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
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
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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