With their World Cup hopes on a knife-edge, the Socceroos must defeat Japan tonight in Sydney to keep automatic qualification for Qatar alive.
After what feels like a never-ending qualification campaign that started all the way back in 2019 , these final two games are now do-or-die for the Socceroos.
A 2-2 draw against Oman in February ensured the Socceroos could finish no lower than third, but with their final two games against the two nations ranked above them in the group – Japan and Saudi Arabia – their chances of climbing any higher have become increasingly, alarmingly slim. But by the same token, Australia haven’t beaten Japan since their 'Golden Generation' was in their prime. In their six competitive fixtures since then, Japan have won three, with the three others ending in stalemates.