Australia vs Indonesia Prediction: Irvine to send Socceroos through in Doha

The knockout stage of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup starts on Sunday morning (KO, 11:30) as Australia and Indonesia face off at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha.

Australia beat India and Syria in their first two games of the tournament before drawing 1-1 with Uzbekistan to confirm their status as Group B winners.

Indonesia, meanwhile, qualified as one of the four best third-placed sides, courtesy of a 1-0 win over Vietnam in Group D, which was sandwiched by 3-1 defeats to Iraq and Japan.

Australia and Indonesia last met back in the 2010 Asian Cup, where the Socceroos emerged victorious with a 1-0 win.

Team News

Australia head coach Graham Arnold made a few changes for his side's final group game, giving Nathaniel Atkinson, Riley McGree and Kusini Yengi their first starts of the tournament.

Yengi could keep his place with Mitch Duke suffering from a hamstring issue while Atkinson should get the nod ahead of Gethin Jones at right-back.

Craig Goodwin is in contention to return after sitting out the Uzbekistan game with a knock, while Connor Metcalfe will hope to start after being utilised from the bench last time out.

Indonesia will be led by former Swansea City centre-back Jordi Amat, while Marselino Ferdinan is one to watch having found the net in their opener against Iraq.

Match Odds

Australia arrive into this tie as huge favourites to take the victory inside 90 minutes at 1/7, with Indonesia as long as 14/1. The draw, which would take the tie into extra-time, is available at 5/1.

Both teams to score is 6/4 and it's 11/8 for over 3.5 goals.

Australia to win and under 2.5 goals @ 9/4

Australia haven't been a great watch at the 2023 Asian Cup, but they've certainly been effective.

The Socceroos laboured to a 2-0 win over India in their opening fixture before making even tougher work of Syria, eventually beating them 1-0. Uzbekistan provided a sterner test than both, and Arnold's side had to settle for a 1-1 draw.

Those results were enough to secure top spot in the group, though, and it seems they always manage to do just enough to get the job done.

I see that being the case here - it might take a while to break Indonesia down, but Australia should eventually find the breakthrough, and then they will look to control the game and see it out for the remainder.

A 1-0 or 2-0 wouldn't be a surprise, with Indonesia only managing three shots against Japan, and their goal in that game was a mere consolation in the 91st-minute.

Jackson Irvine to score anytime @ 13/8

The St Pauli captain has been a reliable scorer for his nation from midfield, with 11 international goals to his name, and has already found the net twice in Qatar.

Irvine is reminiscent of Frank Lampard sometimes with his late runs into the penalty box, and he is a useful presence at set-pieces, which Australia are likely to have many of against Indonesia as the East Asian nation sit back and look to soak up the pressure.

Check out the rest of our Football Betting Tips here.