Head-to-head
· This will be the 10th World Cup meeting between these nations. China won seven of the previous nine meetings, including the last two.
· This will be the fifth meeting between the nations in 2015. China won all four meetings earlier this year, of which three were in the World Grand Prix and one at the Asian Championship. Japan won one set in these four meetings.
· The last time Japan defeated China was at the World Grand Prix last year.
· China have won five of the six meetings with Japan at the Olympic Games and five of the eight meetings at the World Championship.
Japan
· Japan have won seven World Cup matches this season. They need one more victory to equal their record number of wins in one season, as they won eight in 2011.
· They can also equal their record number of straight set victories in one season. In 2011, they won seven matches by a 3-0 score line. They now have six straight set wins.
China
· China will qualify for the Olympic Games if one of the following scenarios take place:
· 1) A win
· 2) A defeat by 3-2 and Serbia lose or USA do not win by 3-0 or 3-1.
· 3) A defeat by 3-0 or 3-1 and two of the following three scenarios take place:
o a) Serbia do not win.
o b) USA do not win.
o c) Russia do not win by 3-0 or 3-1.
· They qualified for the 1995, 2004 and 2012 Olympic Games through the World Cup (hosts in 2008).
· China have won the World Cup three times (1981, 1985, 2003) and are one more tournament victory away of equalling Cuba's record four wins.
· China are on a seven-match winning streak in the World Cup for the first time since 1999-2011, when they won 13 in a row.