Summary
Australia opened the year sitting second place in their 2026 World Cup qualifiers group, with four games remaining. [1] They won their first match against Indonesia at home 5–1, with Jackson Irvine scoring a brace and Martin Boyle, Nishan Velupillay, and Lewis Miller scoring a goal each. Indonesia pulled one back through Dutch-born Ole Romeny. [2] The second match away against China ended with an Australian victory, with Irvine and Velupillay each scoring to ensure a 2–0 scoreline, while midfielder Ryan Teague made his senior international debut. [3] In their third match of the year, Australia hosted Japan in Perth, beating them 1–0 with Aziz Behich scoring his first goal in 13 years during stoppage time. [4] Optus Stadium was sold out for the game, with a record 57,226 fans marking the largest crowd since 2017. [5] The result placed Australia in second place in the group poised to qualify directly for the World Cup, with a loss by five or more goals to Saudi Arabia being the only possible scenario for them to miss out. [6] In the last match, Australia secured their place at the 2026 World Cup with a 2–1 come-from-behind win over Saudi Arabia in Jeddah. After Abdulrahman Al-Aboud opened the scoring for the hosts, Connor Metcalfe equalised with his first international goal and Mitch Duke scored the winner. [7] This marked the first time they qualified directly since the 2014 edition and their sixth consecutive qualification. [8]
Following their qualification for the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 2010, New Zealand proposed reigniting the Soccer Ashes series against Australia as part of their tournament preparation. [9] The 2025 edition of the series was confirmed in June, with two matches scheduled for September in Canberra at GIO Stadium and in Auckland at Go Media Stadium. [10] Australia won the home leg in Canberra 1–0, with Max Balard scoring on debut and Paul Izzo and Nicolas Milanovic making their international debuts too. [11] The return leg, away in Auckland, was also won by Australia with a 3–1 scoreline, with Australia retaining the Soccer Ashes with a 4–1 aggregate victory. Leading the way for Australia were former Adelaide United South Australian duo Mohamed Toure and Nestory Irankunda who scored a brace and a single goal. New Zealand only managed to pull one back with Chris Wood's goal. [12]
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