Top match in Asia
The last international matches of the calendar year are on the agenda. On some continents, there will already be decisive decisions about participation in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. On other continents, at least possible preliminary decisions are pending. Saudi Arabia, for example, can take a decisive step in the Asian qualifiers when they play in Australia.
Two teams from the six-team group will earn a direct ticket. The third-placed team can still hope to qualify for the World Cup via the intercontinental play-offs. After four matchdays, the Saudis are in the lead with twelve points and no losses. Australia follow with nine points, which means a top match is on the agenda in Sydney on Thursday.
Oman and Japan are currently fighting for third place, while China and Vietnam are likely to be left with only the role of points suppliers. The standings make it clear that with an away win, the Saudis are marching towards winning the group and thus also the World Cup. Ahead of Australia’s clash against Saudi Arabia, we dare to predict that the Arabs have a good chance of making it to Qatar next year.
The Socceroos should not slip up, because then Japan and Oman would have the chance to catch up with the Australians. For their part, the team from Down Under can take back the top spot in the standings with a win.
Australia – Statistics & current form
The Australians are very happy that they finally get to play an international match at home again. Due to the global pandemic, it has been two years since the Socceroos played a match Down Under. However, things have been going very well for the games outside of Australia as Graham Arnold’s eleven have been very successful in recent months.
Defeat after eleven wins
With eleven wins in a row, the Australians set a new association record. However, that streak was broken in their last match as they were defeated 2-1 in their visit to Japan. It showed how much the home advantage with spectators played into the Japanese hands and that is exactly the support the Socceroos expect from their fans again.
Japan took an early lead in this clash, but it was Eintracht Frankfurt’s Ajdin Hrustic who levelled for Australia on 79 minutes. However, the Socceroos beat themselves in the end as Aziz Behich scored Japan’s winner in the 86th minute with an own goal. The performance was okay, prompting bettors to offer much lower odds on a home win in Australia’s clash with Saudi Arabia.
Graham Arnold will have to do without two very experienced strategists on Thursday, however. Tom Rogic and Aaron Mooy are not in the line-up. In addition, Adam Taggert, an important attacker, is missing and Ajdin Hrustic is at least injured. Martin Boyle was allowed to travel from Scotland in his place. However, the striker would almost have ended up in Scottish quarantine as a direct contact person.
Predicted line-up of Australia:
Ryan – Behich, Sainsbury, Souttar, Karacic – Irvine, Jeggo – Leckie, Mabil, Boyle – Duke – Coach: Arnold
Last matches played by Australia:
World Cup – AFC Qualifiers – 3rd Round – Group B
10/12 2021 – Japan 2 – 1 Australia
10/07 2021 – Australia 3 – 1 Oman
09/07 2021 – Vietnam 0 – 1 Australia
09/02 2021 – Australia 3 – 0 China
WM Qualification AFC – 2nd Round – Grp. B
06/15 2021 – Australia 1 – 0 Jordan
Saudi Arabia – Statistics & current form
It could prove a big advantage on Thursday that all Saudi players are under contract at home and coach Herve Renard, with the backing of the royal family, can virtually pull the national team together at will. So the Arabs already travelled to Australia last Friday to acclimatise early, completely free of duties at their clubs.
Strong winning streak for the Falcons
With the backing of the entire nation, things have been going exceptionally well for the green hawks of late. The Saudis have won nine international matches in a row, scoring seven times to nil. In this form, success should also be possible on Thursday and that is why we can also imagine predicting an away win in the Australia vs Saudi Arabia match.
In the last international match, Herve Renard’s team faced China in October. The 3-2 win sounds closer than it actually was. The Arabs took a 2-0 lead after a brace from Sami Al Najei. After the equaliser, Firas Al Buraikan restored the gap. It was only in the closing minutes that the Chinese came back to within a goal at 3-2.
The loss of keeper Mohammad Al Owais and defenders Yasser Al Shahrani and Abdullah Madu certainly weighs heavily, but there is also positive news from the green hawks. With Salem Al Dawsari, perhaps the best player in Asia at the moment returns to the team, who appears to be in the form of his life and has been a regular in the Asian Champions League of late.
Predicted Saudi Arabia line-up:
Al Bawardi – Abdulhamid, Al Boleahi, Al Amri, Al Ghannam – Kanno, Al Malki – Al Faraj, Al Najei, Al Dawsari – Al Shehri – Coach: Renard
Last matches played by Saudi Arabia:
World Cup – AFC Qualifiers – 3rd Round – Group B
10/12 2021 – Saudi Arabia 3 – 2 China
10/07 2021 – Saudi Arabia 1 – 0 Japan
09/07 2021 – Oman 0 – 1 Saudi Arabia
09/02 2021 – Saudi Arabia 3 – 1 Vietnam
WM Qualification AFC – 2nd Round – Grp. D
06/15 2021 – Saudi Arabia 3 – 0 Uzbekistan
Australia – Saudi Arabia Direct comparison / H2H balance
To date, there have been eight head-to-head clashes between Australia and Saudi Arabia. The Socceroos have fared much better in those, with the Australians leading 5-1 after victories, with the Green Falcons only retaining the upper hand in the 1997 Confederations Cup at home. Two duels ended in a draw.
The last two encounters were in the qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, which both teams are known to have successfully completed. The first leg in Saudi Arabia saw the two sides draw 2-2, while the return leg in Adelaide took place in October 2017. In front of their own fans, the Socceroos won 3-2 on that occasion.
Australia – Saudi Arabia betting tips
If we look at the form of these two teams, it’s a real top-of-the-table match in Asian World Cup qualifying. Not only did both teams successfully qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, but currently both teams are on a very good path towards Qatar next year.
The team from Down Under lost to Japan after eleven victories in World Cup qualifying. Saudi Arabia have won their last nine international matches. Asian football does not currently have much better to offer at country level.
We think, however, that the Australians do not have some players on board who are extremely important for the structure. The Saudis, on the other hand, have top star Salem Al Dawsari back in the fold. We also take into account the winning streak of the green falcons. Therefore, between Australia and Saudi Arabia, we play the betting odds on the Arabs, but reduce the risk with DNB.
