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Saudi Arabia will face China at Al-Awwal Park on Thursday in another game of their third-round 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. The home side have endured a rather underwhelming qualifying campaign, sitting fourth in Group C with just six points from six matches and have to urgently refocus if they are to secure a third consecutive World Cup appearance.
They suffered a disappointing 2-0 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 have also struggled in the qualifiers so far, with their shaky defense causing them all sorts of troubles. They suffered a 3-1 home defeat to Japan in their last match, heading into the break two goals down before Lin Liangming scored a consolation goal for the Dragon Team minutes after the restart.
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The visitors, who sit rock-bottom in Group C, are level on points with their midweek opponents but have a significantly inferior goal difference and will be looking to improve on that on Thursday.
Saudi Arabia vs China Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- There have been 21 meetings between the two nations. Saudi Arabia have won eight of those games while China have won one fewer, with their other six contests ending level.
- The hosts are undefeated in their last three games in this fixture and have lost just one of their last nine.
- The Dragon Team have the worst defensive record in Group C with a goal concession tally of 16.
- The Arabian Falcons have the worst offensive record in Group C with a goal tally of just three.
- China were ranked 90th in the latest FIFA rankings and sit 31 places behind their midweek opponents.
Saudi Arabia vs China Prediction
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 competitive games on home soil and will need to step things up significantly this week.
China also saw their latest result end a run of consecutive wins and will be looking to get back on track on Thursday. The sheer gulf in class and quality between the two teams could, however, see the visitors lose here.
Prediction: Saudi Arabia 2-1 China
Saudi Arabia vs China Betting Tips
Tip 1 - Result: Saudi Arabia to win
Tip 2 - Goals - Over/under 2.5 - Over 2.5 goals (Five of the visitors last six matches have produced more than 2.5 goals)
Tip 3 - Both teams to score: YES (Both sides have found the back of the net in each of the hosts' last five matches)
