Palestine host New Zealand in Chongqing friendly

What the numbers say

Palestine have won two, drawn two and lost one of their last five recent matches, a run that includes a 2–0 win over Kuwait and a 2–1 victory against Iraq. Their most recent outing was a goalless draw with Kyrgyzstan in June.

New Zealand have collected one point from their last five, a 2–2 draw with Iran. The other four all ended in defeat, 4–0 to Haiti, 1–0 to England, 3–1 to Egypt and 5–1 to Belgium. The final result in that sequence, a four-goal loss in June, underlines the scale of the task facing them in Chongqing.

The context

Neither side plays a competitive fixture here; the meeting is a chance to test combinations and build rhythm away from the pressure of points. For Palestine, two wins in five suggests a platform to work from. For New Zealand, one point from fifteen available makes Thursday an opportunity to stop the slide before it calculates into something harder to shift.

The venue sits in south-west China, a neutral setting for both. Kick-off is 10:30 local time.

We are covering this one live. Follow it with us in the match centre for the line-ups when they land, the goals as they go in, and the full timeline.