Australia vs South Korea Preview and Prediction
Australia vs South Korea Match Preview
Australia will host South Korea in the second quarter-final of the AFC Asian Cup at the Al Janoub Stadium on Friday, February 2. A matchup between two of the favourites relatively early in the competition proves to be a mouthwatering prospect.
The Socceroos enter this contest on the back of a great run of form. They have lost just once in their last 10 games, with that defeat coming back in October 2023 in a friendly against England. Apart from that, they have won seven and drawn two of the remaining nine games. At this year’s Asian Cup, the Aussies qualified for the knockouts as winners of Group B. They then brushed Indonesia aside with a 4-0 win to qualify for the quarters.
South Korea, on the other hand, are in even better form than their next opponents. They are unbeaten in their last 10 games, securing eight wins and two draws. However, having kept clean sheets in the first six games of this run, they have conceded at least once in each of their last four. They qualified for the knockouts as runners-up of Group E behind Bahrain, and defeated Saudi Arabia 4-2 on penalties in the last round.
Considering the quality of these two teams, the game promises to be a thriller. On that note, let’s take a look at the team news for both sides.
Team News & Predicted Lineups
Australia
Graham Arnold’s men enter this contest with a clean slate in terms of suspensions, with their disciplinary record so far being pretty good. However, they could be without starting right back Gethin Jones for the quarters.
Jones suffered an injury midway through the second half in their last game and was subbed off after 70 minutes. Should he miss out, Nathaniel Atkinson will be expected to take his place. Apart from that, Arnold is likely to stick with the same combination.
Predicted XI: Mathew Ryan (GK) (C), Nathaniel Atkinson, Harry Souttar, Kye Rowles, Aziz Behich, Martin Boyle, Keanu Baccus, Jackson Irvine, Jordan Bos, Riley McGree, Bruno Fornaroli.
South Korea
Jurgen Klinsmann’s team faced an early casualty at the Asian Cup, losing starting goalkeeper Seung-gyu Kim to a cruciate ligament injury earlier in the tournament. Kim is only likely to return to action after several months and will definitely miss the rest of this tournament and season as well.
Apart from that, the Koreans have no injury concerns or suspensions to worry about. Klinsmann will likely stick with his favoured XI for the team’s biggest game of the competition so far.
Predicted XI: Hyeon-woo Jo (GK), Seung-hyun Jung, Min-jae Kim, Young-Gwon Kim, Tae-hwan Kim, Jae-Sung Lee, In-Beom Hwang, Young-woo Seol, Kang-in Lee, Woo-Yeong Jeong, Heung-min Son (C).
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Australia vs South Korea Head-to-Head & Prediction
Last 5 Games H2H (All Comps)
- South Korea 1-0 Australia (06/19)
- Australia 1-1 South Korea (11/18)
- South Korea 1-2 Australia (A.E.T.) (01/15)
- Australia 0-1 South Korea (01/15)
- South Korea 1-2 Australia (11/12)
As you can see, meetings between these two Asian giants are rare, with just a little over five meetings since the 2010s. Both Australia and South Korea have won two games apiece, sharing just one draw during this period.
Another thing to note is that in all of the wins, the winner has won by a single-goal margin, indicating how close these encounters have been. Also, both of Korea’s wins have been 1-0 wins, while the Aussies have won 2-1 both times.
The upcoming game could be the biggest between these two nations in recent history, with a place in the semi-finals at stake. However, considering Australia’s superior defensive record, they should get the job done ahead of a leaky South Korean defence.
Prediction: Australia 2-1 South Korea.
Betting Tips
- Australia Win: Yes.
- Both Teams to Score: Yes.
- Heung-min Son: Anytime Goalscorer.
Odds
- Australia Win: 3.40
- Draw: 3.25
- South Korea Win: 2.30
Top Players to Watch
Australia
Midfielder Martin Boyle will be one to watch after his strong performance in the Socceroos’ 4-0 win over Indonesia last time out. He has now scored in two consecutive games at the tournament, having already netted a spot-kick against Uzbekistan.
The Hibernian winger has scored seven goals and provided three assists in 26 appearances across competitions this season. He has also averaged around 77 minutes per game at this edition and will look to make a lasting impact next time he takes to the field.
South Korea
Kang-in Lee has been his nation’s top player at the AFC Asian Cup this time, scoring thrice and providing one assist so far. He bagged a brace in Korea’s 3-1 win over Bahrain and added another goal and an assist in their entertaining 3-3 draw against Malaysia.
The Paris Saint-Germain winger has made 16 club appearances so far this season, scoring thrice and providing two assists. Aged just 22, he is showing his ability to impact big games and will look to continue doing so in the future.
Australia vs South Korea Timings & Telecast
- Date & Time: Friday, February 2nd 9:00 PM (IST).
- India: Sports18, JioCinema app & website.
- US: DirecTV Stream.
- UK: Triller TV.
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