Australia's Mohamed Toure, 21, finds the back of the net with a slick finish against New Zealand.

Australia’s fate remains in their own hands and will be decided in June’s international window against runaway leaders Japan and Saudi Arabia Nothing lasts forever, especially in the capricious world of football. And after having results go their way so often during World Cup qualification, it felt inevitable that the whims of the footballing gods would at some point turn away from Australia. While Tony Popovic’s side did pretty much everything they could over the last week, smashing Indonesia 5-1 in Sydney before dispatching China 2-0 in Hangzhou, Japan did everything but score against Saudi Arabia in Saitama on Tuesday. That result ensures the Socceroos’ hopes of automatic qualification for the 2026 World Cup will go down to the wire in June. Continue reading...

The equation is simple for Australia after their 2-0 victory in China: win their next match and they’ll seal qualification for next year’s tournament.

Australia may now be in the driver’s seat, but the hard work is still to come. Here’s a look at how they performed in their World Cup qualifier against China in Hangzhou.

Nishan Velupillay adds to opener to secure 2-0 win in HangzhouVictory sets up showdown in Saudi in June Jackson Irvine further established himself as the face of the Socceroos, Nishan Velupillay netted his third goal in just his fourth senior international, and Australia weathered a second-half storm to take another step towards securing automatic qualification for the 2026 World Cup with a 2-0 win over China. Given that the worst part of it may have come 1,900km away in Saitama, where Saudi Arabia held Japan to a 0-0 draw to stay within touching distance in their qualification group, it was a decent evening for still undefeated national team boss Tony Popovic and his side at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium. Continue reading...

Jackson Irvine puts the Socceroos ahead in a crucial World Cup qualifier.