Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the World Cup 2026 qualifying match.
Group C of the second round of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup is the strongest in terms of team composition, making direct matches crucial. Currently, both Australia and Saudi Arabia have five points, and it seems one of these sides might have to face an additional qualification round, as Japan are leading the group with a gap.
Australia
Australia's points losses have been rather unnecessary. They suffered a home defeat to Bahrain (0:1) and failed to score away against Indonesia, settling for a draw. These opponents didn't even make it past the second qualifying round in the previous World Cup cycle. Australia's main issue has been poor finishing. In these goalless encounters, opponents managed to fend them off, relying on rare counterattacks and free kicks and corners. Australia had 30 shots in total but hit the target only nine times. Bahrain and Indonesia, in contrast, needed just three and five shots, respectively, to score. The team also received a straight red card in the 77th minute against the Middle Eastern side. After such setbacks, an away draw against Japan was considered a subpar result.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia also encountered an impenetrable wall in the form of Bahrain (0:0) in their last outing. Previously, they had failed to beat Indonesia at home (1:1), missing their best chance to win by failing to convert a penalty in the 79th minute. They were also defeated by Japan (0:2) at home. Thus Saudi Arabia secured only two points from their three home games, with three additional points coming from an away victory over China (2:1), who now appear weaker than the rest.
Australia vs Saudi Arabia Prediction
Both teams exhibit issues with finishing, yet their goalkeepers and defenders are superior to those of the group's lower-ranked teams. We shouldn't expect many goals, similar to their World Cup 2022 qualifiers (1:0 in favour of Saudi Arabia and 0:0).
