FIFA World Cup 2022: Australia, Peru Clash Tonight in Qatar With World Cup Spot at Stake

• Australia and Peru will face off today at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Qatar for a chance to secure a ticket to the World Cup in Qatar
• Australia beat the United Arab Emirates while Peru finished fifth in South America qualification rounds to set up this do-or-die tie
• The winner of this clash will join defending champions France, Denmark and Tunisia in the already conducted group stage draw of the Qatar bonanza

Australia will tonight take on Peru to determine who takes one of the final two spots at the FIFA World Cup.

The intercontinental playoff tie was determined after Australia beat the United Arab Emirates to set up a date against their South American counterparts who finished fifth in CONMEBOL qualifying.

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Australia seemed destined to book a direct ticket to Qatar after going through round two of the qualifiers without dropping a single point. They also won their first three games of the third round but they only won one match in their next seven.

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Japan and Saudi Arabia bridged the gap and booked direct tickets while the Socceroos dropped crucial points against Oman and China to fall to the playoffs.

Sports Mole reports that Australia have qualified for every edition of the World Cup since 2006. Head coach Graham Arnold will however be concerned with his defence that hasn’t kept a clean sheet for five games now.

Peru meanwhile, started their CONMEBOL qualifying with just seven points from the first available 18. But they turned around their fortunes losing just one game in their final six to finish fifth and eliminate heavyweights like Chile and Colombia.

They beat New Zealand courtesy of Gianluca Lapadula’s goal in a friendly match to set up a meet with Australia. They will be aiming to qualify for back-to-back editions of the World Cup for the first time since 1982.

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Australia have no fresh injury concerns save for Tom Rogic who withdrew from the squad last week due to personal reasons. Forward Adam Taggart has also stepped up his recovery after attending training sessions earlier this week.

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Their opponents will hope to welcome back the experienced Luis Advincula and Renato Tapia who missed the win over New Zealand. Marcos Lopez is injured and his place is likely to be taken by Miguel Trauco.

Possible starting lineups

Australia

Ryan; Atkinson, Rowles, Wright, Behich; Mooy; Boyle, Irvine, Leckie; Hrustic, Maclaren

Peru

Gallese; Advincula, Zambrano, Callens, Trauco; Tapia, Yotun, Pena; Carrillo, Lapadula, Cuev

England's miserable run in the Nations League continues

Sports Brief had earlier reported that England’s miserable start to the Nations League continued on Saturday, June 12 as they were forced to a drab stalemate by Italy.

Following the chaos that played out when the two nations met in the final of the Euro 2020 last year, the game was played behind closed doors.

Gareth Southgate made a number of changes to his side, including handing the armband to Raheem Sterling and starting Harry Kane on the bench.

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