Australia vs South Korea prediction 02.02.2024

• Competition: Asian Cup, Quarter-Finals
• Date: Friday, 2nd February 2024
• Kickoff: 15:30 UK / 16:30 CET
• Venue: Al Janoub Stadium (Al Wakrah)

On Friday afternoon, Australia and South Korea will face off in the Asian Cup Quarter Finals at a neutral pitch at Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah. 

Australia became one of the best teams in the Asian & Oceania region. Before this Asian Cup, they had a good run in the World Cup, reaching the 1/8 Finals, where they lost 2:1 to the eventual champs, Argentina. Still, it was a great performance in the WC, and they continued with good results in the Asian Cup as well. However, considering they are one of the favorites to win the title, we are not surprised by their performances so far. 

Just like Australia, South Korea also had a good run in the previous World Cup, reaching the 1/8 Finals, where they lost 4:1 vs Brazil. In this Asian Cup, despite having two of the biggest stars in the tournament, Heung-min Son and Min-jae Kim, South Korea has underperformed both in the group phase and the 1/8 Finals as well. Versus Saudi Arabia in the 1/8 Finals, they managed to win after a penalty shootout after securing the ET by scoring a late equalizer in the 99th minute. 

Australia vs South Korea pick: Both teams to score

Australia have been good offensively, scoring at least a goal in all games in the Asian Cup. In fact, they scored at least one goal in the last seven games in all competitions. Additionally, if we take a look at their performances at the World Cup, we can see that they scored at least a goal in all four games as well, and they faced really tough opponents - France, Tunisia, Denmark, and Argentina! We strongly believe they can score against South Korea, which were far from impressive defensively in the tournament. 

South Korea, objectively, haven't been great in the Asian Cup, and even though they are the favorites to win the game, we do not trust them enough to bet on them. The main problem with this team at the Asian Cup is their poor defensive performance. So far, they have allowed seven goals and still haven't had a clean sheet. So, we do not think they will manage to keep it vs Australia. On the other hand, South Korea are great offensively, but looking at their players up front, that is not really a surprise. So far, they have scored nine goals (2.25 per game), and we think they will score in this match as well. 

We expect a really close match, and considering what we have seen from these teams throughout the tournament, we strongly believe both teams will manage to score.