2022 World Cup qualifying continues this week in the Asian Football Confederation and on the 1st of February we have a meeting between Oman and Australia.
The game will be played at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex, Muscat and as things stand in Group B, Oman are in fourth place on 7 points while Australia are in third place on 14 points.
Keepin' it on target 🎯#AllForTheSocceroos pic.twitter.com/uJDOJg0040— Socceroos (@Socceroos) January 31, 2022
Keepin' it on target 🎯#AllForTheSocceroos pic.twitter.com/uJDOJg0040
Oman come into the match on the back of a 1-0 defeat in Saudi Arabia on the 27th of January. The loss came as a blow to their chances of finishing in third place and qualifying for the play offs.
It was the second successive defeat for Oman following a 2-1 loss to Tunisia in the quarter-final of the Arab Cup.
Trends show Oman have recorded just a single victory from their 7 most recent games in all competitions.
They have failed to win any of their last 3 World Cup qualifying fixtures, picking up just a single point thanks to a 1-1 draw at China PR. In fact, Oman have record just 1 win from their 6 most recent World Cup qualifying games.
Oman have lost 3 of their last 4 home World Cup qualifying matches against Japan, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. Each of those games ended in a 1- defeat.
Therefore, Oman have failed to score a goal in 3 of their 4 most recent home World Cup qualifying matches and have conceded 1 goal in each of their last 4 on home soil.
Australia make the trip to the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex having recorded a comfortable 4-0 home win over Vietnam last time out.
The Socceroos opened the scoring after 30 minutes and were in complete control from that point onwards, adding 3 more goals to take maximum points.
That result means Australia are undefeated in each of their last 3 World Cup qualifying matches.
However, they have been held to draws by Saudi Arabia at home and China PR away, the latter of which was a disappointing result.
Australia have failed to win their last 2 away World Cup qualifying games but have little trouble finding the back of the net when playing away from home.
Trends show Australia have scored at least one goal in each of their last 8 away World Cup qualifying fixtures and have kept a clean sheet in 3 of their last 5 on the road.
Team news and Oman will be looking towards striker Abdulaziz Al-Muqbali for goals. The bulk of their squad play their league football in Oman, with midfielder Jameel Al-Yahmadi being the exception.
Australia have the experience of Celtic’s Tom Rogic in midfield plus Mathew Ryan of Real Sociedad in goal. Jamie Maclaren should keep his place in attack having opened the scoring against Vietnam.
Oman do not make it easy for teams when playing at home but Australia should have enough to take maximum points.
We expect to see Australia have to battle for the win and they could come away with a narrow 1-0 victory.