Socceroos beat Saudi Arabia to qualify for 2026 FIFA World Cup
The Socceroos are heading to the FIFA World Cup once again.
A thrilling 1-0 win over Japan in Perth last week all but sealed the deal for the Socceroos, and they did what they needed to do against Saudi Arabia on Wednesday morning (AEST) to grab the second quaranteed qualifying berth from Group C in the third round of AFC qualifiers.
Saudi Arabia needed to win by five goals to pull off a qualification miracle, but Australia secured a 2-1 victory to emphatically book their spot in next year's World Cup.
Saudi Arabia scored first through Abdulrahman Alobud in the 19th minute, but the Socceroos scored on either side of halftime to take the lead in Jeddah.
After surviving another scare less than 15 minutes later when midfielder Musab Al-Juwayr failed to convert a great chance, the Socceroos steadied to end any belief that Saudis had of winning by the margin required to qualify at Australia's expense.
Mitch Duke turned back the clock with a vintage display up front, setting up a goal with a lovely ball that Connor Metcalfe put in the back of the net.
Then immediately after the halftime break, Duke headed in a free kick to make it 2-1 and take any stress out of the game for Australia.
There were some bizarre scenes early in the second half when Saudi Arabia's Ali Majrashi was given a red card for bringing down Martin Boyle as the last defender.
But Majrashi didn't leave the field and after a lengthy VAR period, the red card was overturned and Saudi Arabia was allowed to continue with 11 men.
Saudi Arabia was awarded a penalty kick in the closing stages with the referee pointing to the spot when Jason Geria brought down Salem Al-Dawsari.
But replays appeared to show Geria won the ball in a legal challenge just outside the penalty box, before Al-Dawsari went down.
The penalty stood and in a moment of football karma, Socceroos goalkeeper Mat Ryan saved the spot kick in a stellar moment for the captain in his 100th game for the national team.
Ex-Socceroo Scott Jameson said on the ABC: 'Justice has been served.'
Ryan became the third player behind retired pair Mark Schwarzer (109) and Tim Cahill (108) to secure a century of caps for the Socceroos.
His penalty save was the icing on the cake for the Socceroos, who for the first time since qualifying for the 2014 World Cup didn't need to survive do-or-die playoffs to reach the tournament.
Staggeringly good window by the Socceroos. Performances far from perfect â€' but when the draw came out, these June games looked horrifying.
Time to pay some respect towards what Tony Popovic has achieved, and put faith in him to get it right again on the road to 2026.
— Vince Rugari (@VinceRugari) June 10, 2025
It was the Socceroos' first win over Saudi Arabia since 2017.
'I'm a bit disappointed with what Saudi Arabia have served up,' ABC commentator Ned Hall said.
'They really haven't done anything out of the box to shake up this match.'
Jameson added: 'Maybe they were resigned they were not being able to qualify and are looking to the next phase.'
It will be a seventh appearance at a FIFA World Cup for the Socceroos, and their sixth World Cup in a row. The Socceroos have now won their last four games and are unbeaten in their last nine matches.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be held in the USA, Mexico and Canada.
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