Socceroos taken from brink of disaster to automatic World Cup 2026 qualification

The Guardian

a day ago

What had once looked fanciful has now become a reality: the Socceroos have qualified automatically for the 2026 World Cup. For the first time in over a decade there will be no playoff heroics required, no ice cold hat-trick from Mile Jedinak or shootout dancing from Andrew Redmayne. After a 1-0 win over Japan in Perth and a 2-1 win against Saudi Arabia in Jeddah, Tony Popovic's team have done it the easy way, joining Iran, Uzbekistan, South Korea, Jordan, and Japan from Asian qualifying in North America next year.
Had this scenario been presented when the draw for this phase of qualification was made, few would have believed it. Not just because Australian football has bred its own unique brand of cynicism over the years, but also because the last two times Australia's men had been sorted into a group with Japan and the Saudis, they had been forced to settle for third place and further playoffs. There would have been even fewer believers to be found in the months that followed, when a loss to Bahrain and a draw with Indonesia marked a winless opening window, the departure of Graham Arnold and the hiring of Tony Popovic with just weeks to prepare for fixtures against China and Japan.
Perhaps it was that well-trodden cynicism rearing its head once more, but anything less than a win over China at that point – especially if it was followed by a heavy defeat away in Saitama – would have sparked existential fears for the Australian campaign. Not only would automatic qualification have all-but disappeared at that point, but the prospect of falling to the foot of Group C and being eliminated from qualification entirely, somehow conspiring to miss the gigantic safety net afforded by the expansion of the World Cup to 48 teams, would have come into focus. Needless to say, this would have proven cataclysmic.
Fortunately for those of a green and gold persuasion, this is a doomsday scenario that has now been consigned to the dustbin of what-ifs and alternative universes. Instead, after their wins over Japan and Saudi Arabia during this June window, the Socceroos remain undefeated under the charge of Popovic. A crucial 3-1 win over China and a 1-1 draw with the Samurai Blue during his first window in charge kickstarted a run of form that has seen them take five wins and three draws from the eight games of his tenure.
Brought in to stabilise a campaign that was teetering on the edge of disaster, the 51-year-old has delivered exactly what was asked of him when Football Australia turned to him in their hour of need. It often hasn't been via the prettiest of football. Sometimes it's been downright ugly. But to now, it's proven effective. Popaball does what it says on the can and, crucially, in the outcome-based world of international football, proves exactly what the side needed to do.
On a personal level, this will mean the world to the 58-cap Socceroo, the first member of the 'Golden Generation' to lead the team to a World Cup. The reverence with which Popovic speaks about the national team and being able to represent Australia stretches well beyond his tenure in charge and, while there have been plenty of highs over the years in his coaching career, it's doubtful any will have tasted as sweet as this.
On a historical level, Popovic is now the third successive Australian coach to guide the Socceroos to a World Cup. All of them built their reputations domestically – something which would have been considered scarcely believable during the side's 32-year absence. He, however, is the first to do so without the need for a playoff. Indeed, with more than a year until the World Cup begins, he'll be afforded more time to prepare for the coming campaign than any other coach in the side's history other than the late Pim Verbeek, and even then he will only trail the Dutchman by a few days.
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The importance of this cannot be underestimated. Now, with qualification in the bag, the likes of Jackson Irvine and Harry Souttar do not need to be rushed back for a tightrope of playoff games. Those such as Alessandro Circati, Mo Toure, and a rising generation of youth, as well as older players invigorated by the chance to play at a World Cup, can be tested and incorporated into the side in carefully planned and curated friendlies. Principles of possession, movement with and without the ball, and press resistance can also be refined, strengthening the hammer that goes with a stout anvil.
With the beginning now brought to a successful conclusion, Popovic can now plan for what's next.