-minute strike from Yuning Zhang.

Branko Ivanković’s team have lost seven of their nine Group C games, winning two to collect six points, and are bottom of the standings, albeit only below Tuesday’s visitors on goal difference.

Like the home side, Bahrain were left empty-handed yet again when they fell to a 2-0 defeat against Saudi Arabia at the Bahrain National Stadium on Thursday.

Musab Al Juwayr scored in the 16^(th) minute to give Saudi Arabia a flying start, and then Abdulrahman Alobud doubled their lead.

Bahrain have now lost each of their last three group games, failing to win any of their last eight matches since opening the campaign with a 1-0 victory over Australia in September 2024.

This underwhelming run of results is due to their toothless display at the attacking end of the pitch; Dragan Talajić’s team currently has the poorest record in the qualifiers, having scored only five goals so far.

While Bahrain will be looking to end the campaign on a high, they are up against an opposing side they have not beaten in any of their last nine meetings, losing four and drawing five since September 1981.

Recent Performance

China World Cup Qualifying - Asia form:WWWLLL

Bahrain World Cup Qualifying - Asia form:DLDLLL

Team News

Having made his debut in the win against Australia in March, Serginho was handed a starting role on Thursday against Indonesia and is expected to keep his place in the starting XI on Tuesday.

If so, he should team up with Wang Yudong and club teammate Yuning Zhang in attack, while we expect a midfield trio of Haoyang Xu, Shangyuan Wang and Yongjing Cao.

In defence, Hu Hetao, Zu Chenjie, Han Pengfei and Zexiang Yang of Shanghai Shenhua should form the back four, protecting veteran goalkeeper Wang Dalei.

Like China, Bahrain will head into Tuesday’s clash with no suspensions or injuries, and Talajić could name an unchanged XI at the Longxing Football Stadium.

Mohamed Marhoon, who scored four goals in Al Kuwait's final four games in the recently concluded Kuwait Premier League, was a standout performer against Saudi Arabia and could partner veteran Mahdi Abduljabbar in attack.

China possible starting lineup:

D Wang; C Zhu, P Han, Y Cao, Z Yang, Haoyang, H Hu, S Wang; Y Zhang, Serginho, Yudong

Bahrain possible starting lineup:

Lutfalla; Al-Shamsan, Benaddi, Al-Hayam, Al-Khalasi; Al-Sherooqi, Al-Aswad, Saeed, AI-Humaidan; Marhoon, Abduljabbar