Australia
- Australia have won five, drawn one and lost four of their last ten games in all competitions (W5, D1, L4).
- The Socceroos have a good young squad and they have made the step up to the next level under Tony Popovic's pragmatic leadership.
- They play with a lot of discipline and sit deep, aiming to control the game by frustrating their opponents and springing counters.
- The young talent in their squad are particularly effective when allowed to play on the break and Australia have been good going forward on the transition in the last two games.
- Australia are yet to lose at home this year, but can they hold up in this match at the BC Place in Canada?
- Australia have had some mixed results of late, picking up two wins, one draw and two losses in their last five games, but they will fancy their chances of getting something here after a narrow 1-0 defeat away to Mexico and a 1-1 draw with Switzerland at home.
Turkey
- Turkey are on a run of eight wins, one draw and one defeat across their last ten matches in all competitions (W8, D1, L1).
- Turkey have the look of a side to beat in this pool, while Australia have the talent to cause a few upsets as well.
- Vincenzo Montella has added some fresh creativity and a more possession-based approach to the side since he took over in June and his players have taken to it with aplomb.
- Turkey have won four games in a row and they cruised to a 4-0 home win over North Macedonia before following up with a 2-1 away win over Venezuela.
- They have a fluid front four and control the midfield, which should give them the edge against an Australian side that will try to sit back and frustrate opponents.
Key Players
- Turkey have a fluid front four and control the midfield, giving them an attacking edge.
- Australia have young talent who are dangerous on the counter.
- Tony Popovic leads with a pragmatic, disciplined approach that suits a counter-attacking gameplan.
Betting Insights
- It's not often you see both teams to score priced at 1.9 for a game featuring two sides with the attacking quality of Australia and Turkey, but that's the case for this clash in Canada.
- Turkey have won eight of their last ten games and scored 14 goals in their last five road games.
- The odds for over 2.5 goals is 2.01 and that's likely because the bookmakers think this will be an open game and both teams will have chances, which is entirely possible.
- Montella's side are a little bit more flexible now and can score goals with their technical quality and creativity in the front four.
Prediction
With the Turks in such good form and having the attacking edge, we're going with a Turkey win and over 2.5 for Sunday's Group D game.
