South Korea vs Australia 07/07/19

7 June 2019

South Korea and Australia will face-off at the Busan Asiad Main Stadium for an international friendly fixture as the hosts hope to stretch their international winning run to three games.

The hosts have won two of their last matches by a narrow one-goal margin after exiting the Asian Cup in the quarter-finals, beating the South American nations on both occasions. Additionally, four of South Korea’s last five wins have seen them beat their rivals by a one-goal margin, with three of those games ending with the same 1-0 scoreline. Taegeuk Warriors’ outings in the past six months have been short of entertainment, with seven of their previous eight matches featuring under 2.5 goals, while just two of them saw both teams score. Paulo Bento can still be pleased with his team’s defensive strategy, as South Korea kept five clean sheets in that period, restricting their rivals to precisely one goal per match in the remaining three.

Meanwhile, it will be Australia’s first game since the Asian Cup elimination back in January, as they look to snap a four-game unbeaten run against South Korea in H2Hs (D3, L1). Three of the Socceroos’ five clashes at the Asian Cup have featured under 1.5 goals, while Graham Arnold’s men netted precisely three goals per match in the remaining two. Interestingly, they have secured five triumphs in nine games (W5, D2, L2) since ending their 2018 World Cup journey in the group stage, with all five of those wins saw them score three or more goals. Another encouraging fact for Arnold is that his players have kept five clean sheets in the same sequence, allowing over 1.5 match goals only once in the process.