World Cup 2026: Can Popovic Turn Australia’s Fortunes Around?  

Japan vs Australia

New Australia national team head coach Tony Popovic faces the tall task of re-establishing the Socceroos’ credentials here in the third round of the World Cup 2026 Asian qualifiers.

The former Crystal Palace centre-back recently replaced Graham Arnold at the helm, and he is off to a positive start with his new job, as Popovic won in his debut with a 3-1 result over China last Thursday.

But awaiting Popovic is a murderer’s row of opponents, as Australia will take on Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain next, with Hajime Moriyasu’s men posing the biggest danger.

Japan are making a beeline to qualify for the quadrennial meet in the United States with three consecutive wins in Group C, so the pre-game SBOTOP betting odds have them as the favourites over Australia on Tuesday because they’ll be playing at home at the Saitama Stadium.

 

Talking Points

Kamada could use a confidence boost with Japan

Crystal Palace forward Daichi Kamada is confident about Japan’s chances of securing their qualification for the World Cup, and he has the right to do so, given how they’ve performed so far.

“If we win the next game, the World Cup will start to feel very close for us, so we want to work hard,” Kamada stated.

After a flawless second round, the Samurai Blue continued their dominance here in the third round, outscoring China, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia with a whopping aggregate tally of 14-0.

As for Kamada, he scored a tap-in during their 2-0 victory against Saudi Arabia yesterday. This was only his second goal of the 2024-25 campaign across all competitions, as his chances to do so at Selhurst Park have only come few and far between since he is playing behind Eberechi Eze, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Eddie Nketiah, and Ismaila Sarr.

Head coach Oliver Glasner will surely watch Kamada closely this international break to see if he can create new World Cup 2026 highlights for the Samurai Blue.

Besides Kamada, nine other Japanese players have already found the back of the net in the third round. Takumi Minamino, Hidemasa Morita, Koki Ogawa, and Ayase Ueda all have two goals each, while Wataru Endo, Junya Ito, Takefusa Kubo, Daizen Maeda, and Kaoru Mitoma have one goal apiece.

 

Fresh faces make their mark for Australia

Australia refreshed their roster this international break, as Tony Popovic didn’t call up some of their key veterans to make way for younger players.

The notable changes he made were in the final third and between the sticks. Joe Gauci was their goalkeeper against China, relegating team captain Mathew Ryan to the bench, while 23-year-old Nishan Velupillay was on the scoresheet, alongside Craig Goodwin, on his Socceroos debut.

China actually had a 1-0 lead after Xie Wenneng capitalised on Australia’s slacking defence in the 20^th minute. However, Lewis Miller’s equaliser right before halftime gave Australia some breathing room.

Popovic hooked Thomas Deng and Nestory Irankunda for Jason Geria and Riley McGree, and it worked in the second half.

Craig Goodwin unleashed a 25-year rocket to put the Socceroos up 2-1, and Nishan Velpillay put the nail in the coffin with his injury-time goal.

 

History

Japan has been undefeated against Australia for more than a decade now. The Samurai Blue have recorded six wins and three draws, including a three-game winning streak over the Socceroos, since a 2-1 defeat during a 2010 World Cup qualifiers match on June 2009.

Both teams qualified for the 2010 World Cup, but Australia didn’t make it out of Group D while Japan reached the Round of 16 before losing to Paraguay on penalties.

Japan and Australia’s best-ever finish in the World Cup was in the Round of 16.

In the 2022 World Cup, Japan and Australia made it to the knockout stage but were eventually eliminated by Croatia and Argentina, respectively.

 

Betting Tip

So, to answer the question in our article title, Tony Popovic can turn Australia’s fortunes around, but not at the expense of Japan, based on the World Cup 2026 odds.

The hosts are favoured to win at 1.30, while Australia are 6.30 underdogs, and a draw is at 4.63 in the 1X2 market.

Other than our recommended bet above, we’re also inclined to go for alternative bets like Over 3.00 at 1.88 and Total Goal 4-6 at 2.58, with Total Goal 2-3 at 2.15 being the safer option.

Furthermore, if you fancy Tony Popovic to maintain his unbeaten start on Tuesday, then check out Correct Scores of 0-0, 1-0, and even 2-0 in their favour, given their staggering offers of 19.00, 23.00, and 60.00.

   

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