After a couple of poor results to begin the Third Round of the World Cup Qualifiers, Australia are in need of a win and will take on China on home soil on Thursday night. It’ll be a new-look Socceroos outfit as well, at least on the sidelines, with Tony Popovic taking charge for the first time. We bring you our full match preview and best bet below!
2026 World Cup Qualifiers
Australia vs China
Thursday 8:10pm AEDT, Adelaide Oval
Australia enter their third game of the Third Round of qualifying still searching for their first win of the stage. In fact, they’re still in search of their first goal after failing to score in their opening two games.
The Socceroos began this stage with an upset loss on home soil against Bahrain where they were $1.22 to win compared to Bahrain at $13. The Aussies generated more chances (11-4 shots) and had more possession (67%) but couldn’t capitalise.
Following that game was another frustrating one against Indonesia which finished as a nil-all draw. Again, the Aussies were clear favourites ($1.67 vs $5.25) and dominated the key statistics (19-5 shots, 62% possession), but couldn’t find the back of the net.
Poor results led to the departure of Graham Arnold as manager, with Tony Popovic taking his place. Popovic has over a dozen years’ experience as a manger and was most recently in charge of Melbourne Victory (2021-2024) in the A-League.
China have also had a poor start to the Third Round and currently sit last in the Group C standings (see below). Unlike Australia however, China came into this phase without much expectation of advancing, so their recent results haven’t been a big surprise.
The Chinese were absolutely belted in their opening game of the phase, losing 7-0 away to Japan. They conceded five second-half goals that day including three in the final 15 minutes. They were the major underdogs ($26) and could generate only one shot for the entire match.
China were a lot more competitive second up at home against Saudi Arabia. They led that match early on due to an own goal and even had an extra man advantage with Saudi Arabia receiving a red card in the 19thminute. Despite this, they still couldn’t come away with a single point as they lost 2-1, conceding the second goal in the 90th minute. Again, China were huge underdogs in that clash ($6.25).
Match prediction: It’ll be interesting to see how the Socceroos perform in their first match under Popovic, and the type of tactics he decides to employ. Regardless, his side has a major talent advantage over the Chinese, and the odds certainly suggest that with Australia currently priced at $1.10 compared to China at $26.
China have generated only one shot on target through their first two games of this phase, and have been dominated in possession on each occasion. So clearly, the Socceroos will have the game played on their terms and will be afforded a number of chances.
China will almost certainly park the bus here to make it as difficult as possible for the Socceroos to score, however an early goal will completely change the dynamic of the match and that remains the key for the home nation.
It’s difficult to predict how Australia will perform under these circumstances, but talent alone should see them win this fixture comfortably. Taking them at the -2 handicap looks like the best play here.
Australia -2.5
$2.15 (1 Unit)
