It's do or die for the Socceroos as they face Japan in a must win World Cup qualifier on Thursday night. Andy Rosos is here to run you through the match and give his betting tips below.
Australia vs Japan WCQ Betting Tips
Stadium Australia, Thursday 24th March, 8.10pm (AEDT)
WCQ Situation
With just two games to go in the third round of the Asian World Cup qualifiers, the Aussies sit three points behind Japan and four points behind Saudi Arabia. They play those two teams in the remaining two games and will need to jump into the top two in the group to secure the automatic qualification into the 2022 World Cup.
They are seven points clear of Oman, so at the very least, they have third place locked up. However, if they finish third, they will go into a playoff with the other third placed team (likely the U.A.E) with the winner of that tie having to face off against a South American team to get into the World Cup.
Given that the South American team is likely to be one of Uruguay, Peru, Chile or Colombia, it's a pretty daunting prospect for the Socceroos and they'll be hoping to secure a top two spot in their group to avoid taking that route.
Predicted Line-ups
Australia: Ryan, Karacic, Degenek, Sainsbury, Grant, Genreau, Jeggo, Hrustic, Boyle, Mabil, Maclaren
Japan: Gonda, Nagatomo, Taniguchi, Yoshida, Yamane, Morita, Endo, Tanaka, Ito, Minamino, Hatate
Recent Meetings
12/10/21 - Japan 2 dft. Australia 1
31/08/17 - Japan 2 dft. Australia 0
11/10/16 - Australia 1 drew Japan 1
18/11/14 - Japan 2 dft. Australia 1
25/07/13 - Japan 3 dft. Australia 2
Match Prediction
As you can see above, Japan have had the wood over Australia in recent history, winning four of their last five meetings. However, only one of those meetings has come on home soil for the Socceroos, and that was the game where they eeked out a 1-1 draw.
In fact, in six games against Japan at home, Australia are undefeated. They have a 2-4-0 record when playing Japan on home soil dating all the way back to their very first encounter in 1969.
They absolutely must win this game if they have any aspirations of finishing in the top two, so you can bet your bottom dollar that the'll come out aggressive here hunting an early goal. I think Australia keep their undefeated home streak against Japan and win this one at $2.75 odds.
Props:
Jamie Maclaren Anytime Goalscorer ($2.36 at Sportsbet)
Over 2.5 Total Goals ($2.30 at Sportsbet)
