Through the back door to the World Cup
Five teams still have their hopes up for the two remaining slots at the World Cup in Qatar later this year. In the intercontinental play-offs, Costa Rica and New Zealand will battle it out for a ticket. In the second play-off, Peru will await the winner of the fourth round of the Asian Confederation next week, namely the winner of the clash between the United Arab Emirates and Australia.
The Emirates and also the Socceroos both finished only third in the last group stage in Asia and thus missed out on direct qualification. Now they have to make up for it in order to get to the World Cup through the back door. For the UAE, it would be a comeback after 32 years. The first and so far only time the Arabs took part in the World Cup was in Italy in 1990.
The team from Down Under, on the other hand, is now a permanent fixture at World Cups.
We definitely expect both teams to want to be compact at first, so as not to concede an early goal and then chase it. Safety should be the first priority at the start of the game and that is why we can imagine placing a bet on less than 2.5 goals in the play-off match between the United Arab Emirates and Australia.
United Arab Emirates – Statistics & current form
The United Arab Emirates are the underdogs in Tuesday’s clash with the Socceroos and should the Arabs win that match, the game against Peru would also be a real challenge for Argentine Rodolfo Arruabarrena’s team. Nevertheless, the Emirates will be looking to make the most of their opportunity to return to the big football stage after 32 years.
VAE not in World Cup form
The form of recent internationals, however, tends not to suggest that the UAE will prevail on Tuesday. The Emirates have only managed one win in their last four games, when they beat South Korea at home with nothing at stake for the Far East side. Therefore, we do not recommend playing the odds on an Arab victory in the clash between the United Arab Emirates and Australia.
However, due to their geographical proximity to Qatar, the UAE will be hoping to have some home advantage in Tuesday’s play-off match. However, they also had that in a test match against Gambia in Dubai last week, where they could not get beyond a 1-1 draw. Ali Mabkhout’s goal was not enough to give them a good feeling for Tuesday’s match.
Rodolfo Arruabarrena will have to do without some very experienced players against Australia. Ismail Matar, Mohanad Salem and Majed Naser will not be playing. In addition, the two injured attackers Fabio Lima and Khalfan Mubarak will be missing, so that some important alternatives in the offensive will not be there.
Predicted line-up of United Arab Emirates:
Khaseif – Abbas, Alhammadi, Hashemi, Ebraheim – Suhail, Salmin, Hamad, Ramadan, Canedo – Mabkhout – Coach: Arruabarrena
Last matches played by United Arab Emirates:
Friendly match
29/05/2022 – United Arab Emirates 1 – 1 Gambia
World Cup – AFC Qualification – 3rd Round – Group A
29/03/2022 – United Arab Emirates 1 – 0 South Korea
24/03/2022 – Iraq 1 – 0 United Arab Emirates
01/02/2022 – Iran 1 – 0 United Arab Emirates
27/01/2022 – United Arab Emirates 2 – 0 Syria
Australia – Statistics & current form
Australia no longer have the quality in their squad that led them to qualify for four consecutive World Cups. At one time, almost the entire squad played for good European clubs, whether in Germany, England or Scotland, but also in other strong leagues. Nowadays, that is hardly the case and it is therefore not surprising that the Socceroos missed out on a direct ticket to Qatar.
Problems at the Socceroos
Thus, it will also be a tour de force for Graham Arnold’s eleven if they are to travel to the World Cup. The Australians have also won just once in their last four international matches. So the Socceroos will not be going into Tuesday’s play-off match with a broad chest. That’s why we’re holding back on predicting a win for the team from Down Under in the match between the United Arab Emirates and Australia.
After all, Graham Arnold’s team won the dress rehearsal, beating Jordan 2-1 in Qatar last week. So the Socceroos have been on the ground for some time and have therefore been able to acclimatise. After going 1-0 down, Bailey Wright and Awer Mabil turned the game in the Socceroos’ favour.
Bitterly, Tom Rogic will not be involved on Tuesday for personal reasons. This means the Australians will be missing perhaps their most important man. Harry Soutar, Nikita Rukavytsya, Andrew Nabbout or Chris Ikonomidis are also missing from the Socceroos’ line-up. Nevertheless, there are still some experienced players in the squad who can make the difference in an important match.
Predicted line-up of Australia:
Ryan – Behich, Sainsbury, Degenek, Atkinson – Boyle, McGree, Irvine, Mabil – Hrustic, d’Agostino – Coach: Arnold
Last matches played by Australia:
Friendly match
02/06/2022 – Australia 2 – 1 Jordan
World Cup – AFC Qualification – 3rd Round – Group B
30/03/2022 – Saudi Arabia 1 – 0 Australia
24/03/2022 – Australia 0 – 2 Japan
01/02/2022 – Oman 2 – 2 Australia
27/01/2022 – Australia 4 – 0 Vietnam
United Arab Emirates – Australia Direct comparison / H2H balance
To date, the United Arab Emirates and Australia have crossed paths six times. The direct comparison favours the Socceroos, who have a 3-1 lead after victories. Two duels ended in a draw. However, the Arabs have won the last direct encounter after five previous games against the Australians.
In 2019, the two teams met in the Africa Cup. In the quarter-finals, the Emirates won 1-0 after Ali Mabkhout scored. Strikingly, in no international match between these two teams did both teams score. Moreover, in the direct duels, never more than 2.5 goals were scored. That could be an indication of where the journey will go on Tuesday.
United Arab Emirates – Australia Tip
For both teams, it is perhaps the most important match in recent years. This circumstance is less likely to lead to a liberated performance. We expect rather cautious and slightly inhibited teams who will first be anxious not to fall behind. That’s why we think that there won’t be many or even any goals, especially in the first half.
As long as they don’t fall behind, they won’t have to give up their restraint. In the six previous duels between these two nations, at most one team has scored.
It’s hard to say who will prevail in the end in this match, which may indeed only be in extra time or a penalty shootout. The Socceroos tend to have the better cards. In the end, however, we have decided to play the betting odds on less than 2.5 goals between the United Arab Emirates and Australia
