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United Arab Emirates
1
Match Complete
Australia
2
| 84' |  | A. Hrustic | ||
| C. C. Corr??a | | 57' | ||
| 55' |  | A. Hrustic | ||
| 53' | | J. Irvine | ||
| A. A. M. M. O. A. Hajeri | | 34' |
| 6 | Shots | 8 | ||
| 4 | On Target | 4 | ||
| 10 | Fouls | 5 | ||
| 2 | Corners | 5 | ||
| 1 | Offsides | 0 | ||
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 | ||
| 1 | Yellow Cards | 1 |
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The Socceroos face United Arab Emirates and their world cup destiny, in the first of a potential two knock-out matches in Qatar. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 4am AEST.
It is Groundhog Day for Australian football, with the Socceroos facing elimination from the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar should they be unable to advance past UAE this morning.
There is no tomorrow for Graham Arnold’s team, with a win and a match-up against Peru in a week’s time the only way the squad will be on the plane to Qatar later in the year and the difficulty of the task ahead is only magnified by an equally desperate opponent and just a single game to decide the winner.
UAE finished a distant third in their qualification group and won just three matches from ten. However, after a strong start, the Socceroos fared little better and managed just four wins during qualification. Those unconvincing records have led to these two teams being forced to live through the pain and pressure of do-or-die play in order to qualify.
Graham Arnold sprang a few surprises in a lead-up friendly against Jordan last week and the make-up of the starting eleven for this fixture will remain a mystery for all until shortly before kick-off. The key questions will be whether faith is shown in Aaon Mooy in the midfield and Jamie Maclaren up front, with Trent Sainsbury, Aziz Behich, Martin Boyle and Ajdin Hrustic likely to come back into a team that looked very experimental against the Jordanians.
There is no wriggle room left for the Socceroos, a win is a must, or the post-match analysis of their qualifying campaign will once again focus heavily on whether the team continues to underachieve.
Focus will also be placed on the role that the coach is playing in regenerating the squad with the young talent that appears rarely given a chance to perform at the top level.
The one thing in Australia’s favour is that the Socceroos have managed this situation before and usually do well in such encounters, with particular wins in these knock-out fixtures now forming part of Australian football folklore.
Prediction
This could be as cagey a football match as we have seen in a long time. No goals in normal time would not surprise and risk-taking will be at a minimum.
The Socceroos may have a slight advantage in overall quality, yet it will be their ability to convert chances created in open play, something that has played them of late, that will decide this match. Australia to win with an extra-time goal.
Venue: Al Rayyan Stadium, Qatar
Kick-off: 4am AEST
Broadcast: Channel 10
Live stream: 10 Play app and website
Betting: UAE $4.85, Draw $3.40, Australia $1.77 – odds via PlayUp
UAE Squad
K.Eisa, A Hussain, K.AlHammadi, M.Al Attas, W.Abbas, M.Hassan, A.Ramadan, B,Al-Ahbabi, M Al Baloushi, H. Al-Maazmi, Caio, M.Al Shamsi, KAl-Hashemi, M.Marzooq, A.Salmeen, T.Alzaabi, A.A.H.M Rashid Al Naqbi, K.Ibrahim, A.Saleh, Y.Al Ghassani, S, Adill Mohamed Abdalla Alamiri, M.Khamis, A.Al Hosani, A.Mabkhout
Socceroos Squad
Nathanial Atkinson, Aziz Behich, Martin Boyle, Nicholos D’Agostino, Jason Davidson, Milos Degenek, Kenny Dougall, Mitchell Duke, Denis Genreau, Craig Goodwin, Ajdin Hrustic, Jackson Irvine, Fran Karacic, Joel King, Mathew Leckie, Awer Mabil, Jamie Maclaren, Riley McGree, Aaron Mooy, Andrew Redmayne, Kye Rowles, Mathew Ryan, Trent Sainsbury, Gianni Stensness, Adam Taggart, Marco Tilio, Danny Vukovic, Bailey Wright
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