China can guarantee their place in the last 16 of the Asian Cup with a victory over Qatar on Monday at Khalifa International Stadium.

Thanks to a 1-0 triumph on matchday two versus Tajikistan, the reigning champions and current hosts assured themselves a place in the knockout stage, while the Chinese played to a 0-0 draw with Lebanon.

Match preview

Job one at this tournament is complete, and Tintin Marquez can rest easy knowing that Qatar will be in the knockout stage for a second successive Asian Cup campaign.

It will be the first time in their Asian Cup history that they make it beyond the group stage on consecutive occasions, and they can end this phase with a 100% record for a second straight time.

Defensively, Qatar have been virtually impenetrable since the competition began, posting a pair of clean sheets, and if they collect another one on Monday, it would be the second successive time that they complete an Asian Cup group stage without conceding.

If you count the knockout stage of the 2019 Asian Cup, their form on the back end is equally impressive, with Qatar conceding just once in their last nine matches at this tournament.

While they have already locked up first place in Group A, recent Asian Cup history suggests that suffering even one slip-up in the opening phase does not bode well for the future, with Australia (2015) being the only side this century to lose a group fixture and go on to win this competition.

Qatar have only conceded one opening half goal in their last nine competitive fixtures, thumping Afghanistan on that occasion 8-1 in a November 2023 World Cup qualifier.

We saw another solid defensive showing by the Chinese on matchday two but not enough precision in the attacking third as they remain without a victory this year.

A lack of quality has been a recurring theme with this team for a few months now, with China scoring only once in their last five competitive fixtures.

All of that will be forgotten, though, with a victory on Monday, which would send Aleksandar Jankovic's men into the knockout stage for the third successive time at this tournament.

Even a draw could earn them a place in the last 16 if Tajikistan and Lebanon play to one themselves, while a defeat may knock them out depending on other results.

China have never ended the group stage of an Asian Cup without a single triumph but have only won one of their final group fixtures at this tournament since 2007 (2-1 versus North Korea in 2015).

Dragon's Team have suffered just one defeat in their last four meetings with Qatar (1-0 in 2018), winning all of their previous Asian Cup encounters against them.

Team News

There were five new faces in the Qatar starting 11 from matchday one to two as Bassam Al-Rawi, Tarek Salman, Mostafa Meshaal, Jassem Gaber and Ismaeel Mohammad replaced Al-Mahdi Ali Mukhtar, Ro-Ro, Abdulaziz Hatem, Hassan Al-Haydos and Yusuf Abdurisag.

Akram Afif is tied with Aymen Hussein of Iraq for the most goals at this tournament, netting his third on Wednesday, while Meshaal Barsham collected his second successive clean sheet.

Wu Xi made his first appearance in the competition since sustaining a hamstring injury with the Chinese captain coming on for Xu Xin on matchday two, while Xin, Dai Wai Tsun and Zhang Yuning were the three newcomers in the starting 11.

In their second group stage encounter in midweek, Yan Junling made five stops for his second successive clean sheet at the Asian Cup.

Qatar possible starting lineup:
Zakaria; Al-Rawi, Ro-Ro, Mendes, Ahmed; Meshaal, Al-Haydos, Waad; Al Ganehi, Ali, Abdurisag

China possible starting lineup:
Junling; Haofeng, Linpeng, Browning, Chenjie, Yang; Xi, Shangyuan, Liangming; Lei, Yuning

We say: Qatar 1-0 China

Marquez seems to have re-instilled the confidence lost within this group after their disastrous 2022 World Cup campaign.

Even if we see numerous changes to the Qatar lineup as we anticipate, this is a side incredibly compact when off the ball, while China look frustrated and lost in the attacking third.

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