Socceroos secure a place at the 2026 World Cup following victory against Saudi Arabia
The Socceroos have qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup after beating Saudi Arabia 2-1.
It'll be their sixth straight World Cup appearance.
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West Australian
2 hours ago
- West Australian
Cheika's secret as glorious farewell beckons
Michael Cheika wants his Leicester players to trust each other one more time and finish their season journey together with victory over Bath in the Gallagher Premiership final, which will be his last match in charge. Australian Cheika will leave the Tigers at the end of his one-year contract, with former Leicester player Geoff Parling set to take charge in the summer. Cheika - who guided the Wallabies to the 2015 World Cup final and then took Argentina into the last four two years ago - has been credited with transforming the mentality of a Leicester squad who finished eighth in the 2023-24 campaign. The 58-year-old, though, maintains the Tigers' progress this season - finishing second in the table and then beating Sale in the play-off semi-finals - is very much down to a collective effort. "That is a really fundamental part of building teams," said Cheika, whose Leinster side won the 2009 European Champions Cup before he then took the NSW Waratahs to the 2014 Super Rugby title. "First they have got to be able to trust each other - we have got to be able to have honest conversations and being prepared to have a fight with each other. "As long as it is a fight where you are going in the same direction, then you are trying to get the same thing done, that's okay. "Building up mentally is important and it is a continual workout - you have never arrived at the place you have got to be at, because every time you meet another challenge, you have got to then go and delve into that. "I have definitely learned a lot from them and I hope they have been able to learn a bit from me." Cheika added: "They are playing as part of a team, and in the team, those dynamics are extremely important. "We are going to need that on Saturday, because we are playing against the team that dominated the league and we need to find a way to master that opponent." Cheika, though, does not want his players turning up at the Allianz Stadium just to enjoy the occasion - which will be the last game before club stalwarts Dan Cole and Ben Youngs retire while Tigers captain Julian Montoya and South Africa fly-half Handre Pollard are also set to move on. "You work hard to get yourself in a position to have an opportunity at the title, so when it is there, you would be mad not to take it," Cheika said. "Together, we have built a good deal. We have improved our mental preparation and our the mental side of our game, the resilience or the grit that we have got in games. "But you are going to need more than just that as well - you need quality, you need all those things. "I suppose it is more just about being ready to balance out what is the emotional part and what is the technical part, and make sure you have got both of those clearly defined as to what their use is."
Perth Now
2 hours ago
- Perth Now
Cheika's secret as glorious farewell beckons
Michael Cheika wants his Leicester players to trust each other one more time and finish their season journey together with victory over Bath in the Gallagher Premiership final, which will be his last match in charge. Australian Cheika will leave the Tigers at the end of his one-year contract, with former Leicester player Geoff Parling set to take charge in the summer. Cheika - who guided the Wallabies to the 2015 World Cup final and then took Argentina into the last four two years ago - has been credited with transforming the mentality of a Leicester squad who finished eighth in the 2023-24 campaign. The 58-year-old, though, maintains the Tigers' progress this season - finishing second in the table and then beating Sale in the play-off semi-finals - is very much down to a collective effort. "That is a really fundamental part of building teams," said Cheika, whose Leinster side won the 2009 European Champions Cup before he then took the NSW Waratahs to the 2014 Super Rugby title. "First they have got to be able to trust each other - we have got to be able to have honest conversations and being prepared to have a fight with each other. "As long as it is a fight where you are going in the same direction, then you are trying to get the same thing done, that's okay. "Building up mentally is important and it is a continual workout - you have never arrived at the place you have got to be at, because every time you meet another challenge, you have got to then go and delve into that. "I have definitely learned a lot from them and I hope they have been able to learn a bit from me." Cheika added: "They are playing as part of a team, and in the team, those dynamics are extremely important. "We are going to need that on Saturday, because we are playing against the team that dominated the league and we need to find a way to master that opponent." Cheika, though, does not want his players turning up at the Allianz Stadium just to enjoy the occasion - which will be the last game before club stalwarts Dan Cole and Ben Youngs retire while Tigers captain Julian Montoya and South Africa fly-half Handre Pollard are also set to move on. "You work hard to get yourself in a position to have an opportunity at the title, so when it is there, you would be mad not to take it," Cheika said. "Together, we have built a good deal. We have improved our mental preparation and our the mental side of our game, the resilience or the grit that we have got in games. "But you are going to need more than just that as well - you need quality, you need all those things. "I suppose it is more just about being ready to balance out what is the emotional part and what is the technical part, and make sure you have got both of those clearly defined as to what their use is."
News.com.au
3 hours ago
- News.com.au
Craig Goodwin set for foot surgery ahead of Adelaide United's 2025-26 campaign
Returning Adelaide United star Craig Goodwin will have foot surgery next week to ensure he gives himself the best chance of being selected in Australia's squad for next year's FIFA World Cup. Goodwin, 33, is back for a fourth stint with the Reds after spending two seasons in Saudi Arabia with Al-Wehda. '(It) feels like I never left … I'm really looking forward to pre-season and linking up with the boys again,' the veteran winger said. However, before that, Goodwin will have a neuroma removed from his foot, with the recovery set to sideline him until the end of next month. 'It's an inflamed nerve in my left foot that I've been managing for the last three or four years, and the cortisone's no longer working, so I need to remove the lump, and it's a six-week recovery,' he said. The injury prevented him for being selected in Tony Popovic's Socceroos' squad for wins over Japan and Saudi Arabia in the past week that secured Australia World Cup qualification. 'It was somewhat disappointing to not be able to be involved … but now mentally I've got that focus on the 2026 World Cup and to try to get myself there,' Goodwin said. 'I know that international football doesn't come unless you're playing well at club level. 'He (Popovic) has made it very clear to any player that it's about playing regularly and playing your best football, 'He has shown by picking multiple A-League players that it doesn't matter whether you're playing here or abroad. 'I made the (Socceroos squad for the 2022) World Cup playing for Adelaide. I had a really good World Cup there (in Qatar) and a lot of my best football has come at Adelaide United, so I look forward to the challenge.' Goodwin was 'looking forward' to working under new Reds coach Airton Andrioli, the club's former youth team boss who has taken over the top job for Carl Veart, who wasn't offered a new deal. 'I've known (Andrioli) for a number of years. He coached me back when I was 13, 14 years old. He's done a great job with the youth team, he knows a lot of the boys, so it's an exciting time in this new phase to be able to link up with those younger players, and try to help them bring the best out of their performance. 'A change of coach has happened, and it's a little bit of a fresh start, not necessarily a full reset, but a transition phase in trying to go to that next level, develop those young players and really try to improve that mentality to believe that we're winners, and that we can win something. 'I'm here to win something with the Reds.'
