Australia's latest 2026 World Cup qualification match will take place this Thursday when they play host to Lebanon, a contest which sees the top two teams of Group I go head to head.
The visitors are without a win in their past four games, while the hosts have not played since the Asian Cup quarter-final.
Match preview
Australia have not kicked a ball since the 2024 Asian Cup, which was a tournament that saw them reach the quarter-final stage before being knocked out.
The Socceroos had thrived in the group stage with two wins and a draw, scoring six times across those fixtures, but they crashed out of the competition dramatically despite having a one-goal lead courtesy of a Craig Goodwin goal.
Australia conceded a 96th-minute penalty against South Korea and then went on to lose the game in extra time as they played with 10 men due to Aiden O'Neill being sent off.
However, Graham Arnold's men are in a strong position in their World Cup qualification group as they sit top after two dominant victories against Palestine and Bangladesh.
The Socceroos have scored eight times and are yet to concede a goal, and another victory this week would leave them in a very strong position heading into the second half of the group stage.
The visitors will be looking to cut down the four-point gap that Australia currently boasts between them, particularly since they will be playing each other back-to-back in this tournament.
A win for Lebanon would certainly inject plenty of confidence into the team before the reverse fixture takes place next Tuesday, but they have failed to defeat the Socceroos during their previous two meetings.
The Cedars struggled in the Asian Cup earlier this year, being knocked out in the group stage as they only managed to score a single goal across the three matches they played.
However, when it comes to their World Cup qualifying matches Lebanon have proven themselves as a team that are not easy to defeat, drawing both of their matches to this point.
Thursday will provide a tough test though, especially since Australia have won eight of their past 10 home World Cup qualifying games, which should give the hosts a lot of confidence.
Team News
Ajdin Hrustic was called up to the Australia national team for the first time in his career, and Arnold will be sure to give him some minutes throughout this international break to take a look at him.
Adam Taggart has also returned to the squad due to his recent form, while Brandon Borrello was able to be selected after overcoming an ankle injury.
However, the Socceroos will be without several players as Aziz Behich has a calf issue, Martin Boyle is in concussion protocol and Marco Tilio has a hamstring problem, while O'Neill is suspended.
Bassel Jradi is expected to feature in the attacking midfield role for the visitors as he is fresh from scoring in their most recent outing, while Kassem Al Zein is suspended.
Captain Hassan Maatouk remains the nation's talisman, and the leading appearance-maker and goalscorer in Lebanese history is likely to lead the line once more.
Australia possible starting lineup:
Ryan; Atkinson, Souttar, Rowles, Bos; Metcalfe, Baccus, Irvine; McGree, Duke, Goodwin
Lebanon possible starting lineup:
Matar; Khamis, Michel, El Hindi; Nassar, Srour, Jradi, Tneich, Zein; Maatouk, Bugiel
We say: Australia 3-0 Lebanon
Lebanon have proven themselves hard to break down and defeat in the World Cup qualifiers so far, but this will be their toughest test to date.
The host should end up having too much quality in this one, so we are backing them to live up to their status as firm favourites.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
body check tags ::
Previews by email
