The World Cup qualifier between the United Arab Emirates and Australia will take place at the Al Rayyan Stadium in Qatar on Tuesday. The kick-off is at 20:00. We have the best betting predictions, odds and team news for you.
What speaks in favour of the United Arab Emirates?
What are the advantages of Australia?
Our betting tip
This match pits the third-placed teams from each of the two AFC main round groups against each other. The winner of this final will qualify for a real final against the fifth-placed team from the South American continent, Peru. This match will then take place just one week later at the same venue. They will then face France, Denmark and Tunisia in Group D.
The United Arab Emirates has qualified for a World Cup finals only once before. In 1990, they ended up in a group with eventual world champions Germany, Yugoslavia and Colombia. All preliminary round matches under Brazilian coach Carlos Alberto Perreira were lost. Since then, Al Abyad has not managed to prevail against superior opponents such as Iran, Japan or South Korea. Since Australia’s participation in the Asian qualifying round, it has become even more difficult. They finished third in their group, far behind South Korea and Iran.
The team has been coached by Argentine Rodolfo Arruabarrena since mid-February. Before that, former Dortmund coach Van Marwijk was responsible for a total of 26 matches. Differences of opinion are said to have led to the separation.
The star of the team is centre-forward Ali Mabkout from Al-Jazeera, who is supported by Brazilian-born winger Caio Canedo. Not a single player plays in Europe or any other top league. The team played its last preparatory match against the team from Gambia (1-1).
The Socceroos qualified for this match in third place in their qualifying group. Their group opponents Saudi Arabia and Japan proved too strong for Australia. In the end, it was even close for Australia – chaser Oman came within one point of Graham Arnold’s team. The most prominent Australian player is goalkeeper Matthew Ryan, who plays for Real Sociedad San Sebastian in La Liga. However, a real star like in the days of Harry Kewell or Tim Cahill is no longer to be found in the Socceroos’ team. The core of the team earns its money in Australia, plus a few players who play for various European, Arab or Japanese teams – including Ajdin Hrustic, who recently won the Europa League with Eintracht Frankfurt.
Australia won their last preparation match 2-1 against Jordan last Wednesday, sparing some important regulars like Hrustic.
There are some suspicious voices expecting a strong outside influence in this match. The United Arab Emirates does not want to be deprived of their participation in the World Cup in their neighbouring country and is reportedly ready to let a lot of money flow. However, the reality on the pitch is that Australia has many individual advantages over the UAE. The players play at a high level in the Australian Premier League, and many others in various European or Japanese leagues. They will not want to embarrass themselves in the air-conditioned stadium of Al-Rayyan. However, the heat in Qatar will have a strong influence on the course of the game. This and the huge importance of the match indicate that it will be a game of few goals.
We bet on an Australian win with odds around 1.85 and on less than 2.25 goals (Asian Handicap) with odds between 1.73 and 1.80.
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