Broadcast info - Saudi Arabia vs. Australia
Who's playing: Australia are by far the favorites to clinch top spot in their qualifying group, but the Socceroos have to be wary of a Saudi Arabia side who are tied with them on six points after two games
What time: Thursday, October 6th at 10:45 PST/13:45 EST/19:45 BST/20:45 CET/04:45 AEST (Friday)
What stadium: Australia will travel to King Abdullah Sports City to take on the Saudis. This multi-use stadium is located north of Jeddah and has a maximum capacity of 62,241.
Which channel:
- In the USA: WatchESPN, ESPN3 USA
- In Australia: Fox Sports 4 Australia, Foxtel Play
- In Saudi Arabia: beIN Sports Arabia 2 HD
*View up-to-date broadcast listings
Match facts and other historical stats - Saudi Arabia vs. Australia
- Saudi Arabia have yet to score a goal from regulation play so far. All three have been courtesy of penalties
- Australia have faced the Saudis six times and won four of those meetings. The other two finished as a draw and a loss
- The Socceroos have never lost to the Green Falcons in World Cup qualifiers (two meetings, two wins)
Team news
Saudi Arabia
Between 1994 and 2006, Saudi Arabia managed to qualify for every single World Cup. The Green Falcons shocked the footballing world by making it to a highly unlikely round of 16 spot at the 1994 edition, but were then dumped out at the group stages in their next three appearances. Currently under the tutelage of Dutch tactician Bert van Marwijk, they are hoping to end their long hiatus from the quadrennial tournament. So far, they have picked up six points out of a potential six, with Nawaf Al Abed scoring all three spot-kicks against Thailand and Iraq.
Australia
Australia are arguably viewed as the favorites - along with Japan - to top their group, and so far, the Socceroos are where they should be. However, it's not the Blue Samurai who are chasing them down, but instead Saudi Arabia, who have managed to pick up all six points despite yet to score from open play. The visitors come into this game having beaten Iraq and the United Arab Emirates, but they had to work a lot harder in their most recent tie than expected.
Against the UAE, the Socceroos struggled at times to break down their staunchly defensive opponents, and needed a late goal from star striker Tim Cahill to seal all three points. Given his advancing years, Australia will not want to keep on expecting him to come up with a game-winner and will need other players, such as the speedy Matthew Leckie, to step up and release some of the burden off him. Meanwhile, there have been some personnel changes, as defender Milos Degenek is out due to a knee problem, but Valencia's Matthew Ryan, who serves as the first-choice shot-stopper, should be fit enough to feature after resuming training with the squad.
2018 World Cup AFC qualification schedule
- 03:35 PST/06:35 EST/21:35 AEST - Oct. 6: Japan vs Iraq
- 04:00 PST/07:00 EST/22:00 AEST - Oct. 6: Korea Republic vs Qatar
- 04:35 PST/07:35 EST/22:35 AEST - Oct. 6: China vs Syria
- 06:00 PST/09:00 EST/00:00 AEST - Oct. 6/7: Uzbekistan vs Iran
- 09:00 PST/12:00 EST/03:00 AEST - Oct. 6/7: United Arab Emirates vs Thailand
- 10:45 PST/13:45 EST/04:45 AEST - Oct. 6/7: Saudi Arabia vs Australia
Match details, result and original broadcast info
This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Follow the game on-the-go
Download our iOS and Android apps to follow soccer on-the-go. It comes packed with features - live scores, fixtures, results, tables, line-ups, stats, TV schedule and much more! Sorry, no live streaming within the app.
