This Tuesday, China will travel to Hanoi to face Vietnam in the eighth round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
Venue: My Dinh National Stadium (Hanoi)
Key Statistics
Vietnam have lost all of their World Cup qualifier (WCQ) games.
They have conceded 16 goals and scored just four (the worst record in the group).
The hosts have failed to score in each of their last three games in all competitions.
China are winless in their last four WCQ games (D2, L2).
They have lost each of their last three WCQ games played away from home, conceding eight goals and scoring just two in that period.
Head to head
This will be the eighth international head-to-head meeting between both sides, and China have won each of those games.
Latest performances in all competitions
Vietnam: L-D-L-W-D
China: L-D-D-L-W
Vietnam
Vietnam’s winless run in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers continued with an embarrassing 4–0 loss to Australia last time out.
The Socceroos, who scored their goals through Jamie Maclaren, Tom Rogic, Craig Goodwin and Riley McGree, outplayed the hosts completely.
The result means that Vietnam remain rooted at the bottom of the Group B table with zero points after seven games.
With their chances of a place in the World Cup long gone, they are now playing just for pride and saving face. A win will be on their agenda so that their fans can at least have something to cheer about.
Meanwhile, they proved that they still know how to win games when they beat lowly Cambodia 4-0 last December in the AFF Suzuki Cup.
Another big win looks impossible given their terrible WCQ form, but they will go into this tie with some measure of belief, as they have nothing to lose.
Possible Vietnam starting line-up
Bùi Tấn Trường (GK); Bùi Tiến Dũng, Nguyễn Phong Hồng Duy, Vũ Văn Thanh; Đỗ Hùng Dũng, Nguyễn Quang Hải, Nguyễn Hoàng Đức, Phan Văn Đức, Trần Minh Vương; Nguyễn Công Phượng, Phạm Tuấn Hải.
Injured: None
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
China
China will look to keep their little chance of qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup when they travel to Hanoi on Tuesday.
The visitors’ hopes of qualifying took a big hit in their last outing as they were beaten 2-0 by Japan.
That loss means that Li Xiaopeng’s side come into this tie sitting in fifth on the table, nine points behind Australia, who are occupying the playoff spot in the standings.
With only three games left to play, anything short of a win in this game ends their chances of progressing to the next round, while a win for Australia in their game against Oman will also rule them out of the competition even if they win this game.
China have conceded eight goals in their last three road fixtures, allowing 18 shots on target over that period while failing to fire a shot on goal in two of those encounters.
However, they hold a 100% record versus Vietnam, winning all seven meetings against them by a total of 23-5.
Such a dominant record will give them confidence going into this game.
Possible China starting line-up
Yan Junling (GK); Zhang Linpeng, Yu Dabao, Zheng Zheng, Wang Shenchao; Hao Junmin, Wu Xi, Zhang Xizhe; Wu Lei, Zhang Yuning, Wei Shihao.
Injured: None
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Prediction
Vietnam 0-2 China
