Australia vs China PR

Australia and China PR will trade tackles at Bankwest Stadium in their 2022 World Cup qualifying Group B opener.

Australia booked their place in Round 3 in emphatic fashion, ensuring eight victories in a row across a single qualifying campaign for the first time in their history. A water-tight defense that conceded just two goals in eight qualifiers highlighted Australia’s imperious run in their Group B Round 2 campaign. The ‘Socceroos’ found the back of the net beyond the 60th minute in all four home outings in that time, highlighting the potential for action-packed football in the later stages of play. Yet, despite heading into proceedings as pre-match favorites, the hosts have earned just one win in their four non-friendly meetings with China (D1, L2), failing to get on the scoresheet twice in that sequence. After keeping six clean sheets in their last eight internationals, Australia will at least hope to keep China at bay here.

On the other hand, China capped off an eye-catching Group A Round 2 campaign with four victories on the trot to advance to this round as the best runners-up (W6, D1, L1). Notably, each of China’s four triumphs in that sequence yielded a winning margin of 2+ goals, accompanied by a first-half clean-sheet. Indeed, well-disciplined at the back, the visitors registered three shutouts in four World Cup qualifying trips this term, with a 2-1 loss to Syria being the solitary exception. A brace of landslide away victories over Hong Kong and Guam must have lifted spirits in the traveling camp following a run of three internationals without a win on foreign soil (D1, L2). Four of those five fixtures saw one or both sides fail to hit the net.