After a year-and-a-half hiatus, China face Guam in Suzhou on Sunday on their return to World Cup 2022 qualifying action.

Li Tie's side are winless in their last two Group A matches, while Guam have yet to pick up any points on the road to Qatar.

Match preview

China were expected to finish top of Group A and automatically advance through to the third round of qualifying, but they have their work cut out if they are to achieve that aim.

A 5-0 win over the Maldives and a 7-0 thrashing of Guam in the reverse fixture saw Li's side get off to a perfect start from their opening two games.

However, they drew 0-0 with the Philippines and lost 2-1 to Syria in their last batch of qualifying fixtures some 19 months ago and now trail the latter by eight points.

China do still have a game in hand on Syria, however, and the two sides are set to face off again next month, so top spot is not completely out of the question for Li's charges.

Right now, though, simply making sure that they do not slip any lower than second - with four of the eight best second-placed teams also advancing - is the first priority.

The Philippines are level on points with China, albeit having played a game more, and the pressure is on Li - who succeeded Marcelo Lippi in January 2020 - to get things right.

This meeting with minnows Guam provides China with a chance to kickstart their campaign, with Suh Dong Won's side without a point from their first five Group A matches.

Indeed, with three games still to play, Guam are no longer able to qualify automatically and require a remarkable set of results to finish in second.

Suh, previously part of South Korea's coaching staff at the 2018 World Cup, was only placed in charge of Guam last month and will be looking to make an immediate impression.

Taking a point off world ranked 77th nation China will be a major challenge, but Guam also face the Philippines and Syria in their remaining fixtures of this campaign.

Team News

China have named a 26-man squad for their remaining World Cup qualifiers, which includes five overseas-born players.

Former Everton defender Tyias Browning, who previously represented England at Under-21s level, is among those in line for a first cap.

Former Arsenal man Nico Yennaris, now known as Li Ke, plus Brazil-born forwards Elkeson, Alan Carvalho and Fernandinho are also in a squad that is dominated by Guangzhou players.

Guam's squad contains high school and college players, with only a couple of those in the squad either professional or semi-professional.

They are without a goal in their last four games, putting added pressure on their attacking players to step up this week.

Guam's most recent starting lineup:
Jaye, Lee, S.Nicklaw, Lee, Crowley, Chargualaf, Cunliffe, T.Nicklaw, Matkin, Lopez, Naputi

China's most recent starting lineup:
Junling, Zheng, Gang, Linpeng, Chenjie, Junmin, Wu, Zhongguo, Yang, Kesen, Wu

We say: Guam 0-5 China

Guam have lost five games in a row, but like their opponents they are under new management and will be eager to lay down a marker on Sunday.

However, China put seven goals past their opponents when they last met and it is hard to imagine the scoreline being much different this time around against a team made up largely of students.

Written by
Daniel Lewis

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