Four years ago, the Aussies beat the White Wolves in the last 16 on penalties after the match ended in a 0-0 draw, and given how sharp both sides have been defensively of late, we could be in for a similar outcome.
While first place is up for grabs, we do not expect to see a great sense of urgency from either team, with Australia ensured of a place in the last 16 and Uzbekistan looking likely to join them, barring a calamity by themselves and a sudden burst of goals from Syria.
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Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Australia win with a probability of 42.91%. A win for Uzbekistan had a probability of 29.89% and a draw had a probability of 27.2%.
The most likely scoreline for an Australia win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.94%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.65%) and 2-0 (8.04%). The likeliest Uzbekistan win was 0-1 (9.55%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.85%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 12.9% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted a draw in this match.