Australia vs Lebanon Prediction & Betting Tips - World Cup

Prediction published on 19/03/2024, 05:10  by Sridhar | Modified on 20/03/2024 at 21:10 in World Cup Prediction

Australia will look to extend their control at the top of their group standings as they welcome second-placed Lebanon this week. This is a Group I match of the second round of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Asian qualifiers and will be played at the CommBank Stadium in Parramatta on Thursday. This is the first of the two back-to-back matches between these sides in less than a week. After two matches, the hosts are at the at the top of the standings with six points, while Lebanon is second with two points. With the top two teams in the group set to qualify for the next round of qualifying, Australia is currently well-placed to stake a claim. That will give the Socceroos a great chance of making it to their sixth straight FIFA World Cup finals. They are in cracking form in these qualifiers too, winning both of their matches without conceding a goal.

Lebanon is currently the best of the rest in the group, although just a point above Palestine and Bangladesh. They started with a 0-0 draw against Palestine before a 1-1 draw with Bangladesh, where they squandered a lead within five minutes of scoring. The Cedars have yet to qualify for the FIFA World Cup finals, so even qualifying for the third round will be a huge achievement. The next two matches being against Australia could provide a reality check as they look to compete against the top-ranked side of the group. They have played only two matches against Australia previously, both being friendlies and both coming prior to 2018. Lebanon lost both of those matches by an identical 3-0 scoreline, so there wouldn’t be too many hopes of upsetting Australia here.