Australian midfielder Mile Jedinak. (Photo : Getty Images)
Powerhouse squad Australia (6-1-0, 18 points) will look to cap off their domination of the AFC 2018 World Cup qualifiers Group B competitions as they face contending team Jordan (5-1-1, 16 points) at the Allianz Stadium in Sydney on Tuesday, March 29.
Jordan defeated Australia, 2-0, in their first meeting at the Amman International Stadium in Amman, Jordan on Oct. 8th of last year during matchday 5 when Hassan Abdel-Fattah and Hamza Al-Dardour netted one goal apiece for the Chivalrous, which is the Socceroos only loss so far in the tournament.
With the venue switching to the Southern country's home field, head coach Ange Postecoglou's side will be set to avenge their previous setback.
Australia is coming off a 7-0 walkover of lowly team Tajikistan at the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide, Australia last Thursday, as reported by Fox Sports.
Winger Nathan Burns and midfielder Tom Rogic scored a brace each in the late minutes of the match to crush the Persian Lions for the second time in the tourney.
Burns scored at the 67th and 87th minutes while Rogic netted his goals at the 70th and 72nd minutes respectively.
Midfielder Massimo Luongo opened the scoring right at the third minute before team captain Mile Jedinak doubled the lead with a penalty kick at the 13th minute to enter the halftime break on top, 2-0.
Defender Mark Milligan started things up in the second half with a goal at the 51st for the Australians.
Meanwhile, Jordan also pulled off a lopsided 8-0 win over Bangladesh at the Amman International Stadium also last Thursday in the Group B matchday's other game, as per The Guardian.
The match was head coach Harry Redknapp's debut game for Al-Nashāmā and the 69-year-old English manager is reportedly looking forward to the match against the Socceroos this Tuesday.
Al-Dardour unleashed a hat trick in the match, at the seventh, 23rd, and 40th minutes, while attacker Abdallah Deeb and forward Yousef Al-Rawashdeh scored at the one goal each at the 29th and 32nd respectively to give Jordan a five-point advantage entering the second half of play.
Three more goals in the second half, courtesy of striker Baha' Faisal, winger Yousef Al-Naber, and midfielder Ahmed Samir at the 63rd, 82nd, and 90th+2 minutes completed Redknapp's squad's eight-goal haul.
The predicted result is a close 2-1 win for Australia.
Australia starting lineup (4-3-3 formation): Ryan; McGowan, Sainsbury, Wright, Smith; Jedinak, Mooy, Luongo; Burns, Giannou, Leckie
Jordan starting lineup (4-4-2 formation): M. Yaseen; A. Yaseen, Al-Basha, Mustafa, Zahran; Haddad, Al-Bakhit, Deeb, Ayed; Al-Rawashdeh, Al-Dardour
