On March 21, Beijing time, the round of 36 of the World Preliminary Tournament continued, and in a match of Group I, Australia hosted Lebanon. In this game, Australia easily beat Lebanon, scoring one goal in each half, and beating the opponent 2-0 to win three consecutive victories.
The situation in the first two rounds of Group I is exactly the same as the situation in the first two rounds of the Asian Cup, with Australia topping the table with six points from two consecutive wins, Lebanon ranking second with two consecutive draws and two points, and Palestine and Bangladesh ranking third or fourth with one point. Therefore, in addition to Australia's more stable qualification, Lebanon and Palestine will battle for second place in the group. In terms of world rankings, Australia is ranked 23rd in Asia, and Lebanon is only 115th. In the previous Asian Cup, Australia lost to South Korea and stopped in the quarterfinals, while Lebanon and the national football team were in the same group, and finally fell in the group stage and went out at the bottom.
In terms of personnel, Australia's core Goodwin is absent due to injury, but Australia still has a clear advantage, McGree, Kusini, and Tagart form a trident, Bacchus and Owen sit in the midfield, and the 1.98-meter Souttar at the back line is leading, and the goalkeeper is still Matthew Ryan. Obviously, Australia did not dare to be careless in Lebanon, which had a fierce style of two wars during this window.
In the first half of the game, Australia went straight into the game with the ball. In the 5th minute, Bacchus scored a lightning start. However, after that, Australia once again began to play as usual, the whole team began to close the kick, repeatedly falling in the midfield and backfield, and the possession rate was close to 7 percent. It seems to be very loose, but it is actually very stable. At half-time, Australia led 1-0.
In the second half, Australia still seemed to be unhurried in possession, but in fact they suddenly drew their knives. In the 53rd minute, Australia counter-attacked and created corner kick opportunities. The corner kick was taken, the penalty area was in chaos, Rawls volleyed, the ball refracted into the net, 2-0. After that, Australia was firmly in control of the situation and did not give Lebanon any chance of turning the tables. Lebanon can't attack, and Australia has no intention of continuing to cause tragedy, after all, they have to go to the opponent's home stadium in five days. In the end, Australia beat Lebanon 2-0.
After this match, Australia became the first Asian team to win three consecutive games in the World Preliminary Tournament. In the three games, Australia beat Bangladesh 7-0 and Palestine 1-0. After beating Lebanon 2-0, Australia conceded 0 goals in 3 games with 10 goals, and did not do their best, easily leading the group stage. Due to Bangladesh's weakness, the second qualifying spot will be between Lebanon and Palestine.