Ultimate Guide: How to watch October's FIFA World Cup Qualifiers against Oman and Japan
After starting round three of Asian Qualifying in style, the Socceroos will look to secure a new slice of history when Group B action resumes in early October.
After this month's 3-0 win over China in Doha and 1-0 victory over Vietnam in Hanoi, Graham Arnold's side will next take on Oman on Thursday, October 7 (local time) before travelling to Japan on the following Tuesday, October 12.
Up for grabs is the chance to become the first nation ever to register 11-straight wins in a single qualifying campaign - plus, six huge points that would go a long way towards securing passage to our nation's fifth-straight FIFA World Cup Finals.
As preparations continue for these two huge fixtures, here's everything you need to know in the lead-up.
Our schedule
FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ – AFC Asian Qualifiers – Road to Qatar (Final Round)
Matchday 3: Australia v Oman
Date: Thursday, 7 October 2021
Venue: Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar
Kick-off: 9.30pm local (5.30am AEDT – Friday, 8 October 2021)
Broadcast: Live and free in Australia on 10 and 10 Play – pre-game coverage from 5am AEDT
Matchday 4: Japan v Australia
Date: Tuesday, 12 October 2021
Venue: Saitama Stadium, Saitama, Japan
Kick-off: 7.14pm local (9.14pm AEDT)
Broadcast: Live and free in Australia on 10 Bold and 10 Play – pre-game coverage from 8.30pm AEDT
Games in the third round are scheduled to be played on the following match days: 7 October 2021, 12 October 2021, 11 November 2021, 16 November 2021, 27 January 2022, 1 February 2022, 24 March 2022 and 29 March 2022.
Due to the ever-evolving COVID-19 situation, match locations and times will be finalised in the immediate lead-up to each window.
|
Day/Date |
Match |
|
Thursday, 2 September 2021 |
AUSTRALIA 3-0 China PR |
|
Tuesday, 7 September 2021 |
Vietnam 0-1 AUSTRALIA |
|
Thursday, 7 October 2021 |
AUSTRALIA v Oman |
|
Tuesday, 12 October 2021 |
Japan v AUSTRALIA |
|
Thursday, 11 November 2021 |
AUSTRALIA v Saudi Arabia |
|
Tuesday, 16 November 2021 |
China PR v AUSTRALIA |
|
Thursday, 27 January 2022 |
AUSTRALIA v Vietnam |
|
Tuesday, 1 February 2022 |
Oman v AUSTRALIA |
|
Thursday, 24 March 2022 |
AUSTRALIA v Japan |
|
Tuesday, 29 March 2022 |
Saudi Arabia v AUSTRALIA |
The squad
The Socceroos’ squad for October’s FIFA window is comprised of 23 overseas-based players, with two (2) representatives – Melbourne Victory’s Chris Ikonomidis and Sydney FC’s Rhyan Grant – selected from A-League Men.
Ongoing hotel quarantine requirements in Australia remain challenging for Football Australia and domestic-based players hoping to play for the Socceroos.
Attacker Ikonomidis, however, has committed to the October window despite the prospect of having to undertake two weeks of hotel quarantine upon his return to Australia, while Grant, after he scored his first goal for Australia at senior international level last month, remained abroad and trained in Hibernian FC’s high-performance environment alongside fellow Socceroo Martin Boyle to maintain his fitness to be prepared for Socceroos selection.
READ MORE: 25 players selected for Socceroos' October Qualifiers in Qatar and Japan
Socceroos 25-Player Squad | 4 – 12 October 2021 | FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ – AFC Asian Qualifiers – Road to Qatar (Final Round)
|
Name |
Club, Country |
‘A’ Caps (Goals) |
Junior Club |
|
Daniel ARZANI |
Lommel SK, Belgium |
6 (1) |
Mascot Vipers Futsal Club (Football NSW) |
|
Aziz BEHICH |
Giresunspor, Turkey |
43 (2) |
Meadow Park SC (Football Victoria) |
|
Martin BOYLE |
Hibernian FC, Scotland |
8 (4) |
Lewis United FC/Montrose FC (Scotland) |
|
Milos DEGENEK |
Red Star Belgrade, Serbia |
31 (1) |
Blacktown City FC (Football NSW) |
|
Kenneth DOUGALL |
Blackpool FC, England |
3 (0) |
Samford Rangers FC (Football Queensland) |
|
Mitchell DUKE |
Fagiano Okayama, Japan |
11 (5) |
Liverpool Rangers SC (Football NSW) |
|
Callum ELDER |
Hull City AFC, England |
1 (0) |
Manly United FC (Football NSW) |
|
Denis GENREAU |
Toulouse FC, France |
1 (0) |
Brighton SC (Football Victoria) |
|
Rhyan GRANT |
Sydney FC, Australia |
16 (1) |
Canowindra Juniors/Bathurst 75 (Football NSW) |
|
Ajdin HRUSTIC |
Eintracht Frankfurt, Germany |
9 (1) |
Heatherton United SC (Football Victoria) |
|
Jackson IRVINE |
FC St. Pauli, Germany |
39 (6) |
Ringwood City SC (Football Victoria) |
|
Chris IKONOMIDIS |
Melbourne Victory, Australia |
14 (2) |
Cronulla RSL Stingrays FC (Football NSW) |
|
James JEGGO |
Aris Thessaloniki, Greece |
7 (0) |
Green Gully SC (Football Victoria) |
|
Fran KARACIC |
Brescia Calcio, Italy |
3 (1) |
NK Lokomotiva (Croatia) |
|
Awer MABIL |
FC Midtjylland, Denmark |
19 (5) |
Saint Augustines SC (Football South Australia) |
|
Ryan MCGOWAN |
Kuwait SC, Kuwait |
21 (0) |
Para Hills Knights SC (Football South Australia) |
|
Riley MCGREE |
Birmingham City FC, England |
5 (0) |
Gawler Eagles FC (Football South Australia) |
|
Aaron MOOY |
Shanghai Port FC, China PR |
45 (6) |
Carlingford Redbacks FC (Football NSW) |
|
Tom ROGIC |
Celtic FC, Scotland |
49 (9) |
Tuggeranong United FC (Capital Football) |
|
Mathew RYAN (Gk) |
Real Sociedad, Spain |
63 (0) |
Blacktown City FC (Football NSW) |
|
Trent SAINSBURY |
KV Kortrijk, Belgium |
52 (3) |
Armadale SC (Football West) |
|
Harry SOUTTAR |
Stoke City FC, England |
7 (6) |
Brechin City Boys Club (Scotland) |
|
Adam TAGGART |
Cerezo Osaka, Japan |
14 (6) |
ECU Joondalup SC (Football West) |
|
Lawrence THOMAS (Gk) |
SønderjyskE Fodbold, Denmark |
1 (0) |
Winston Hills Bears FC (Football NSW) |
|
Danny VUKOVIC (Gk) |
NEC Nijmegen, Netherlands |
4 (0) |
St Clair United SC (Football NSW) |
The locations
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have confirmed that the Socceroos will play their third AFC Asian Qualifiers – Road to Qatar™ (Final Round) fixture against Oman in Doha, Qatar on Thursday, 7 October 2021.
The Socceroos will return to the Khalifa International Stadium – the same venue that Australia defeated China PR 3-0 at on matchday one – next week as the team’s journey towards Qatar 2022 continues.
October 12's away fixture against Japan will take place in Saitama, at the Saitama Stadium 2002. Kick-off is scheduled for 9:14pm AEDT (7:14pm local time).
Moving forward, Football Australia are in advanced discussions with the NSW Government regarding the Socceroos hosting a designated home AFC Asian Qualifier – Road to Qatar match against Saudi Arabia on 11 November, in Sydney under a Quarantine Management Plan.
How to watch
Yet again October's match will be broadcast live and free via Network Ten and 10 Play.
Friday morning's match against Oman will be shown on Channel 10, while fans can watch Tuesday's prime-time meeting with Japan on 10 Bold.
Stay tuned to Socceroos.com.au and the Socceroos social channels for confirmation of kick-off times once they are locked in.
To watch all of the latest involving Socceroos and the rest of Asian Qualifying, Australian football fans can visit https://10play.com.au/socceroos.
For fans based outside of Australia, click here to read about how you can access the action.
FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ – AFC Asian Qualifiers – Road to Qatar (Final Round)
Matchday 3: Australia v Oman
Date: Thursday, 7 October 2021
Venue: Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar
Kick-off: 9.30pm local (5.30am AEDT – Friday, 8 October 2021)
Broadcast: Live and free in Australia on 10 and 10 Play – pre-game coverage from 5am AEDT
Matchday 4: Japan v Australia
Date: Tuesday, 12 October 2021
Venue: Saitama Stadium, Saitama, Japan
Kick-off: 7.14pm local (9.14pm AEDT)
Broadcast: Live and free in Australia on 10 Bold and 10 Play – pre-game coverage from 8.30pm AEDT
The equation
The Socceroos are taking on Japan, Saudi Arabia, China PR, Oman, and Vietnam in the Final Round of AFC Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™.
The draw saw Australia pooled in Group B of qualification, with Group A containing IR Iran, Korea Republic, United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon.
To qualify for a fifth consecutive FIFA World Cup™, Australia must finish either first or second in Group B, which includes ten matches to be played from September 2021 to March 2022, to qualify directly.
A third-place finish would send the Socceroos to a play-off against the third-place team from Group A, followed by an intercontinental play-off.
The journey so far
Australia has made a perfect start their 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, advancing through their first group in perfect fashion.
Wit the first four matches played in late 2019 and final half of the group played out in June 2021, the Socceroos secured eight-straight victories: with seven of those coming away from home.
Graham Arnold's side notched an impressive 28 goals at an average of 3.5 per game, while conceding just the two.
A 3-0 win in Kuwait kicked off the campaign, as Mathew Leckie bagged a memorable brace and Aaron Mooy curled home a stunner to ensure the result.
A month later, the Socceroos returned home to Canberra where they played out a comfortable 5-0 victory over Nepal. Jamie Maclaren stole the show with his first international hat trick, while Harry Souttar instantly endeared himself to the Australian fans with a brace on debut.
Five days later, the squad travelled to Chinese Taipei where they secured their most emphatic result so far, overcoming the home nation 7-1 at Kaohsiung National Stadium. Adam Taggart, Jackson Irvine and Souttar all registered braces, as Ajdin Hrustic came off the bench to chip in with a trio of assists.
Exactly a month later, it was a whole lot closer when Australia travelled to face Jordan in Amman. But Arnold's side managed to get the job done in difficult conditions, with a solitary Adam Taggart goal ensuring the Socceroos would return home with a priceless three points.
When the full time whistle blew on that night in November 2019, no one would have suspected that the Socceroos would wait another 18 months before returning to action.
But that was exactly the case, as the Asian Qualifiers finally resumed within a hub based in Kuwait City.
Despite the lengthy intermission, Australia would come away with another four important victories to ensure they sealed top spot in Group B and advanced to within striking distance of a fifth-straight FIFA World Cup Finals appearance.
Round 3 kicked off in perfect fashion, with a 3-0 win over China in Doha sealing top spot of Group B with one round played.
History was made a few days later, as a tight 1-0 victory away in Vietnam not only maintained Australia's perfect record, but also saw them become the first AFC nation to secure 10 victories in a single qualifying campaign.
