Australia and Saudi Arabia continue to score goals, and the situation in Group C is still stalemate

The reporter reported coldly Australia and Saudi Arabia are the only two teams to change their coach in Group C of the round of 18, and Australia took the lead in changing the coach, winning 1 win and 1 draw in October, quickly catching up with the second echelon; Saudi Arabia decided to sack Mancini after being held to a draw at home by Bahrain in October, and his predecessor Hainach returned. Unfortunately, Heinach didn't have Popovich's luck and made his debut at AAMI Park in Melbourne, where the two teams lacked the attacking power and luck to play an offside battle – a total of 12 offsides. In the end, the two teams exchanged blanks, and the situation in Group C was still stalemate.

Heinach's new appointment has three new players, and the 27-man squad has changed 10 people from October, mainly in the midfield. Of the 11 players in the starting 11 who were held to a draw by Bahrain at Saudi Arabia's home stadium in October, left-back Kadesh, right-back Hamad, midfielder Asmari, left winger Yahya and substitute striker Alan Malan were all not selected, in addition, the main winger Gharib in recent years was also not selected.

This Australian away game is a life-and-death battle for Saudi Arabia, and Heinah prefers to believe in the veteran. The 34-year-old is partnered with Tambakti in central defence, the left wing-back is 32-year-old Shahrani, plus right-back Abdul Hamid, who joined Roma this summer, and midfielders Ghamdi and Nasser Dausari, as many as six people in the midfield come to the Riyadh Crescent. Heinach is hoping to use the chemistry between his club team-mates to withstand the Australian attack. Although Popovich changed 8 people in the squad, the starting lineup was only replaced by the back O'Neill compared with the last round of away games against Japan.

In the 13th minute, Australian center Duque was knocked over by the attacking Saudi goalkeeper Qasal near the penalty line, and the UAE referee Nakbi decisively pointed to the penalty spot. However, then VAR intervention revealed a foul that changed the award of a free-kick from outside the box, and Popovich was very unhappy about this, believing that Casal should have at least received a red card instead of a yellow card. Slow-motion replays showed that the Saudi goalkeeper just hit Duke's head with his head, not a malicious foul.

Maltese-born goalkeeper Gauci, who plays for Aston Villa in the Premier League, was the hero of the Kangaroos' home point point. In the first half, he kept a series of saves from Nasser Dawsari, Al-Sahafi and Abdulhamid, who were ruled offside and were one of the few bright spots for Australia. Australia had three times as many shots on goal as Saudi Arabia (13 to 4), but the shot on target ratio was only 2 to 1, making it difficult to create a threat. In the 84th minute, Italian striker Borriello missed Australia's best chance to score in the game, and he faced the onrushing Saudi goalkeeper single-handedly, and instead of choosing to shoot, he crossed to teammate McGreen, only to be cleared by Abdulhamid who was chasing back in place.

In stoppage time, the two teams missed a good opportunity, in the second minute of stoppage time, a free kick from the left side of the Saudi Arabian front field to the penalty area, not far after Australia cleared the siege, substitute midfielder Garnum shot hard, and Breich, who was inserted into the middle of the penalty area, let go of the ball and the ball went straight into the right corner. But when the Saudi players ran to celebrate near the touchline, the assistant referee raised the flag for offside. After VAR intervened, the referee determined that Breich had interfered with the goalkeeper in an offside position, and the Saudis called for help; In the seventh minute of stoppage time, Australia's McGgreen fired a hook shot from inside the penalty area and unfortunately missed the post.

0-0 means Australia's goal drought against Saudi Arabia continues after 2,716 days. So far in the round of 18, Australia has not scored in 3 games, Saudi Arabia has not scored in 3 consecutive games, and the two favorite teams to qualify for the world preliminaries have fallen into a goal drought.

After a draw, the two teams are tied on six points and have failed to emerge from Group C as Japan did. Australia and Saudi Arabia are in poor form, with the former conceding too many possessions and having few dangerous shots on goal. The Saudis' high-pressure defense, while effective, was achieved at the expense of the offense.

Australia and Saudi Arabia continue to slump in attack, and the qualification situation for Group C is still stalemate, except for Japan.