Saudi Arabia vs Japan

Saudi Arabia and Japan go head-to-head at the King Abdullah Sports City in a high-profile FIFA World Cup Qualifying Group B showdown.

Saudi Arabia have picked up where they left off in their Round 2 Group B campaign in early Round 3 exchanges, winning both Group B encounters by an aggregate score of 4-1. However, the ‘Green Falcons’ may want to add a bit more urgency in the opening stages of play, having failed to score before the 42nd minute in both Group B outings so far. That doesn’t change their imperious form in the World Cup qualifiers, as they take the field on the back of seven straight victories in the ongoing qualifying cycle. Adding to this sentiment, Herve Renard’s men have won all seven internationals this calendar year by an aggregate score of 19-1, prevailing by a 3+ goal margin four times in the process.

Meanwhile, Japan picked themselves up from an underwhelming 1-0 home loss to Oman on Matchday 1 to beat China on the road by the identical scoreline last time out. Yet, it’s worth noting that this will be only Japan’s third international travel in 2021, with the ‘Samuari Blue’ winning the previous two by an aggregate score of 15-0, with 14 of those strikes coming against sub-par Mongolia in March. However, Hajime Moriyasu’s men have been nothing short of outstanding away from home since exiting ‘Russia 2018,’ going unbeaten in 11 of their 12 internationals on foreign soil in the post-2018 World Cup period (W9, D2). Additionally, Japan kept eight clean sheets during that 12-game sequence, showing how hard Saudi Arabia may find to break them down here.