Preview: Saudi Arabia v Socceroos

The seemingly unstoppable Green and Gold are back in the Middle East for a top-two showdown with the unbeaten Saudis in the port city of Jeddah on Friday morning (AEDT).

For the Green Falcons - in this the final phase of group qualification - Australia is their litmus test. How strong are the Saudis? We'll find out soon enough. 

Thus far Saudi Arabia have taken all three points against Thailand and Iraq. 

Caltex Socceroos’ opposition dossier: Saudi Arabia

But the Caltex Socceroos are a different proposition and a real pointer to their qualification credentials under Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk.

And if those first two games are any gauge, the Saudis have seemingly perfected the art of scoring late with classy playmaker Nawaf Al Abed on target after the 80th minute against both Thailand (1-0) and Iraq (2-1, both from the spot). 

Coincidentally, at club level the 26-year-old has also scored after just two seconds in what could be a world record 

No doubt Al Abed is a danger. And that ACL final loss to Western Sydney Wanderers in Riyadh two years ago will still rankle with the Al-Hilal man. 

That said, van Marwijk - who took his native Holland to the 2010 World Cup, losing to Spain 1-0 in the final – knows he’ll be pushed to the limit by the energy and relentless game plan of Ange Postecoglou’s men.

Australia will have an even fitter Tim Cahill to call on if need be and a month after bossing Iraq in Perth then UAE in Abu Dhabi, the unbeaten Aussies will be full of confidence that their game plan will produce joy in Jeddah.

It is the first of two huge games for both nations.

After Jeddah, Australia flies to Melbourne for a blockbuster date with Japan, while the Saudis host the UAE, both on October 11.

The Saudis were a powerhouse AFC nation in recent decades, winning the Asian Cup three times in the 80s and 90s and qualifying for World Cups from 1994 to 2006, including a fabulous World Cup USA, where they made the Round of 16.

But the landscape changed and the Saudis lost some of their lustre (though they are still ranked reasonably high, 52 in the world and fifth in Asia). 

They will feel it’s their time to reassert their power in the region and winning this one will go a long way to supercharging their World Cup qualification hopes (though you feel a draw might be considered a good enough outcome). 

Over recent times the Green Falcons looked to talisman and striker Yasser Al Qahtani (Wanderers fans may remember him from the ACL final against Al Hilal in 2014) to provide inspiration. 

These days captain Osama Hawsawi is their defensive rock and Al Abed their key playmaker and danger. And a familiar face also returns – Nasser Al Shamrani. The controversial figure from the ACL final of 2014 may come off the bench late if the Saudis need a game changer. 

Former Wanderers Matt Spiranovic and Tomi Juric will surely remember him. 

This should be epic clash at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium with the weather expected to be around 30 degrees for the 8.45pm kick off.

The only change to Australia’s squad at time of writing is the return of striker Apo Giannou, in for the injured Milos Degenek.

Saudi Arabia vs Australia: Match Preview and Prediction

Saudi Arabia vs Australia
World Cup Qualifier – Asian Qualifier
Date: Thursday, 6th October 2016
Kick-off: 18:45 UK
Venue: King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah.

Saudi Arabia are sharing the top spot in Group B with their opponent Australia when the two sides met into the third matchday of 2018 World Cup Qualification fixture. Saudi had relatively easy opponents in the first two rounds and they let it late in both matches to score the winner. Against Thailand, an 84th minute penalty goal from Nawaf Al Abid rescued the day. And they were trailing 1-0 till the death against Iraq until two penalties in the last 10 minutes helped them overturn the deficit under controversial circumstances.

Australia earned a 2-0 win over Iraq in their first match, while were made to sweat at Abu Dhabi despite beating UAE by a solo goal by Tim Cahill. The Socceroos have already slipped once in the second round of the qualifiers as they lost an away game at Jordan. There is no doubt that they will be looking for an improved performance as the likes of Japan and UAE are looking to topple them for a top 2 finish in Group B.

Saudi Arabia vs Australia: Head-to-Head Stats

Australia have won in 3 of the 4 meetings against Saudi Arabia, while they lost once. The lone defeat came in the 1997 Confederations Cup fixture at Saudi by a narrow 1-0 margin. The Socceroos have won in all three fixtures since then, two of which coming in the qualifiers for 2014 World Cup.

Their latest meeting was in a friendly on September 2014 at the Craven Cottage in London which produced a 3-2 thrilling victory for the Australians.

Saudi Arabia vs Australia: Prediction

Both teams will be looking for improvement when they face-off on Thursday despite winning their opening two matches in Group B. Saudi haven’t scored a goal in open play, with all three goals coming from penalties. Australia on the other hand, tend to struggle in the opening hours of the play with all their goals coming in the second half. But the Socceroos have a better quality squad and are far more experienced than their oppositions. Moreover, they do not drop many points once they reach this stage of the qualifiers. They away side are slight favourites, but expect a tight clash on Thursday.