Australia vs Oman

Australia will be looking to solidify their top place in the FIFA World Cup Qualifying Group B when they take on Oman at the Bankwest Stadium.

It’s been plain sailing for Australia in Group B so far, as they’ve defeated China and Vietnam by an aggregate scoreline of 4-0 to establish supremacy in this section. Warm favorites to snap a three-game winless streak in their World Cup qualifying H2Hs (D2, L1), the Australians are seeking their fifth consecutive appearance in the World Cup finals for the first time in the nation’s history. The ‘Socceroos’ have been a force to be reckoned with at home lately, winning their last five World Cup qualifiers on home turf, four of which by at least a three-goal margin. Australia will be confident of finding the net a couple of times here after scoring 2+ goals in both previous World Cup qualifying H2Hs at home (W1, D1).

In the meantime, a 1-0 home defeat to Saudi Arabia last time out has undone Oman’s hard-earned Matchday 1 win over Japan, leaving the visitors three points adrift of the current top two in Group B. But the ‘Reds’ have been impressive away from home this calendar year, winning their last eight internationals on foreign turf since a 1-1 draw with India back in March. Having kept five clean sheets during that eight-match winning streak, Oman will believe another upset is possible, though they’ve never outplayed Australia on hostile territory before (D2, L2). A potential victory here would boost Oman’s hopes of reaching the World Cup tournament for the first time. However, back-to-back H2H losses by an aggregate score of 9-0 douse any embers of optimism.