In the second of back-to-back World Cup qualifying contests, Lebanon and Australia will again meet on Tuesday and do battle in Canberra.
Australia came out on top in the previous game last week to continue a perfect record in the second round of Asian qualifying.
Match preview
© Reuters
Lebanon will continue their Australian trip on Tuesday with the aim of picking up a first win in their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign, in their bid to reach the global competition for the first time in their history.
The Cedars enjoyed a bye through the first round and kicked off their second-round group in November, settling for a point from a goalless draw at home to Palestine in their curtain-raiser, before travelling to Bangladesh and sharing the spoils as the contested ended level at a goal apiece, having initially gone ahead through Majed Osman.
Under the tutelage of Miodrag Radulovic, who took the reins in December, they returned to qualifying for the first time in 2024 in a double-header against Australia on the back of a tough Asian Cup campaign early in the New Year, bowing out in the group stage having only collected one point from their three games.
They then headed to Sydney for their third game of the group stage on Thursday in search of a first win, but the Cedars were unable to add to their tally, eventually succumbing to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of the group's frontrunners.
Now trailing second-placed Palestine by two points with only two teams from the four-nation group advancing to the third round of qualifying, Lebanon will bid to avenge Thursday's defeat and put their first three-point haul on the board on Tuesday to boost their chances of progressing.
© Reuters
They face a difficult test, though, with their opponents aiming to continue their perfect run in the group and guarantee their top-two finish and place in the next round on Tuesday.
After enjoying a bye of their own through the first round, Australia began their bid to reach a sixth straight World Cup with their sights set on topping the second-round group, and they have been in formidable form thus far, currently sitting first having won each of their opening three games, firstly thrashing Bangladesh 7-0 with Jamie Maclaren netting a hat-trick alongside Mitchell Duke's brace and goals from Harry Souttar and Brandon Borrello.
A 1-0 away win over Palestine followed, with Souttar netting the decisive goal, before the Socceroos headed to the Asian Cup early this year and advanced to the quarter-finals, only to drop out at the hands of South Korea after extra time.
On their return to qualifying action in March, Graham Arnold's team welcomed Lebanon to Sydney for the first of two games on Thursday and added three more points to their tally, prevailing in a 2-0 victory having gone ahead inside five minutes through Keanu Baccus before Kye Rowles added a second early in the second half.
They now head to Canberra aiming to continue their run of wins and clean sheets with a victory guaranteeing their top-two finish and progression to the third round of World Cup qualifying.
Team News
© Reuters
Following a valiant effort in their 2-0 defeat against Australia last time out, Lebanon should field a similar starting XI in Canberra on Tuesday in a 5-4-1 setup.
AFC Wimbledon's Omar Bugiel should continue to lead the line, while captain Hassan Maatouk continues to play a key role going forward having netted 23 goals in his 120 international caps for the Cedars.
Mohamad Haidar may come into the midfield from the start, having earned his 93rd cap on the bench last week, while Khalil Khamis, Maher Sabra and Waleed Shour could continue in the middle of the defence.
Australia are also unlikely to make many changes from the first meeting on Tuesday, with key men Aziz Behich, Martin Boyle, Mathew Leckie, Jamie Maclaren and Awer Mabil not involved in the squad, while midfielder Riley McGree will miss out having sustained an injury last time out.
In his absence, Ajdin Hrustic will likely come in from the outset, while Connor Metcalfe and Jackson Irvine should all keep their places, with Mitchell Duke fighting to come in and lead the line from the outset, but Keanu Baccus is suspended.
At the other end of the pitch, Hearts duo Nathaniel Atkinson and Kye Rowles should line up in a back four with Ipswich Town's Christian Burgess and Leicester City's Harry Souttar, who has netted 11 goals from just 28 international caps.
Lebanon possible starting lineup:
Matar; Nassar, Khamis, Sabra, Shour, Chaitou; Maatouk, Haidar, Srour, Jradi; Bugiel
Australia possible starting lineup:
Ryan; Atkinson, Souttar, Burgess, Rowles; Metcalfe, Yazbek, Irvine, Hrustic; Duke, Taggart
We say: Lebanon 0-3 Australia
Lebanon fought hard to keep the first meeting tight last week, but Australia's quality shone through in a dominant display, and we envisage a similar showing and another three-point haul on Tuesday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Sam Varley
Iran
Kyrgyzstan
North Korea
Qatar
UAE
Uzbekistan
Iraq
Jordan
Kuwait
Oman
Palestine
South Korea
Australia
Bahrain
China
Indonesia
Japan
Saudi Arabia
