Preview:Indonesia vs. China - prediction, team news, lineups

In their penultimate group game of their AFC World Cup qualifying campaign, Indonesia could progress to the next round when they welcome China to Gelora Bung Karno Stadium on Thursday.

The hosts are fourth with nine points following their 1-0 win against Bahrain on March 25, whereas China lost 2-0 against Australia on March 25 and are last in sixth place with six points.

Match preview

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Indonesia were dominant against Bahrain, facing just one shot on target and one big chance while creating three big chances.

The Red and White have been porous defensively, conceding 14 goals in eight group matches, as well as 10 goals in their last five.

Indonesia are unlikely to book their place in the 2026 World Cup automatically given they are four points behind second-placed Australia, but they will advance to the next round of qualifying if they beat China and Bahrain lose against third-placed Saudi Arabia on Thursday.

Manager Patrick Kluivert's side are in mixed form having lost two, drawn one and won two of their past five, though they have triumphed in two of their last three AFC World Cup qualifying matches.

The hosts have also emerged victorious in two of their past four at home – succumbing to defeat once – and they found the back of the net six times in those fixtures.

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As for China, they conceded two goals within the first 30 minutes against Australia, and they have now conceded 19 goals in their first eight group outings.

The visitors have only qualified for one World Cup in their history, and head coach Branko Ivankovic will know that his side's poor qualifying record will continue if they lose on Thursday given they are three points behind Indonesia with just two fixtures remaining.

Dragon Team managed to beat their hosts 2-1 when they met earlier in their qualifying campaign in October 2024, and they also won their previous meeting 1-0 in November 2013.

China have been defeated in each of their past three games, losing three and winning two of their prior five matches.

Ivankovic's team have also been poor on the road considering they have only triumphed in one of their eight most recent away outings, suffering five losses in that time.

Team News

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Indonesia are likely to select centre-backs Justin Hubner, Jay Idzes and Rizky Ridho in a three-man defence, while Thom Haye and Joey Pelupessy are candidates to start in midfield.

Striker Ole Romeny netted the winning goal against Bahrain, and he may be supported by attackers Ramadhan Sananta and Rafael Struick on Thursday.

Meanwhile, China could station Yongjing Cao in an attacking position behind centre-forwards Shihao Wei and Yuning Zhang.

Ivankovic may start midfielders Haoyang Xu, Zhengyu Huang and Wenneng Xie, and the trio are almost certain to play ahead of centre-backs Pengfei Han and Shenglong Jiang.

Indonesia possible starting lineup: Ari; Ridho, Idzes, Hubner; Diks, Pelupessy, Haye, Verdonk; Struick, Sananta; Romeny

China possible starting lineup: Wang; Yang, Han, Jiang, Li; Xu, Huang, Xie; Cao; Wei, Zhang

We say: Indonesia 2-1 China

Thursday's clash could be closely fought given the sides were competitive against each other in the reverse fixture.

It is difficult to look past China's defensive frailty, and if they overcommit in search of a winner, Indonesia may create chances during counter-attacks.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.