There will be early morning international football action on the agenda on Tuesday, as a friendly between Australia and Ecuador will take place at Marvel Stadium. But, can Australia maintain their feel-good mood after a strong showing at the World Cup?
International Friendly Preview
Australia was one of the stories that went under the radar at the World Cup in 2022, as they enjoyed their best ever campaign in Qatar. The nation made it through to the round of 16 for just the second time in their history, and they gave Argentina a fright in the final stages of that knockout tie. The main aim of the national side will now be to kick on from those performances ahead of the World Cup in three years time across North America.
There has already been early evidence that their World Cup success wasn’t a flash in the pan, as they landed a 3-1 home win against Ecuador at the CommBank Stadium on Friday morning. Australia was excellent in that fixture, with Jackson Irvine, Awer Mabil, and Gerrang Kuol finding the net.
Ecuador had levelled the scores after 23 minutes through Felix Torres, but they were wasteful in the final third of the field. The South American nation registered more shots than Australia in the defeat, and dominated the possession with 64% of the ball. However, they registered a single shot less on target compared to the hosts.
Ecuador was certainly one of the unfortunate nations at the World Cup at the end of last year, as they crashed out despite suffering just one defeat. In the group stage, they held the Netherlands to a draw, while they also managed to land a straightforward win in the opening match of the tournament against Qatar.
Australia vs Ecuador Head to Head
The meeting between the nations last week was only the second time that Australia and Ecuador had clashed in an international fixture. The only other meeting between the sides came back in March 2014, with Ecuador picking up a 4-3 win away from home.
Australia vs Ecuador Prediction
Australia was excellent in their first match since the World Cup last week, and it could be hard to bet against them repeating that feat when they clash on Tuesday morning. However, an interesting bet may be on over 2.5 goals, given that the previous two encounters have seen a total of eleven goals scored.
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