World Cup Qualifying - Asia
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3 vs 0
Played
October 11, 2011 9:30 AM BST
ANZ Stadium — Sydney
Referee:‬ V. Kovalenko‎
Attendance:‬ 24732‎
 
7′ Brett Holman
 
65′ Joshua Blake Kennedy
 
85′ Mile Jedinak
 

AFC 2014 World Cup Qualifying Preview: Australia v Oman

The Socceroos will be looking to put one foot into the fourth round of World Cup qualifying with a victory over Paul Le Guen's Oman in Sydney on Tuesday

By Ben Somerford

More On :  Australia, Oman, Australia vs Oman
Lucas Neill & Joshua Kennedy - Australia
Getty Images

 PROBABLE LINEUPS

AUSTRALIA
Portugal
Federici
Williams, Neill, Ognenovski, Zullo
Wilkshire, Valeri, Jedinak, McKay
Kennedy, Holman
OMAN

Al Habsi
Al Sheiba, Suhail, Saleh, Al Farsi
Darwish, Al Ajmi, Kanu, Katkut
Al Hosni, Al Muqbali
Socceroos coach Holger Osieck is already without key men Harry Kewell, Brett Emerton, Tim Cahill and Mark Schwarzer for this clash, but he has no fresh injury concerns following Friday's easy 5-0 victory over Malaysia in a friendly.

Osieck's main dilemma is whether to keep faith in Alex Brosque, who scored twice against Malaysia, or reinstate the in-form Brett Holman into attack. The German may also persist with Rhys Williams at right-back after his two-assist performance, allowing regular full-back Luke Wilkshire to move into midfield.

Oman have been in Australia for several days now, with coach Paul Le Guen making the journey to Canberra to watch the Socceroos dismantle Malaysia. Le Guen knows it'll be a big task so it's likely he'll field a defensive line-up, with Wigan keeper Ali Al Habsi their rock. Exciting young striker Abdulaziz Al Moqbali is a chance to start while Hassan Rabia and Hamood Al Saadi could be given a run.


 DID YOU KNOW?
  • Australia and Oman met twice in qualifying for the 2011 Asian Cup, with the Socceroos winning both encounters, but only by the one goal on both occasions with full-strength sides, hinting there's not much separating these two nations.
  • Australia haven't been beaten on home soil since March 2009, when they went down 1-0 to Kuwait in that Asian Cup qualifying campaign with a weakened side.
  • The Socceroos played in Sydney on October 9 last year beating Paraguay 1-0. In 2009, they played the Netherlands in Sydney on October 10, drawing 0-0. Now they face Oman in Sydney on October 11.
  • Oman failed to reach the fourth round of 2010 World Cup qualifying while they also failed to reach the 2011 Asian Cup.
  • Despite the Omanis' recent poor record they actually won the 2009 Gulf Cup of Nations.
  • Oman's best known footballer is keeper Al Habsi (right), however midfielder Fawzi Bashir is a star too, plying his trade in UAE with last season's league runners-up Bani Yas.

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Field Report
Reader's Predictions
Top 3 Predictions
  • Australia 3-0 Oman
    24.11 %
  • Australia 2-0 Oman
    11.61 %
  • Australia 4-0 Oman
    10.71 %
Head to Head
World Cup Qualifying - Asia ‎(WCQ)‎ Mar 26, 2013 Australia 2 - Oman 2
  • Player Ratings
  • Match Report
  • Play by Play
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World Cup Qualifying - Asia ‎(WCQ)‎ Jun 8, 2012 Oman 0 - Australia 0
  • Player Ratings
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World Cup Qualifying - Asia ‎(WCQ)‎ Nov 11, 2011 Oman 1 - Australia 0
  • Player Ratings
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World Cup Qualifying - Asia ‎(WCQ)‎ Oct 11, 2011 Australia 3 - Oman 0
  • Player Ratings
  • Match Report
  • Play by Play
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Asia - Asian Cup ‎(ASIA)‎ Jul 8, 2007 Australia 1 - Oman 1
  • Player Ratings
  • Match Report
  • Play by Play
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Last Five Matches
Australia
Mar 26, 2013Australia 2 - Oman 2WCQ
Feb 6, 2013Romania 3 - Australia 2FR
Dec 9, 2012Australia 8 - Chinese Taipei 0EAFF
Dec 7, 2012Guam 0 - Australia 9EAFF
Dec 5, 2012Korea DPR (PRK) 1 - Australia 1EAFF
Oman
Mar 26, 2013Australia 2 - Oman 2WCQ
Mar 20, 2013Oman 3 - Haiti 0FR
Feb 6, 2013Oman 1 - Syria 0ACQ
Jan 30, 2013Oman 1 - China 0FR
Jan 11, 2013UAE 2 - Oman 0GC
Odds
Returns: Australia £11.30 Bet365 Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200
Returns: Draw £560.00 WilliamHill Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25
Returns: Oman £810.00 WilliamHill Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25
Team News
Available Squads
-Adam FedericiGoalkeeper
2Lucas Edward NeillDefender
25Michael ZulloMidfielder
8Luke WilkshireDefender
5Rhys WilliamsDefender
-Matthew Špiranović
24Brett HolmanMidfielder
15Mile JedinakMidfielder
-Carl Valeri
17Matt McKayMidfielder
-Joshua Blake Kennedy
-Nathan Coe
-Sasa Ognenovski
-James Troisi
-Adam Sarota
-Neil Kilkenny
20Alex BrosqueDefender
14Robbie KruseStriker
1Ali Al HabsiGoalkeeper
-Mohammed Al Balushi
-Rashid Juma
11Saad SuhailDefender
-Abdulrahman Saleh
-Ahmed KanoMidfielder
-Ahmed Hadid
23Juma DarwishMidfielder
9Abdul Aziz Al MuqbaliStriker
15Ismail Al AjmiStriker
10Emad Al HosnyStriker
18Faiz Al RashidiGoalkeeper
-Mohammed Hawaidi
3Hassan MudhafarDefender
3Jaber Al OwaisiDefender
21Eid MohammedMidfielder
7Hussain Al HadhriMidfielder
10Fawzi BashirMidfielder
-Qasim SaidMidfielder
-Hasan Rabie
-Hamood Saleh
Players to Watch
Joshua Blake Kennedy
Joshua Blake Kennedy
Position:
Squad Number: 0
Games Goals YC RC
0 0 0 0
Ali Al Habsi
Ali Al Habsi
Position: Goalkeeper
Squad Number: 1
Games Goals YC RC
13 0 1 0
Prediction
Editor's Prediction
Australia 2
Oman 0
Top Scorers
Player   Goals Penalties
Younis Mahmoud Younis Mahmoud
Striker
Al Sadd 		7 1
Shinji Okazaki Shinji Okazaki
Striker
VfB Stuttgart 		7 0
Chu-Young Park Chu-Young Park
Striker
Celta 		6 0
Khalfan Ibrahim Khalfan Ibrahim
Striker
Al Sadd 		5 2
Keun-Ho Lee Keun-Ho Lee
Midfielder
Kitakyushu 		5 0