Australia vs Lebanon Prediction: Socceroos to keep perfect record intact

Australia will look to keep up their 100% record in World Cup qualifying when they take on Lebanon at Western Sydney Wanderers' CommBank Stadium (Parramatta) on Thursday (KO, 09:10). The game is the first of a double-header between these sides, with the reverse fixture also taking place in Australia but at GIO Stadium in Canberra next Tuesday.

The Socceroos beat Bangladesh (7-0) and Palestine (1-0) in their first two matches of the Asian section of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying process, while Lebanon claimed a point against both. Below is all the latest team news and match odds ahead of this fixture, as well as our Australia vs Lebanon prediction.

Team News

A magnificent A-League Men's campaign for Central Coast Mariners has resulted in a first call-up for Josh Nisbet, who will be looking to earn his maiden Australia cap during this international window. Nisbet has been joined in the squad by Perth Glory striker Adam Taggart, who hasn't appeared for the national team since 2022.

Ajdin Hrustic (Heracles) is another notable inclusion after being named in a Socceroos squad for the first time since August 2023, and there are a number of UK-based players involved including Kusini Yengi (Portsmouth), Riley McGree (Middlesbrough), Cameron Burgess (Ipswich Town) and Harry Souttar (Leicester City).

Lebanon's squad is headlined by captain Hassan Maatouk (Ansar) who is his country's record appearance-holder (119 caps) and scorer (23 goals).

Bangkok United's Bassel Jradi, who scored the only goal of Lebanon's unsuccessful 2023 Asian Cup campaign in January, is also in the travelling party.

Match Odds

The two previous meetings between these nations - in 2012 and 2018 - have seen Australia win 3-0. A victory for the Socceroos on Thursday is priced at 1/8 and it's 5/1 for them to make it a hat-trick of 3-0 scorelines against the Cedars, who are as long as 14/1 to win in Parramatta.

The draw can be backed at 11/2 and it's 13/8 for both teams to score.

Australia to win and under 2.5 goals @ 11/5

It was a bit of a mad knockout stage at the 2023 Asian Cup for Australia, who beat Indonesia 4-0 in the round of 16 before losing 2-1 to South Korea after extra time. Their three group games before that are a better indicator of the real Australia, though.

Graham Arnold's side showed their typical defensive resilience as they beat India 2-0 and Syria 1-0. Not particularly eye-catching scorelines, but it got the job done for the Socceroos, who then drew 1-1 with Uzbekistan in their final group game.

Three of Australia's four wins heading into the tournament saw a maximum of two goals scored, meaning five of their last seven victories have seen the under 2.5 goals selection land.

I can see another 1-0 or 2-0 win for the Aussies on Friday; Lebanon are unlikely to test their defence much having failed to score in three of their last four games, but they've only conceded more than twice in one of those matches (0-3 v Qatar).

#PickYourPunt Craig Goodwin to score & BTTS - No @ 9/4

The Al-Wehda winger can always be relied upon for an important goal, particularly for his national team. Goodwin opened the scoring against France in Australia's first game of the 2022 World Cup and helped himself to a couple of goals at the most recent Asian Cup, striking as a substitute late on against Indonesia before starting against South Korea and bagging the first goal of the game.

It's difficult to predict exactly who will start on Thursday, especially as the teams play each other just days later, but in a squad lacking out-and-out wingers, Goodwin looks a good bet to start at the CommBank Stadium, and if he does, he'll fancy himself to net a fifth international goal.

Check out the rest of our Football Betting Tips here.