IMO Saudi Arabia will qualify before home game with Australia. This may favor Australia in last game. For second place, Australia must win the next three games and draw with already qualified Saudi Arabia. 4 points vs. Vietnam and Oman can be ok for Australia if and only If Saudi Arabia does not lose in Japan. Australia must win the home game with Japan at any cost. Japan must not lose their away game with Australia at any cost for second place in the group. By the way, the draw for intercontinental play off is next Friday which determines who plays who between the AFC, Concacaf, CONMEBOL and the OFC. Draw date set for new-look FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ intercontinental play-offs
Saudi Arabia is stronger this time than 2018 team that played in the world cup. Irani team is also in top gear and better than last world cup team. Australia is same level as before. Only Japan has lost the momentum.
Big blow for Japan. They have to face China & Saudi Arabia without their 2 usual starting CBs. Tomiyasu (Arsenal) and Yoshida (Sampdoria).
Australia lose their coach in the leadup to match with Vietnam as he tests positive to covid 19. I'm not sure how it affects the trip to Oman.
Itakura/Ueda/Taniguchi/Nakatani. All of them combined have played only 1 game (Ueda vs Oman) at the WCQ final round so far. Itakura is solid. He was chosen as the best defender of this season's 2 Bundesliga by German magazine Kicker. But the rest are questionable. There is a regular starting CB in Bundesliga named Hiroki Ito (Stuttgart) but he didn't get called up because Japan has been coached by a wanker. His team selections are just terrible.
Aziz Behic withdraws from Australia's game against Vietnam as he couldn't get a flight out of Istanbul due to poor weather conditions. Should be available for the Oman game.
This new variant is actually damping the mood for me. Can't predict till the last moment if the match will go on or not. Even if it goes on, the other team always has excuses " we lost players to due to positive test results". For KSA, I am hoping the team would wrap up the qualification in the upcoming matchdays. Oman should be a straight winning battle but trip to Japan would be tricky.
I haven't done a detailed description but expect all games to be won by the favorites. Saudi Arabia can afford a slip up but Japan and Australia can't.
Yes & No. Australia meets Japan & KSA will have match with China. If KSA beats China ( in the event they have dropped points against Japan ) then result in other game played will make KSA qualify
Australia puts the ball in the back of the net after 22 seconds but its ruled out for "passive" offside after a VAR review.
I think Saudi Arabia will beat Oman, lose to Japan, draw China away from home and maybe draw Australia on the last matchday as well. I feel they will make a meal of it and Saudi Arabia, Japan and Australia will be from first to third separated by only two points when all is said and done.
Australia 1 Vietnam 0 Mclaren scores with the head from a Tom Rogic cross iafter half an hour aided by some poor defending from Vietnam.
There were never doubts on Australia getting back on winning ways against the worst team of the group. The Oman road game will be huge in terms of in what position Australia will head into March.
Maybe I'm a harsh critic but what I'm seeing wont get us past Japan on the table unless Japan stuff it up somewhere. I think at best we are 3rd best in this group and will struggle to get through the playoffs this time.
China are lucky to not have one man sent off. I saw the same kind of a foul getting punished with red at the AFCON.