England vs Australia prediction: WORLD: Friendly International betting tips on match 2023-10-12 18:45.
Ahead of a vital qualification tussle with Italy that could confirm their place in the 2024 UEFA European Championship, England will look to sharpen up with a friendly against sporting foes Australia at Wembley Stadium. Considering their long standing and fierce rivalry in other sports such as rugby and cricket, it may surprise many to learn that the men’s football teams have met just twice this century!
Forecasting this friendly as “an opportunity to learn some different things”, England boss Gareth Southgate hinted he may experiment a touch with his 26-man squad that saw the recalls of Ollie Watkins and Jarrod Bowen, retention of new members Eddie Nketiah and Levi Colwill, and a fourth successive omission of Chelsea’s Raheem Sterling. After a comfortable 3-1 friendly victory in Scotland last month, England remained undefeated as a pre-match favourite since being relegated from UEFA Nations League A (W8, D2), a record their incredibly short odds here would suggest they’ll extend.
Aussie fans have been longing for more opportunities to emulate a 3-1 win over England at the now demolished Boleyn Ground in 2003, which remains their only H2H victory (D2, L4) and still lives on in Australian folklore. Following their Round of 16 appearance at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the Australian FA has made a concerted effort during the next World Cup cycle to secure more friendlies with high-profile opponents.
That included recent friendlies with world champions Argentina (a 2-0 loss in Beijing) and a 2-2 draw with top-20 nation Mexico in Texas, two games in which they played admirably. Head coach Graham Arnold, who recently signed a contract extension through to the end of the 2026 World Cup, appears to be a driving force behind the push for playing top-ten teams such as England more often: “If you play against easy opposition you don’t learn and (in recent friendlies) the boys have learned a lot.”
Players to watch: Just days after signing a seven-year contract with West Ham, and with goals in five of his nine club games this season, Jarrod Bowen is back in England colours. The retirements of Aaron Mooy and Tom Rogic opened the door for 31-year-old midfielder Massimo Luongo to make his first international appearance in four years. Luongo has an average Flashscore rating of 7.2 this Championship season and scored a late match-winner against Blackburn Rovers whilst playing for club side, Ipswich.
Hot stat: All but two of England’s last 15 wins were by a 2+ goal margin.