World Cup 2022: Socceroos Might Push the Blue Samurai to the Sword

Japan vs Australia

The Australians have been raising eyebrows here in the World Cup 2022 qualifiers and they are keen on maintaining their form when they pay a visit to Asian neighbors Japan.

Graham Arnold’s men have been on a rampage as they’ve recently become the first team to win 11 games in a row for a single World Cup qualifying campaign.

Australia achieved this record-breaking feat when they defeated Oman in the last time out, which puts them on top of the third round’s Group B with nine points.

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There are only two guaranteed spots each for Groups A and B of the third round, and it is more or less settled given how certain countries performed recently.

Joining Australia in Group A will be Saudi Arabia, while Iran and South Korea — who recently won against Syria — have taken firm control of Group B.

So this leaves us with the wild card berths for the inter-confederation play-offs. In Group B, Japan are trying to hold on and they’re level with Oman and China in points.

There’s not much pressure for the Socceroos heading into this game, but the same can’t be said for the hosts this weekend.

Talking Points

Australia are racking up goals

Perhaps we’re seeing the golden era of Australian football, highlighted by their major milestone.

Australia’s iconic 11-game win streak dates back to September 2019 when they started their qualification campaign in Kuwait. En route to achieving this, Graham Arnold’s side has kept eight clean sheets and they’ve outscored their opponents 35-3 in goals.

With this record, Australia edged past the likes of Germany, Spain, and Mexico, who all won 10 straight on each of their qualifying campaigns in Russia 2018, South Africa 2010, and Germany 2006 respectively.

Australia have been doing it all by committee, and the strength-in-numbers approach by Graham Arnold is what makes them one of the favourites in the SBOTOP World Cup 2022 odds to secure their spot in Qatar.

Top striker Adam Taggart, who has been plying his trade in the K-League and the J-League in recent years, has yet to regain his lethal form but the Australians don’t seem to mind for now.

They were ruthless their recent 3-1 victory against Oman where they featured three different goalscorers in Awer Mabil, Martin Boyle, and Mitchell Duke, and it is highly likely that they’ll feature once again vs. Japan.

Other than those three and Adam Taggart, another recognisable name for the Green and Gold is goalkeeper Mat Ryan, who recently made his La Liga debut with Real Sociedad two weeks ago.

Japan’s World Cup hopes are in danger

Japan’s disappointing World Cup 2022 results have put them in a bad position in the ongoing qualifiers.

With their shocking loss against Saudi Arabia on Thursday, their chances of a seventh consecutive World Cup appearance is hanging in the balance.

Japan are eager to net goals against rivals Australia in World Cup 2022 qualifiers at Saitama Stadium 2002 — Japan manager Hajime Moriyasu reacts during match against Saudi Arabia at King Abdullah Sports City

The Samurai Blue were blunted when Firas Al-Buraikan came off the bench for Saudi Arabia and scored the winner in the 71st minute after some woeful clearance by their backline.

The impact of Takefusa Kubo’s absence due to injury has been profound especially with Daichi Kamada and Takumi Minamino not in their best forms, and they must pick themselves up fast if they are going to seal their place in Qatar soon.

Team manager Hajime Moriyasu’s hot seat is getting warmer and warmer and the four-time Asian champions are in must-win mode when they host Australia.

History

Japan and Australia have a budding rivalry in Asia. Prior to this Sunday, these two proud nations have faced off in 25 international games total.

The Samurai Blue have the slight edge in the overall head-to-heads with nine victories, whereas the Socceroos have won seven times along with nine draws.

Their first-ever match took place in the 1956 Summer Olympics at Melbourne, Australia where the hosts won 2-0.

Another 12 matches occurred from 1968 to 2001, but it wasn’t until 2006 to where these two sides have emerged as rivals in Asia when Australia officially joined the AFC.

Australia football fans will fondly remember their 3-1 win over Japan in the 2006 FIFA World Cup group stage.

Down 0-1 with six minutes left, Australia overturned their deficit by scoring three quickfire goals for their first-ever victory in the World Cup stage in what was considered by many as one of the top moments in their country’s sporting history.

Their most recent encounter happened during the 2018 World Cup qualifiers back in August 2017 where Japan won 2-0. Australia are still searching for their first win over Japan since June 2009.

Betting Tip

	Japan vs Australia	1X2 Draw @ 3.10
	October 12, 18:14 (GMT+8)

Despite their lacklustre form, the hosts are being backed to win by the SBOTOP World Cup 2022 odds. Japan are priced at 2.08, while Australia are installed at 3.15 to win in the 1X2 market.

Japan are four-time Asian champions for a reason and we expect them to come out with a strong performance since they’re one of the more decorated teams in the continent.

However, it’s hard to discount Australia sizzling form. So in the end, we’d go for Draw 1X2 @ 3.60