Summary
Australia started the year with a friendly against Bahrain in Abu Dhabi in preparation ahead of the 2023 Asian Cup taking place in Qatar. [1] Australia won the match 2–0 thanks to an own goal by Amine Binaddi and a goal by Mitchell Duke. Welsh youth international Gethin Jones made his debut for Australia, having been born in Perth. [2]
Australia opened their Asian Cup campaign against India, beating them 2–0 with Jackson Irvine scoring first and later Jordan Bos being subbed on and scoring his first international goal. [3] In the second match they beat Syria 1–0 thanks to another goal by Irvine, guaranteeing advancement to the knockout stage. [4] In the final game, Australia drew with Uzbekistan 1–1 to finish top of their group. Martin Boyle gave them the lead after converting a controversial penalty kick at the end of the first half and Azizbek Turgunboev equalised for Uzbekistan in the second half. [5] As the top team of group B, Australia were set to face one of the third-placed teams, with their identity only being confirmed at the end of the last group stage matches, as Oman were eliminated from the tournament and Indonesia took the spot in the round of 16 match against Australia. [6] While it seemed Australia would scrape through their first knockout match, they ended up beating Indonesia 4–0 to book a quarter-final spot with the first goal scored following a shot by Irvine being deflected off Elkan Baggott into goal and awarded as an own goal. The first half ended with Boyle scoring the second goal with a header. In the second half, Craig Goodwin and Harry Souttar added a goal each to set the final score. [7] A couple of days later, their quarter-final opponent was confirmed when South Korea beat Saudi Arabia in a penalty shoot-out after equalising in second-half stoppage time. [8] Australia lost the quarter-final match to South Korea 1–2. Despite leading for most of the match following Goodwin's first-half goal, South Korea equalised in a second consecutive match during the second-half stoppage time, with Hwang Hee-chan scoring a penalty kick. In extra time, their captain Son Heung-min scored a free kick to give South Korea the victory. [9]
Having won the first two of their 2026 World Cup qualifiers in the previous year, Australia resumed the campaign, hosting Lebanon at CommBank Stadium. [10] Australia won the match 2–0 with Keanu Baccus and Kye Rowles scoring their first international goals. [11] German-based John Iredale made his debut for the senior international side, coming on as a substitute in place of Duke. [12] The away leg against Lebanon was played in Canberra, following AFC approval, due to the Israel–Hamas war. [13] Australia won the match 5–0 thanks to a brace by Goodwin, an own goal by Bassel Jradi, and maiden international goals for Kusini Yengi and Iredale. Two youngsters, Patrick Yazbek and Josh Nisbet, made their international debut. [14]
In June, coach Graham Arnold selected a squad for the last two qualifiers of the group. After not playing for the Australia's senior squad and not being selected for the past few underage squads, Nestory Irankunda mentioned in a press conference that he's considering representing Tanzania or Burundi. [15] Following this he was selected for the squad, though sources at Football Australia claimed he was chosen before his announcement. [16] The away leg against Bangladesh was played at Bashundhara Kings Arena in Dhaka. Australia won the match 2–0 thanks to goals by Ajdin Hrustic and Yengi. [17] Irankunda made his senior international debut in the match and assisted the first goal. [18] In their last qualifying match of the group, Australia beat Palestine 5–0 to record a perfect 6 wins out of 6 games and top the group. In the match, Yengi scored a brace and Adam Taggart, Boyle, and Irankunda scored a goal each with the latter's goal being his first senior international goal. [19]
The third round of qualification for the 2026 World Cup started in September with a home match against Bahrain on the Gold Coast, which Australia lost 1–0 due to an own goal by Souttar after Yengi was sent-off with a red card in the 77th minute. [20] Five days later, they travelled to Jakarta, where they were held to a scoreless draw by Indonesia. [21] Following these two matches, Arnold decided to step down from the head coach role, claiming it was "time for a change." [22] A few days later, Football Australia announced Tony Popovic as the new head coach. [23]
Popovic's tenure seemed to be getting off to a bad start when Australia hosted China and Xie Wenneng gave the visitors the lead. However, Australia rallied with Lewis Miller scoring his first goal just before the half-time break. In the second half, Goodwin gave Australia the lead and Nishan Velupillay scored on his international debut to seal the scoreline 3–1. [24] In the second game, played in Saitama, Australia managed to draw 1–1 with Japan with Shogo Taniguchi's own goal being the first they conceded in nine matches. Unfortunately an own goal by Cameron Burgess levelled the scores. In the game, Luke Brattan made his first senior international appearance, making him the oldest debutant for the Socceroos. [25]
The following month, Australia hosted Saudi Arabia at AAMI Park in a match which ended in a scoreless draw, despite the visitors seemingly scoring in injury time, only for the goal to be overruled as offside. The match saw Anthony Caceres make his international debut. [26]
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