With Asian qualifying for the FIFA World Cup 2026 heating up, Saudi Arabia will host China at King Saud University Stadium, Riyadh on Thursday (March 20, 2025). Check match and telecast details of the KSA vs CHN, AFC third round, Group C clash here. (More Football News)
Saudi Arabia, who are chasing a successive World Cup appearance, won the reverse fixture in Dalian last September. The visitors trailed in the 14th minute thanks to an Ali Lajami goal. But Al-Ittihad defender Hassan Kadesh scored a brace, including the stoppage time minute winner, to help the Green Falcons register a narrow 2-1 win.
After six matches, Herve Renard's men are fourth in the six-team Group C standings with six points. After the China match, they will take on leaders Japan, Bahrain, and Australia.
Group winners and runners-up will earn direct World Cup tickets, while the teams finishing third and fourth will feature in the fourth round. All teams have played six of their 10 matches.
China will enter the Saudi Arabia fixture as the bottom-placed team even though have more wins than the Saudis. The Dragons have six points from six matches (two wins, four defeats). They suffered a humiliating 0-7 defeat against Japan in their opener, then lost to Saudi Arabia and Australia (1-3).
Branko Ivankovic's men have since revived the campaign with wins over Indonesia (2-1) and Bahrain (1-0). In their last outing, however, they lost the Japan (1-3), again. China's remaining matches are against Australia, Indonesia and Bahrain.
Saudi Arabia vs China head-to-head
Since their meeting at the 1978 Asian Games, which was won by China (1-0), the two teams have met 20 more times with Saudi Arabia slightly ahead in the all-time head-to-head record: eight wins, seven defeats and six draws.
But in their last 10 meetings, Saudi Arabia are the dominant side, losing only twice -- in October 1997 (0-1) and January 2015 (0-1).
Saudi Arabia vs China Predicted XIs
Saudi Arabia: Al-Kassar; Abdul Hamid, Al-Tambakti, Lajami, Boushal; Kanno; Al-Sahafi, Al-Juwayr, N Al-Dawsari, S Al-Dawsari; Al-Buraikan.
China: D Wang; Z Yang, S Jiang, Zhunyi, Hetao; Xu, S Wang, Xie; Serginho; Yuning, Liangming.
Saudi Arabia vs China, FIFA World Cup 2026 AFC Qualifiers - Live Streaming Details
When to watch the Saudi Arabia vs China, FIFA World Cup 2026 AFC Qualifiers match?
The Saudi Arabia vs China, FIFA World Cup 2026 AFC Qualifiers match will be played at the King Saud University Stadium, Riyadh on Thursday, March 20, 2025. The match will start at 11:45 pm IST.
Where to watch the live streaming of the Saudi Arabia vs China, FIFA World Cup 2026 AFC Qualifiers match?
The live streaming of the Saudi Arabia vs China, FIFA World Cup 2026 AFC Qualifiers match will be available on the FanCode app and website.
Where to watch the live telecast of the Saudi Arabia vs China, FIFA World Cup 2026 AFC Qualifiers match?
In Saudi Arabia, the match will be live telecast on Shahid and Shoof. In China, the match will be live telecast on iQiyi and ZhiBo8.
