# China–Japan football rivalry

The China–Japan football rivalry is a competitive sports rivalry that exists between the national football teams of the two countries, as well as their respective sets of fans. Historical tensions had stemmed this rivalry into one of the most heated rivalries in Asia and the world.

## Men's matches

The men's football teams of China (then called the Republic of China) and Japan first met each other in 1917 at the Far Eastern Championship Games, which Japan hosted.
Prior to the 1990s, China were one of Asia's dominant men's football teams while football in Japan was still limited to amateur levels, partly due to little interest in development for the sport. Thus, Japan suffered many defeats to China. But with the rapid rise of the Japanese men's national team since the 1990s, the tide has turned. Nowadays, Japan have become far more successful than China in men's football, winning four AFC Asian Cups and have played in every FIFA World Cup since 1998, while China are runners-up in two Asian Cups (one on home soil) and qualified for just one World Cup in 2002, which Japan co-hosted along with South Korea.
| # | Date | Venue | Competition | Home team | Score | Away team | Goals (home) | Goals (away) |
| 1 | 9 May 1917 | Shibaura Ground, Tokyo | Far Eastern Championship Games | Japan | 0–5 | China | | Fung Kin Wai 3', 22', ?', Kwok Po Kan 28', Tong Fuk Cheung 30' |
| 2 | 1 June 1921 | Shanghai | Far Eastern Championship Games | China | 4–1 | Japan | | |
| 3 | 24 May 1923 | Osaka | Far Eastern Championship Games | Japan | 1–5 | China | | |
| 4 | 20 May 1925 | Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila | Far Eastern Championship Games | Japan | 0–2 | China | | Lee Wai Tong -', -' |
| 5 | 27 August 1927 | Zhonghua Stadium, Shanghai | Far Eastern Championship Games | China | 5–1 | Japan | Suen Kam Shun 19', 30', Kai Bingfen 21', -', 73' | Misao Tamai 41' |
| 6 | 30 May 1930 | Meiji Jingu Gaien Stadium, Tokyo | Far Eastern Championship Games | Japan | 3–3 | China | Shiro Teshima 23', Tadao Takayama 57', Hideo Shinojima 73' | Suen Kam Shun 40', Chan Kwong Yiu 60', Dai Linjing 70' |
| 7 | 20 May 1934 | Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila | Far Eastern Championship Games | China | 4–3 | Japan | Tam Kong Pak 6', 11', Lee Wai Tong 65', 76' (pen.) | Akira Nozawa 60', 72', Takeshi Natori 74' |
| 8 | 1 May 1966 | Unknown | Friendly | Japan | 1–2 | China | | |
| 9 | 23 June 1975 | Government Stadium, Hong Kong | 1976 AFC Asian Cup qualification | China | 2–1 | Japan | Li Yutie 6', Ke Wushang 20' | Kozo Arai 43' |
| 10 | 11 June 1980 | Tianhe Stadium, Guangzhou | Friendly | China | 1–0 | Japan | Li Xiangfu 67' | |
| 11 | 26 December 1980 | Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong | 1982 FIFA World Cup qualification | China | 1–0 | Japan | Rong Zhihang 7' | |
| 12 | 2 June 1981 | Omiya Football Stadium, Saitama | Friendly | Japan | 0–0 | China | | |
| 13 | 30 September 1981 | Singapore | Lion City Cup | Japan | 2–0 | China | | |
| 14 | 31 January 1983 | Kochi | Nehru Cup | China | 5–0 | Japan | | |
| 15 | 31 May 1984 | Omiya Football Stadium, Saitama | Kirin Cup | Japan | 1–0 | China | Hisashi Kato 84' (pen.) | |
| 16 | 27 July 1986 | Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur | Merdeka Cup | Japan | 4–2 | China | Hisashi Kaneko 8', 55', Hiromi Hara 75', Satoshi Tezuka 76' | Li Zheng 44', Wang Yong 77' |
| 17 | 2 June 1988 | Mizuho Stadium, Nagoya | Kirin Cup | Japan | 0–3 | China | | Wang Baoshan 24', Gao Sheng 41', Ma Lin 45' |
| 18 | 10 May 1990 | Nishigaoka Stadium, Tokyo | Friendly | Japan | 2–2 | China | Tomoyuki Kajino 17', Osamu Maeda 56' | 14' (o.g.), Zhang Shaowen 63' |
| 19 | 13 May 1990 | Okayama Stadium, Okayama | Friendly | Japan | 2–0 | China | Osamu Maeda 26', Mitsunori Yoshida 40' | |
| 20 | 29 July 1990 | Workers' Stadium, Beijing | Dynasty Cup | China | 1–0 | Japan | Wu Qunli 77' | |
| 21 | 24 August 1992 | Workers' Stadium, Beijing | Dynasty Cup | China | 0–2 | Japan | | Masahiro Fukuda 38', Takuya Takagi 82' |
| 22 | 6 November 1992 | Hiroshima Stadium, Hiroshima | AFC Asian Cup | Japan | 3–2 | China | Masahiro Fukuda 48', Tsuyoshi Kitazawa 57', Masashi Nakayama 84' | Xie Yuxin 1', Li Xiao 70' |
| 23 | 18 May 1993 | Shanghai | East Asian Games | China | 3–2 | Japan | | |
| 24 | 23 February 1995 | Mong Kok Stadium, Hong Kong | Dynasty Cup | Japan | 2–1 | China | Toshiya Fujita 16', Hisashi Kurosaki 22' | Gao Feng 55' |
| 25 | 12 December 1996 | Tahnoun bin Mohamed Stadium, Al Ain | AFC Asian Cup | Japan | 1–0 | China | Naoki Soma 90' | |
| 26 | 7 March 1998 | National Stadium, Tokyo | Dynasty Cup | Japan | 0–2 | China | | Li Bing 9', 50' |
| 27 | 15 March 2000 | Universiade Memorial Stadium, Kobe | Friendly | Japan | 0–0 | China | | |
| 28 | 26 October 2000 | Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, Beirut | AFC Asian Cup | China | 2–3 | Japan | Qi Hong 30', Yang Chen 48' | Fan Zhiyi 21' (o.g.), Akinori Nishizawa 53', Tomokazu Myojin 61' |
| 29 | 8 October 2002 | Masan Stadium, Changwon | Asian Games | China | 0–1 | Japan | | Satoshi Nakayama 60' |
| 30 | 4 December 2003 | National Stadium, Tokyo | EAFF Championship | Japan | 2–0 | China | Tatsuhiko Kubo 4', 80' | |
| 31 | 7 August 2004 | Workers' Stadium, Beijing | AFC Asian Cup | China | 1–3 | Japan | Li Ming 31' | Takashi Fukunishi 22', Koji Nakata 65', Keiji Tamada 90+1' |
| 32 | 3 August 2005 | Daejeon World Cup Stadium, Daejeon | EAFF Championship | Japan | 2–2 | China | Teruyuki Moniwa 59', Tatsuya Tanaka 87' | Li Jinyu 37', Zhang Yonghai 43' |
| 33 | 20 February 2008 | Chongqing Olympic Sports Center, Chongqing | EAFF Championship | China | 0–1 | Japan | | Koji Yamase 17' |
| 34 | 6 February 2010 | Tokyo Stadium, Tokyo | EAFF Championship | Japan | 0–0 | China | | |
| 35 | 21 July 2013 | Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul | EAFF Championship | Japan | 3–3 | China | Yuzo Kurihara 32', Yoichiro Kakitani 59', Masato Kudo 60' | Wang Yongpo 4' (pen.), 80' (pen.), Sun Ke 86' |
| 36 | 9 August 2015 | Wuhan Sports Center Stadium, Wuhan | EAFF Championship | China | 1–1 | Japan | Wu Lei 10' | Yuki Muto 41' |
| 37 | 12 December 2017 | Ajinomoto Stadium, Chōfu | EAFF Championship | Japan | 2–1 | China | Yu Kobayashi 84', Gen Shōji 88' | Yu Dabao 90+3' |
| 38 | 10 December 2019 | Busan Gudeok Stadium, Busan | EAFF Championship | China | 1–2 | Japan | Dong Xuesheng 90' | Musashi Suzuki 29', Genta Miura 70' |
| 39 | 7 September 2021 | Khalifa International Stadium, Doha (Qatar) | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification | China | 0–1 | Japan | | Yuya Osako 40' |
| 40 | 27 January 2022 | Saitama Stadium 2002, Saitama | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification | Japan | 2–0 | China | Yuya Osako 13' (pen.), Junya Ito 61' | |
| 41 | 24 July 2022 | Toyota Stadium, Toyota | EAFF Championship | Japan | 0–0 | China | | |
| 42 | 5 September 2024 | Saitama Stadium, Saitama | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification | Japan | 7–0 | China | Wataru Endo 12', Kaoru Mitoma 45+2', Takumi Minamino 52', 58', Junya Ito 77', Daizen Maeda 87', Takefusa Kubo 90+5' | |
| 43 | 19 November 2024 | Xiamen Egret Stadium, Xiamen | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification | China | 1–3 | Japan | Lin Liangming 48' | Koki Ogawa 39', 54', Ko Itakura 45+5' |

### Head-to-head record

    As of 19 November 2024
| Competition | China wins | Draws | Japan wins |
| Total | 15 | 9 | 19 |

## Women's matches

| # | Date | Venue | Competition | Home team | Score | Away team | Goals (home) | Goals (away) |
| 1 | 31 August 2018 | Gelora Sriwijaya, Palembang | 2018 Asian Games | Japan | 1–0 | China | Yuika Sugasawa 90' | |
| 2 | 14 December 2019 | Busan Gudeok Stadium, Busan | 2019 EAFF E-1 Football Championship | China | 0–3 | Japan | | Mana Iwabuchi 9', 44', 56' |
| 3 | 4 February 2022 | Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Pune | 2022 Women's Asian Cup | China | 2–2 (a.e.t.) (4–3 p) | Japan | Wu Chengshu 46', Wang Shanshan 119' | Riko Ueki 26', 103' |
| 4 | 26 July 2022 | Kashima Soccer Stadium, Kashima | 2022 EAFF E-1 Football Championship | Japan | 0–0 | China | |

### Head-to-head record

    As of 26 July 2022
| Competition | China wins | Draws | Japan wins |
| Total | 0 | 2 | 2 |