More than a game as China and Qatar meet in ‘symbolic’ World Cup qualifying clash

An Asian zone World Cup qualifier between the bottom two sides in group A, who have won just one game in eight between them, may not seem a particularly noteworthy match.

But when China face Qatar in Kunming on Tuesday, it will also be a clash between arguably the most ambitious and certainly in their region biggest spending nations who, in the long-term, could both play a central role in shaping the sport’s future.

In the short-term both could deal an almost fatal blow to each other’s already very slim chances of reaching Russia 2018.

“It would be easy simply to dismiss the China-Qatar game as a dead rubber or as a match between weaker nations on the periphery of world football,” said Professor Simon Chadwick, a British-based Asian football expert.

“However, these are two aspiring football nations, with major football ambitions.

“Both nations still hold out hope of making Russia 2018 and failure to do so would be an embarrassment and a setback in their desire to be considered as being among the world’s leading football nations.