On Thursday morning, Australia and Japan go head-to-head in a clash that could decide which team from the Asian R3 Group B section qualifies for the World Cup.
Australia could well still top the group, but at the moment the Socceroo’s are third place in the group, outside the two automatic qualification spots. Graham Arnold’s team would have to win their last two group games if they are to guarantee automatic qualification.
🗣 plenty of encouragement heading @MartinBoyle9’s way! #AllForTheSocceroos pic.twitter.com/T47DZra984— Socceroos (@Socceroos) March 22, 2022
🗣 plenty of encouragement heading @MartinBoyle9’s way! #AllForTheSocceroos pic.twitter.com/T47DZra984
The home side is currently three points behind Thursday’s opponents and four points adrift of group leaders Saudi Arabia.
A run of just one win in their last five qualifiers has certainly not helped their chances of automatic qualification for the World Cup.
Their recent form has been frustrating in qualifying, with three of their last four qualifiers ending in draws.
Australia does have a strong recent home record in World Cup qualifying to give them hope of winning this clash, as the Socceroos are 29 games unbeaten on home soil in Asian qualification for the World Cup.
Japan will be confident of sealing their place at their seventh straight World Cup. The Blue Samurai’s know that a victory in this clash would seal qualification for Qatar 2022.
Although the visitors made an underwhelming start to their qualifying campaign, they head into this clash on the back of five straight wins in World Cup qualifiers.
Hajime Moriyasu’s team has built their recent good form on a strong defence, as they have kept clean sheets in their last four World Cup qualifiers. The stellar defensive record has contributed to their last four qualifiers all producing under 2.5 goals.
Japan have a good recent record against Australia, as they head into this clash on the back eight games unbeaten against the Socceroos.
Forebet predicts that this game will end in a low-scoring draw, which would put Japan in the driving seat for qualification heading into the last round of fixtures.