Australia vs Vietnam

Australia’s hopes of avoiding joining the dreaded inter-confederation World Cup play-offs will be on the line when they take on an out-of-sorts Vietnam at the AAMI Park.

Australia’s World Cup qualifying Group B campaign got off to a flying start as they won their opening three matches by an aggregate score of 7-1. However, the Australians have since suffered a noticeable dip in form, going winless in their last three World Cup qualifiers (D2, L1), all of which saw them score one goal or less. Therefore, a home meeting with a Vietnam side they defeated 1-0 in the reverse fixture back in September will be a seemingly decent opportunity for the ‘Socceroos’ to get their stuttering World Cup qualifying campaign back on the rails. Sitting third in the group, one point adrift of second-placed Japan, they face an unpleasant prospect of missing out on the final tournament for the first time since 2002.

On the other hand, Vietnam’s hopes of qualifying for their first-ever World Cup finals have already left the realm of possibility as they’ve lost all six Group B matches by an aggregate score of 12-4. But the visitors can at least take some confidence knowing each of their four goals scored in the third stage of the qualifying arrived away from home. What’s more, the ‘Golden Star Warriors’ have kept three consecutive clean sheets on foreign soil going into this trip (W2, D1), including back-to-back scoreless draws with Thailand and Indonesia in their last two road trips. By contrast, Park Hang-Seo’s men have conceded precisely three goals in each of their previous four away matches in the World Cup qualifying, suggesting another leaky travel could be on the cards.