Qatar host China on Monday and another loss for the Chinese team could hammer the final nail into their World Cup coffin. China are perennial underachievers and have so far managed to only draw with Iraq and Australia, making the game on Doha a must-win ahead of the return leg against Qatar in Tianjin on June 7.

Their morale was boosted by a 2-0 friendly win over Jordan last weekend which was welcome news for under-pressure coach Vladimir Petrovic. “We played very well in the first 60 minutes and it was the team’s best performance so far this year,” he said.

After their shock 1-0 loss to Bahrain in March, Asian powerhouse Japan are desperate to make the most of home advantage against Oman on Monday, with coach Takeshi Okada relying on Celtic star Shunsuke Nakamura to carry them through.

“I have realised anew his presence, the accuracy of his play and the fact that he is a player with very high ability to read how the game develops,” Okada said of Nakamura after Japan retained the Kirin Cup on Tuesday.

“We cannot afford to lose the World Cup qualifiers. We are determined to win and we’ll keep it up,” he added. Surprise table-toppers Bahrain are in Bangkok against a Thai team that has yet to take a point and who can almost certainly wave goodbye to any faint hopes they have of a trip to Africa if they lose. Despite the odds being stacked against them, Thai striker Teerathep Winothai is confident his side can deliver the goods.

“We always go for a win in every match.

“We can beat Bahrain on our own soil,” he insisted.

Group 3 sees South Korea host Jordan in Seoul tomorrow, with Manchester United’s Park Ji-sung keen to showcase his skills after being snubbed by Alex Ferguson in Manchester United’s Champions League final victory over Chelsea.

Park was widely expected to start the match in Moscow but failed even to make the bench. South Korea currently have four points and are level with North Korea who travel to basement team Turkmenistan on Monday. With Uzbekistan securing two wins out of two so far, Saudi Arabia will need to beat minnows Lebanon, who have lost both their matches, at home to keep the pressure on in Group 4.

The Uzbekis play Singapore in the city-state, with another victory putting them on the brink of becoming one of the 10 teams that progress to the final round of qualifying later this year.