Aziz Behich scores 90th-minute winner against Japan
The Socceroos have effectively punched their ticket to the 2026 World Cup after an Aziz Behich stunner in the 90th minute lifted them to a 1-0 win over Japan at a sold-out Optus Stadium.
In front of 57,226 fans on Thursday night, Australia looked disjointed and uninspiring throughout the match before Behich popped up for the winner in what was his first international goal in 13 years.
Riley McGree's angled cut back rolled tantalisingly untouched in the box, and Behich ran back and unleashed a right-foot strike while spinning his body to send the ball flying in for a goal.
Socceroos coach Tony Popovic exploded with emotion on the bench when the goal went in, with a flare set off in the crowd to mark the moment.
The result means the Socceroos (16 points, +8 goal difference) will lock in the second automatic World Cup qualifying spot from their group - barring a crazy big loss to Saudi Arabia in Jeddah next Tuesday.
Saudi Arabia (10 points, -2 goal difference) need to beat lowly Bahrain overnight to stay in the hunt to leapfrog the Socceroos.
Thursday's result marked Australia's first win over Japan since 2009.
Japan (20 points) entered Thursday night's match under no pressure to perform given they had already qualified for the World Cup as the winners of their group.
Regulars such as Kaoru Mitoma, Daizen Maida, Reo Hatate, Takumi Minamino, Ritsu Doan, Junya Ito and Hidemasa Morita didn't even make the trip to Australia, while stars Wataru Endo, Takefusa Kubo and goalkeeper Zion Suzuki were named on the bench.
Japan named three debutants in their starting XI as well as six other players with four or fewer international caps to their name.
Australia looked like they had stage fright in the first half, with basic errors and bad decision-making regularly plaguing them.
Japan enjoyed 70 per cent possession for the half, and they gave the Socceroos a big scare in the 28th minute when Yuito Suzuki surged forward and sent his shot just wide.
A goalkeeping error from Japan in the 48th minute gave Behich a sniff that he wasn't able to take advantage of.
But he made no mistake in the 90th minute, burying his chance to send the crowd into raptures.
The Socceroos have effectively punched their ticket to the 2026 World Cup after an Aziz Behich stunner in the 90th minute lifted them to a 1-0 win over Japan at a sold-out Optus Stadium.
In front of 57,226 fans on Thursday night, Australia looked disjointed and uninspiring throughout the match before Behich popped up for the winner in what was his first international goal in 13 years.
Riley McGree's angled cut back rolled tantalisingly untouched in the box, and Behich ran back and unleashed a right-foot strike while spinning his body to send the ball flying in for a goal.
Socceroos coach Tony Popovic exploded with emotion on the bench when the goal went in, with a flare set off in the crowd to mark the moment.
The result means the Socceroos (16 points, +8 goal difference) will lock in the second automatic World Cup qualifying spot from their group - barring a crazy big loss to Saudi Arabia in Jeddah next Tuesday.
Saudi Arabia (10 points, -2 goal difference) need to beat lowly Bahrain overnight to stay in the hunt to leapfrog the Socceroos.
Thursday's result marked Australia's first win over Japan since 2009.
Japan (20 points) entered Thursday night's match under no pressure to perform given they had already qualified for the World Cup as the winners of their group.
Regulars such as Kaoru Mitoma, Daizen Maida, Reo Hatate, Takumi Minamino, Ritsu Doan, Junya Ito and Hidemasa Morita didn't even make the trip to Australia, while stars Wataru Endo, Takefusa Kubo and goalkeeper Zion Suzuki were named on the bench.
Japan named three debutants in their starting XI as well as six other players with four or fewer international caps to their name.
Australia looked like they had stage fright in the first half, with basic errors and bad decision-making regularly plaguing them.
Japan enjoyed 70 per cent possession for the half, and they gave the Socceroos a big scare in the 28th minute when Yuito Suzuki surged forward and sent his shot just wide.
A goalkeeping error from Japan in the 48th minute gave Behich a sniff that he wasn't able to take advantage of.
But he made no mistake in the 90th minute, burying his chance to send the crowd into raptures.
The Socceroos have effectively punched their ticket to the 2026 World Cup after an Aziz Behich stunner in the 90th minute lifted them to a 1-0 win over Japan at a sold-out Optus Stadium.
In front of 57,226 fans on Thursday night, Australia looked disjointed and uninspiring throughout the match before Behich popped up for the winner in what was his first international goal in 13 years.
Riley McGree's angled cut back rolled tantalisingly untouched in the box, and Behich ran back and unleashed a right-foot strike while spinning his body to send the ball flying in for a goal.
Socceroos coach Tony Popovic exploded with emotion on the bench when the goal went in, with a flare set off in the crowd to mark the moment.
The result means the Socceroos (16 points, +8 goal difference) will lock in the second automatic World Cup qualifying spot from their group - barring a crazy big loss to Saudi Arabia in Jeddah next Tuesday.
Saudi Arabia (10 points, -2 goal difference) need to beat lowly Bahrain overnight to stay in the hunt to leapfrog the Socceroos.
Thursday's result marked Australia's first win over Japan since 2009.
Japan (20 points) entered Thursday night's match under no pressure to perform given they had already qualified for the World Cup as the winners of their group.
Regulars such as Kaoru Mitoma, Daizen Maida, Reo Hatate, Takumi Minamino, Ritsu Doan, Junya Ito and Hidemasa Morita didn't even make the trip to Australia, while stars Wataru Endo, Takefusa Kubo and goalkeeper Zion Suzuki were named on the bench.
Japan named three debutants in their starting XI as well as six other players with four or fewer international caps to their name.
Australia looked like they had stage fright in the first half, with basic errors and bad decision-making regularly plaguing them.
Japan enjoyed 70 per cent possession for the half, and they gave the Socceroos a big scare in the 28th minute when Yuito Suzuki surged forward and sent his shot just wide.
A goalkeeping error from Japan in the 48th minute gave Behich a sniff that he wasn't able to take advantage of.
But he made no mistake in the 90th minute, burying his chance to send the crowd into raptures.
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The Azzurri were under pressure from the start of their qualifying after failing to reach the last two World Cups. Winning the group is the only way to ensure direct qualification to next year's tournament in North America. The second-placed team goes into the playoffs - the stage where Italy was eliminated by Sweden and North Macedonia and ruled out of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, respectively. A four-time World Cup champion, the only other time Italy didn't qualify was for the 1958 edition. Italy host Moldova on Monday when Norway will be in action at Estonia. Croatia opened their qualifying with a 7-0 rout of minnows Gibraltar. Mario Pašalić and Ante Budimir struck twice for Croatia within two minutes to break the deadlock after half an hour. In the second half, substitutes Andrek Kramaric and Franjo Ivanovis scored a couple each and Ivan Perisic piled on. Croatia were runners-up in the 2018 World Cup and third in 2022. In the same Group L, Adam Hložek and Patrik Schick each scored as the unbeaten Czech Republic beat Montenegro 2-0 for a third straight win. Belgium were 1-0 up with a goal by defender Maxim De Cuyper but Ezgjan Alioski salvaged a draw for North Macedonia in a surprise in Group J. Wales top the group with seven points from three games after a 3-0 victory over Liechtenstein. North Macedonia are two points behind. Europe will have 16 teams in the expanded 48-team field for the World Cup. They will come from the winners of the 12 qualifying groups plus four from a playoff of the 12 group runners-up together with four best-ranked group winners in the Nations League that don't finish first or second in the qualifying. The group stage of European qualifying runs through to November. Erling Haaland scored as Norway humbled Italy 3-0 for the first time in 25 years in qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. Haaland collected a through ball from playmaker Martin Odegaard and rounded goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma in the box for the third goal three minutes before half-time on Friday. It was his 41st goal in his 42nd match for Norway to the delight of the spectators at Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo, including King Harald V of Norway. Haaland also scored when Moldova were beaten 5-0 and Israel 4-2. Norway remained perfect in qualifying after three games in Europe Group I. Striker Alexander Sorloth earlier received a precise pass from Antonio Nusa then beat Donnarumma with a left foot shot. Nusa, the 20-year-old attacking midfielder, was a constant threat to the Italian defence. He left behind two defenders and doubled the advantage with a rising shot from inside the area. Italy were missing some regulars for their first qualifying match, while others failed to impress, including Mateo Retegui, the best Serie A scorer. Defenders Alessandro Buongiorno and Mattia Gabbia, defensive midfielder Manuel Locatelli and forward Moise Kean were all injured while key centre back Francesco Acerbi, who was meant to mark Haaland, turned down his callup. Diego Coppola played centre back in the three-man defensive line used by coach Luciano Spalletti that was not able to stop Norway. In the other Group I game, Israel won in Estonia 3-1 for a second win and second place. The Azzurri were under pressure from the start of their qualifying after failing to reach the last two World Cups. Winning the group is the only way to ensure direct qualification to next year's tournament in North America. The second-placed team goes into the playoffs - the stage where Italy was eliminated by Sweden and North Macedonia and ruled out of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, respectively. A four-time World Cup champion, the only other time Italy didn't qualify was for the 1958 edition. Italy host Moldova on Monday when Norway will be in action at Estonia. Croatia opened their qualifying with a 7-0 rout of minnows Gibraltar. Mario Pašalić and Ante Budimir struck twice for Croatia within two minutes to break the deadlock after half an hour. In the second half, substitutes Andrek Kramaric and Franjo Ivanovis scored a couple each and Ivan Perisic piled on. Croatia were runners-up in the 2018 World Cup and third in 2022. In the same Group L, Adam Hložek and Patrik Schick each scored as the unbeaten Czech Republic beat Montenegro 2-0 for a third straight win. Belgium were 1-0 up with a goal by defender Maxim De Cuyper but Ezgjan Alioski salvaged a draw for North Macedonia in a surprise in Group J. Wales top the group with seven points from three games after a 3-0 victory over Liechtenstein. North Macedonia are two points behind. Europe will have 16 teams in the expanded 48-team field for the World Cup. They will come from the winners of the 12 qualifying groups plus four from a playoff of the 12 group runners-up together with four best-ranked group winners in the Nations League that don't finish first or second in the qualifying. The group stage of European qualifying runs through to November.
