Socceroos v Japan preview: What do you need to know ahead of ...

The Socceroos v Japan is tonight in Saitama, just north of Tokyo. It is the Aussies’ fourth of five matches in the third round of World Cup Qualifying and just the second match under coach Tony Popovic. Here is your Socceroos v Japan preview.

The Socceroos have had a rough start to the third round, with an upset 1-0 loss to Bahrain and a frustrating 1-1 draw with Indonesia. Last Thursday, they beat China 3-1 to get their campaign back on track. Sitting in second place in Group C, Australia has to finish in the top two to qualify for the World Cup. Their two remaining matches are against arguably the best sides in the Group, Japan and Saudi Arabia. Japan have recorded convincing wins in all three of their matches so far against China (7-0), Bahrain (5-0), and Saudi Arabia (2-0).

Australia and Japan’s men’s soccer teams have played each other 27 times. Japan has won 11 times, Australia has won seven times, and the match has ended in a draw on nine occasions. To add to tonight’s challenge, the Socceroos have never beaten Japan on their home soil. The last time Australia beat Japan was in 2009 at the MCG.

Socceroos midfielder Jackson Irvine said: “This is a tough moment — we’re playing against probably one of the most in-form teams in world football, let alone Asian football, with players playing at the top of their game all across the world, and we know that we have to be at our absolute best.”

Popovic said: “I want us to have the confidence to build on that performance [against China] and show a better playing style — that’s key for us. We feel if we can do that, we have a chance to definitely win the game. We have a long way to get to the World Cup still. For now our focus is this match. We’re not looking too far ahead — our mindset right now is to win tomorrow.

Kick-off is at 9:35pm AEDT and will be streamed on Paramount+.