It is do or die for both Cameroon and Australia in the first of the two Confederations Cup matches on Thursday when the two do battle in a crucial Group B clash in Saint Petersburg on Thursday afternoon.
Both sides lost their opening match of the tournament and they go into their second matches knowing full well if they lose here their competition will be over but a win would give them every chance of qualifying.
Cameroon
Although Cameroon lost 2-0 to Chile in their opening match I would think they wouldn’t be too unhappy with their performance. Of course they would have wanted a different result but in terms of the performance they had patches of the game where they were on top and if they could have taken the lead it might have been different.
If they are going to qualify for the next stage of this tournament then they are going to have to either be more ruthless on the counter attack or they are going to have to commit more men into the box to get on the good build up play that they are able to manage. The latter could leave them exposed at the other end though.
Australia
I would think the Australians would definitely be happy with their performance in their first match of the tournament. Although it is a weakened Germany side in this competition, Australia matched it and were on top at stages in the game but their brittle defence got exposed too often and that ultimately cost them.
One area where we know Australia have what they need is the attacking part of the pitch. To score two goals against any German side takes some doing and we shouldn’t deny them of the credit for doing so just because it isn’t the strongest Germany side. If they can find a balance between defence and attack they might be a decent outfit.
Team News
It remains to be seen what options Cameroon have if they want to change for this match. They won’t be able to call upon Ambroise Oyongo as he has been ruled out of the tournament with injury.
Australia left Tim Cahill on the bench to begin the match against Germany and he could be pushing for a start in this one. Celtic playmaker Tom Rogic will be one to watch for Australia.
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Betting
I mentioned in the first match Australia played in this tournament that they are an open side who look to get on the front foot and put pressure on the opposition in attacking areas and that was exactly how they played against Germany. I don’t expect that to change here.
Cameroon are likely to try and hit Australia on the counter attack so both sides should be able to play the style they prefer which I believe will mean we get goals. The way the group is set up with this being must win for both should see the match spark to life once a goal is scored and when the net bulges once I expect it to keep doing so for at least a couple more times.
Tips
Back Over 2.5 goals for a 4/10 stake at 2.00 with Betbright
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