by sportswriter Wei Hua

BEIJING, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- China almost had no time to celebrate its hard-fought victory over Bahrain in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers fifth round last Thursday, as Branko Ivankovic's side returned to China immediately to devote itself to the preparation works for Tuesday's home clash against bitter rival Japan.

Despite a high mountain to climb, China is still expected to give it a go for an odds-defying result in Xiamen, especially after two wins on the bounce in the campaign.

China's hope for the 2026 World Cup was dealt a blow in the opening round, as it was humiliated 7-0 by Japan, followed by another two defeats against Saudi Arabia and Australia, a series of poor performance saw China sit rock bottom of Group C after three rounds with zero points and a goal difference of minus 10.

The top two teams in each six-team group will directly qualify for the World Cup, while the third and fourth-placed teams move into the next round of qualifying.

Ivankovic tried not to push the panic button after the 3-1 defeat to Australia in October and hammered home that China is aiming for a top-four finish, while also noting that the forth round against Indonesia is "just the beginning of a real battle."

The Croatian made it as China is seemingly back on track by beating Indonesia 2-1, before a 1-0 slender victory over Bahrain, the two closest-rivals in the six-team group, now China found itself in the thick of the race as it has climbed to the fourth place, leveling with Australia and Saudi Arabia on six points.

The two morale-boosting wins surely encouraged the fans who heaped praises on the fighting spirit that the team showcased in the process, but the upcoming clash against group leader Japan is arguably a daunting task for China.

Some people may be smarting from the fiasco in the first round, as Japan did impress with fluid team work and excellent personal skills, while China was harshly criticized for struggling performance, which also revealed the gap between China and Asia's upper echelon.

After five rounds, Japan has churned out 19 goals, equivalent of all the rest five teams scored in total, and only conceded one, an own goal from defender Shogo Taniguchi, the commanding performance on both ends allows Japan to run away with 13 points by managing four victories and one draw, making it just steps away from the World Cup final stage.

To many, the in-form Japan is the absolute favorite in Tuesday's game, but some players noted this away meeting is by no means a walkover, as they have taken notice of China's upward momentum, Ritsu Doan warns his teammates to keep on their toes.

"Our opponent China will certainly spare no efforts, so we should be fully prepared. The nervousness may diminish as time wears on, but we should keep focus throughout the game," said the Freiburg attacker.

Maybe Ivankovic is now torn between an aggressive method and a conservative one, as some suggested to play high-press to nullify the opponent's attack, but it will expose more space if the plan doesn't work out, while some proposed to sit deep to protect the goal, but just relying on the numerical advantage is also hard to fend off Japan's formidable firepower, it leaves the ball in the Croatian's court to find an all round tactic.

Additionally, the fitness issues continue depleting China as Ivankovic was deprived of full-backs as Li Lei has joined Gao Zhunyi on the treatment table, forcing Ivankovic to make like-for-like replacement by calling up Shanghai Port's Wang Zhenao, while on the forward line, Zhang Yuning, who scored but also picked up a knock in the Bahrain game, remains a doubt, and with another regular Behram Abduweli suspended, Wang Ziming, who made his presence immediately felt after coming off the bench in the last fixture, is expected to get the nod to partner Wei Shihao upfront.

The good news for the team is that midfielder Xie Wenneng is eligible after suspension while central defender Jiang Guangtai has recovered and is likely to start again.

Anyway, it's predictable that the game against Japan will definitely be tough. To many fans, losing is not unacceptable, and what they really expect is no more than a better performance. More importantly, if China shows positive signs in front of a sell-out crowd in their last qualifier of 2024, they will surely gain more confidence heading into the next calendar year. Enditem

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