Australia vs South Korea Predictions

Australia failed to impress in what was a tricky World Cup group this summer, losing two and drawing one of their games, but their one result since that tournament ended was a 4-0 win over Kuwait. On Saturday Australia resume one of their more frequent international rivalries against South Korea, and the visitors have been in good form since exiting the World Cup at the group stages with wins against Costa Rica and Uruguay, as well as draws with Chile and Panama. The hosts edge the head to head record between the two nations, but South Korea are unbeaten in their last five matches so we’re expecting a very close game.

An own goal in the twelfth minute from defender Khaled Hajiah got Australia off to a flying start in Kuwait City last month. Giannou added a second goal for the visitors in the twenty-first minute as Australia looked to turn the crew on their hosts in the first half, and held that two goal advantage into the interval.

Kuwait made a couple of changes at the break, while Australia kept the same eleven on the pitch until the sixty-fifth minute. One of the only two Australians to start and finish the match made it 3-0 in the eighty-second minute, as Celtic midfielder Tom Rogić scored his eighth senior international goal. Substitute Mabil had been on the field fifteen minutes when he scored the fourth and final goal of the game to wrap up an impressive 4-0 win for the visitors late on, but Australia will be expecting a much tougher match this weekend.

Leckie, Juric, and the above mentioned Rogić and the top scorers in the Australia squad with eight internationals goals each to their name, but Hibs striker Martin Boyle will be hoping to get the chance to impress if handed his debut for the Socceroos on Saturday. Mile Jedinak has retired from international football and 38-year old Tim Cahill has not been selected for this months friendlies and their goals and determination will be missed on Saturday, as well as the foreseeable future unless suitable replacements are found.

South Korea have a number of key players missing from their squad, most notably Tottenham forward Son Heung-min whose twenty-three international goals will certainly leave a void in the final third for the visitors this weekend. Midfielder Koo Ja-cheol has scored nineteen goals in his seventy caps and is the top scorer in the South Korean squad, which includes five uncapped players.

Last time out South Korea were held to a 2-2 draw with World Cup debutantes Panama, despite the hosts being two goals up in the October Friendly. Park Joo-Ho handed South Korea a sixth minute lead and shortly after the half hour mark Hwang In-Beom made it 2-0 to the home side. Arroyo managed to pull a goal back for the visitors just before the half time break and Blackburn leveled the two countries just four minutes after the restart.

Both teams made a host of second half changes which certainly disrupted the flow of the match, not that Panama will have cared as a draw in South Korea represents progress for the Central Americans. South Korea will need to up their game this weekend if they want to avoid another defeat against Australia.

We’re confident that both teams will score and that over 2.5 goals will be produced in Saturday’s game, and have backed Australia to win 2-1. Both teams have scored in four of the last six meetings between the two countries, and three of the last six encounters have produced over 2.5 goals. Three of Australia’s last five matches have seen both teams score, while the same can be said about three of South Korea’s last six matches. Four of Australia’s last six matches and three of South Korea’s last six matches have produced over 2.5 goals.