Two giants of the Asian Football Federation (AFC) will lock horns in the last eight of the Asian Cup on Friday, with both sides eyeing a spot in the semi-finals.
Australia and South Korea are set to do battle at Al-Janoub Stadium in Al-Wakrah, Qatar, the venue where the Socceroos played all three of their 2022 World Cup group games.
[𝗣𝗦𝗢] 대한민국🇰🇷 1 (4-2) 1 🇸🇦사우디정말 어려웠던 경기, 대한민국은 이겼냈습니다.끝까지 포기하지 않고 함께 달려준 #대한민국 감사합니다.✔2023 AFC 아시안컵 8강🇰🇷v🇦🇺#호주 24.02.03(토) 00:30🏟알자누브 스타디움⏰한국시간 기준 📍카타르📺tvN, 쿠팡플레이#AsianCup2023 pic.twitter.com/1t6jerq3OP— theKFA (@theKFA) January 30, 2024
[𝗣𝗦𝗢] 대한민국🇰🇷 1 (4-2) 1 🇸🇦사우디정말 어려웠던 경기, 대한민국은 이겼냈습니다.끝까지 포기하지 않고 함께 달려준 #대한민국 감사합니다.✔2023 AFC 아시안컵 8강🇰🇷v🇦🇺#호주 24.02.03(토) 00:30🏟알자누브 스타디움⏰한국시간 기준 📍카타르📺tvN, 쿠팡플레이#AsianCup2023 pic.twitter.com/1t6jerq3OP
Forebet has collected all the key stats and trends to put together a comprehensive preview of Friday’s showdown. Read on to discover what our predictive analytics model makes of the match.
Australia booked their place in the quarter-finals with a 4-0 thrashing of Indonesia in the last 16, scoring twice in either half to seal the deal.
Thanks to clean-sheet victories over India and Syria, as well as a 1-1 draw with Uzbekistan, the Aussies finished as unbeaten Group B winners.
The Socceroos have now kept three clean sheets in four Asian Cup matches, conceding a solitary goal along the way, so they boast one of the tournament’s best defensive records.
In terms of the bigger picture, Australia have avoided defeat in each of their last eight games across all competitions, securing seven wins and seven clean sheets.
As for South Korea, they were pushed all the way by Saudia Arabia in the previous round, eventually winning 4-2 on penalties after a dramatic clash.
Trailing 1-0 deep into second-half stoppage time, South Korea equalised through Cho Gue-sung in the 99th minute before going on to win the penalty shootout.
It would not be unfair to say that South Korea have struggled for consistency at this year’s Asian Cup, as they have won only one of their four matches in normal time.
That said, the South Koreans have not struggled to find the back of the net, as they have netted nine goals so far, meaning they average 2.3 goals per game in Qatar.
Head-to-head: South Korea have lost just one of their last five meetings with Australia, recording two wins and two draws in the process.
However, the all-time H2H statistics are extremely tight. The Socceroos have won 12 of the 33 previous meetings, while the South Koreans have triumphed on 11 occasions.
Team news: Australia’s Martin Boyle and Jackson Irvine have each scored two goals in four Asian Cup matches so far, while Craig Goodwin has bagged a goal and an assist.
On the flip side, South Korea’s Son Heung-min and Lee Kang-in have both scored twice, with Hwang In-beom contributing a goal and two assists.
Friday’s showdown looks destined to be a close-fought battle between two of the tournament’s strongest teams on paper.
Forebet’s algorithm predicts that Australia and South Korea will serve up a low-scoring draw in normal time, requiring extra time and/or penalties to determine to winner.