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World Cup 2022: Guam’s student footballers size up China in qualifying mismatch

  • Guam became a member of Fifa in 1996 and were beaten 19-0 by China in 2000

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Guam are set to take on China in Suzhou in World Cup 2022 qualifying on Sunday. Photo: AFP

Off the football pitch it is a total mismatch: China’s 1.4 billion population versus Guam’s 170,000.

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But the two collide in a World Cup qualifier on Sunday with the US island territory’s squad – which includes high-school and college players – trying to cut their Chinese hosts down to size.

Guam will be massive underdogs and anything other than a Chinese victory in front of a sell-out crowd of about 30,000 in Suzhou would be a shock.

But Guam have done something similar before. In 2015 they stunned India – which has the second-biggest population after China – in World Cup qualifying.

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It did not bring them a maiden World Cup appearance, but it lifted Asian football’s smallest member association to 146th in the Fifa rankings. Guam are now 198th of 210 teams.

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