India’s first match in the AFC Asian Cup of football will be against Australia today. The Qatar match will be played at the Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan City. Which will start at 5 pm Indian time. Australia is at number 25 in the FIFA rankings, while Team India is at number 102.

There will be a major match of Group B between the two. Australia is ready to face a big challenge for India. Australia recently hosted the 16th round of the FIFA World Cup. Australia is a contender for the title this time in the Asian Cup. The team has won the cup once in 2015. Team coach Graham Arnold said on Friday that their aim was to win the trophy again in Qatar, where they have fond memories.

On the other hand, the tournament is being held in India for the 5th time. After making the final in 1966, India could not reach beyond the group stage.

head to head
So far 8 matches have been played between India and Australia, Australia won 5 and India won 2. A competition draw is also going on. The last time India defeated Australia 7-1 was in 1956, when India was the top team in Asia. The last record of both was in the final of the 2011 Asian Cup, when India had to face a 0-4 defeat.

Australia’s defense is strong
The Socceroos team is fully prepared for the 2022 World Cup after arriving from the knockout stage. After the World Cup, Australia has played friendly telecasts with England, Mexico, Argentina and many other countries.

Australia did not score more than 2 goals in total in the matches against England, Mexico and Argentina. The team’s excellent backline and goalkeeper Matt Ryan are the biggest reasons for this. Australia’s backline consists of players from all the top clubs in Europe. It will be very difficult for India to score against Australia.

Australia’s defender Harry Sauter is considered the backbone of the team’s defense line.

India’s captain Chhetri and Sadhu are the most experienced
Indian captain Sunil Chhetri is playing the Asian Cup for the third time. Along with him, goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu is also participating for the third time. 39 year old Chhetri played a total of 5 matches in the Asian Cup. Chhetri scored four goals in five matches, the most for India in the Asian Cup.

All the players of the Indian team are fit. Sunil Chhetri, Sandesh Jhingan and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu are available to entertain. Due to the excellent performance of ISL, the players of the team are playing regulator. With this, all the players have got playing time and all are match fit.

The Indian defense will be challenged during set pieces. The Australian team can easily convert penalties, free kicks and corners into goals.

Australia have registered consecutive wins in their last four matches against Bahrain, Palestine, Bangladesh and New Zealand. In contrast, India have paid four of their last five matches. They lost their last match against Qatar 4–0. However, they had won the previous match against Kuwait.

India captain Sunil Chhetri and goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu are playing the Asian Cup for the third time.

Possible sterling lineup of both teams

India
Goalkeeper: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu
Definition: Rahul Bheke, Sandesh Jhingan, Akash Mishra, Nikhil Pujare
Midfield: Suresh Singh Sachjam, Lalinjuala Changte, Sahal Abdul Samad
Ahead: Manveer Singh, Sunil Chhetri, Mahesh Singh

Australia
Goalkeeper: Matthew Ryan
Definition: Gethin Jones, Cameron Burgess, Harry Souter, Lewis Miller
Midfield: Keanu Backus, Riley McGree, Aiden Connor O’Neal, Jackson Irwin, Craig Goodwin
Ahead: Michelle Duke