Australia - Japan
17.06 12:20
Australia have secured their place at the World Cup after the first two rounds already, justifying everybody’s expectations of all football fans in this country. Although they’re probably the strongest “Asian” squad, the public speculated a lot about the “Kangaroos” performances. Many accused coach Verbeek of forcing too defensive play and Australia aren’t play too beautiful. The Dutch expert didn’t comment on these accusations much, and always stated his only job is to take them to South Africa, and not to enchant the fans. He persistently forced the 4-2-3-1 formation, and keeping their own goal was the most important thing for him. Such conservative tactics gave some excellent results, so all the critiques mouth had to be completely shut. In the match vs. Japan, “soceroos” are favorites, and only one point is enough to keep the first spot in the group. Verbeek announced he will field a mixed squad for this match, and change his tactics, and for the first time in these qualies play with two strikers. The roles in attack will be given to McDonald and Kennedy. Coyne and Kewell will get rested, while Wilkshire won’t play due to injury. It’s questionable whether Mark Bresciano, Scott Chipperfield and David Carney will feature as they all have a yellow card each, and another booking would mean missing the first game of the WC. The fans will probably be pleased with the offensive tactics, but there’s no doubt this game will be an exception that confirms the rule, as Australia will again play their most famous defensive football at the WC.
Only prestigue
Japan ensured their World Cup status too, so this match also doesn’t have much significance for them. It’s possible they will some motives in the quality of their opponent, but anyways, some bigger effort should not be expected from them. Coach Okada has similar problems as his Australian colleague, and the public also doesn’t like his defensive tactics, as well as their bad strikers selection. However, Okada also achieved the goal that was set, and can now calmly prepare the team for the WC. For the match in Melbourne he fully changed his squad, and left out a few regulars that will surely have the key say in South Africa. That clearly proves he doesn’t see this match as too important, and wants to give an opportunity to the players that don’t play too often so they can show off their skills. They will be without: Nakazawa, Endo, Hasebe, Nakamura, Okubo and Honda. Who will start the match is currently known only by their team manager, and the lineup will be announced right before the kick-off.
Relaxed
Although many see tomorrow’s clash as a chance to see who the best team in Asia is, both coaches’ actions indicate this clash has no meaning for them at all. Both sides will field combined squads, and everybody are gonna want to end the match as soon as possible. The bookies set the odds on goals for this match just if this game was competitive, which in my opinion isn’t the case. If the points mattered here, I’d agree the most realistic bet is the under but in this case I suggest you to attempt exactly the opposite. The defenses will not be at their usual level, so I expect the nets to shake a lot. The odds on the over 2.5 are very favorable but since the attacking line is the weakest part in both times, don’t exaggerate with the staking.
Tip: Over 2.5 Goals, Odds 2.4;
No comments:
Post a Comment