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Japan 7-0 China: Player ratings as the Blue Samurai crushed the Dragon’s Team in a clinical display

Japan crushed China 7-0 in their opening game of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Wataru Endo and Kaoru Mitoma had put them 2-0 up in the first half before the Samurai Blue ran riot. A quickfire brace from Takumi Minamino, coupled with goals from Junya Ito, Daizen Maeda, and Takefusa Kubo tamed the Dragon, big time. Here are the Japan vs China player ratings:

Japan National Football Team Player Ratings vs China

Zion Suzuki
Zion Suzuki (by Getty Images)

Goalkeeper

Zion Suzuki – 7/10: Didn’t have to make a single save in the game; perhaps the easiest clean sheet of his career.

Defenders

Ko Itakura – 7/10: Drove forward to feed the midfielders and attackers.

Shogo Taniguchi – 7.5/10: Pass master of the night with 125 passes completed.

Koki Machida – 8/10: Strong in the air, accurate with his passing, and showed excellent vision to make three clearances.

Midfielders

Ritsu Doan – 7/10: Assisted Mitoma with their second goal, which was his only highlight of the game.

Hidemasa Morita – 6/10: Misplaced plenty of passes and was sloppy in possession too.

Wataru Endo – 7.5/10: Broked the deadlock for Japan in the 12th minute with a well-taken goal.

Kaoru Mitoma – 9.5/10: Scored a goal, assisted a goal, and created a few chances too.

Forwards

Takefusa Kubo – 10/10: Put the final nail in China’s coffin with the stoppage-time goal, having assisted two more before that.

Takumi Minamino – 10/10: Scored a sensational brace in the second half to consolidate their win.

Ayase Ueda – 7/10: Set up Minamino for their fourth goal but wasn’t a direct threat himself, failing to muster a single shot in the match.

Substitutes

Junya Ito – 8/10

Daizen Maeda – 7.5/10

Kota Takai – 6.5/10

Ao Tanaka – 6.5/10

Koki Ogawa – 6/10

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China National Football Team Player Ratings vs Japan

Dalei Wang
Dalei Wang (by Getty Images)

Goalkeeper

Dalei Wang – 3/10: Poor Wang, left completely exposed by his fragile defense.

Defenders

Zexiang Yang – 4.5/10: No real impact at either end of the field.

Tyias Browning – 4/10: Was helpless with any of Japan’s goals.

Chenjie Zhu – 4/10: Poor positioning and was beaten on the ball far too many times.

Yang Liu – 5/10: Made a few vital clearances but left acres of space at times.

Midfielder

Wenneng Xie – 5/10: Non-existent in the opening stanza leading to him getting subbed at the break.

Yuanyi Li – 6/10: Perhaps the only bright spot for China, making vital interventions to impede Japan’s movements.

Shenglong Jiang – 5/10: Failed to win any of his ground duels and lacked the pace during the game too.

Haoyang Xu – 5/10: Was a total non-factor for China.

Forwards

Wu Lei – 4/10: Was devoid of proper service and failed to make a single shot in the match.

Yuning Zhang – 3/10: Completed only two passes in 61 minutes of action; that should tell you all about his involvement tonight.

Substitutes

Zhunyi Gao – 5/10

Baihelamu Abuduwaili – 6.5/10

Fernandinho – 6.5/10

Alan – 6/10

Shangyuan Wang – 6/10

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