When the Socceroos last played Indonesia back in September, the 19 shots on goal and 64 per cent of possession they achieved during the contest suggests three points should have been taken.

They were not and despite being away from home and near the start of the current qualifying campaign for the World Cup 2026, it was still a somewhat disappointing draw.

There were enough chances and moments created by the Australians to take the points yet Indonesia are a much improved side and used the conditions well to not only defy the Socceroos’ efforts at goal, but also manage to create danger at the other end on more than one occasion.

After opening the third stage of qualifying with a disappointing loss to Bahrain, things did look a little grim for the Aussies, especially considering the matches that were to follow and the quality of opponents they were to face.

A 3-1 win against China saw the ship righted, yet it was the 1-1 draw with Japan and the 0-0 stalemate with Saudi Arabia that had Socceroo fans believing again, as a few results also went their way elsewhere in the group.

Craig Goodwin of the Socceroos celebrates after scoring his teams second goal during the third round FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifier match between Australia Socceroos and China PR at Adelaide Oval on October 10, 2024 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Mark Brake/Getty Images)

By late November when the return fixtures came around and Bahrain were in the crosshairs, a win would have placed the Socceroos in a commanding position when it came to brisk qualification into the World Cup.

A 2-2 draw resulted in a valuable point, yet with Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away in June to round off the group stage and subsequently decide whether a top two position can be achieved, the two fixtures across the next week now loom as critical.

Indonesia will be the tricky and well organised opponent they have proven to be right across the group stage thus far and China, despite being handled well by the Australians the first time around, might be a different proposition on home soil in Hangzhou.

It is a quick turnaround for Tony Popovic’s team, with Indonesia the task at hand in Sydney on Thursday, before a trip to China and a Tuesday night fixture against the men in red.

Six points from the two matches would have the Socceroos and their fans cock-a-hoop heading into the final two games, with a win in either potentially securing qualification.

Three or four points would keep the team well in the hunt and anything other than that might have Popovic resigned to the fact that his team will have to move forward into another phase in order to find a way to North America 2026.

Popovic has certainly looked to the future and strangely the past when it comes to the selection of his squad.

Defensively, and without the services of Harry Souttar, Alessandro Circati and Jordy Bos, the coach has recalled Jason Davidson and Fran Karacic after long absences, whilst two locally based defenders could well be in for a stunning rise to the top in national colours and debut for the Socceroos against Indonesia.

Melbourne City’s Kai Trewin and Sydney FC’s Alex Grant are quality, yet along with a few other interesting decisions Popovic has made, potentially write some rather vicious headlines should things not go the Aussies way across the two games.

Nestory Irankunda has again been left out, as has Mitchell Duke, one of the more consistent and valuable members of the squad during the tenure of the previous coach and the selection of the promising Kusini Yengi, despite limited play in England after returning from injury, also has the media on call and musing around whether Popovic has pulled a few wrong reins at the selection table.

(Photo by Albert Perez/Getty Images)

The coach has backed Adam Taggart and Brandon Borrello up front, included Daniel Arzani off the back of some stellar recent play for Melbourne Victory, yet ignored Noah Botic, who could not have done more to impress Popovic than score 11 goals in the A-League to currently top the golden boot race for 2024/25.

Much will fall on the experienced heads of Aziz Behich, Jackson Irvine, Craig Goodwin and Martin Boyle, with the coach hoping to be able to build around them and find a balance on the pitch that will be required to break down Indonesia and then China.

If it all goes wrong, there will be serious questions asked around the men who were selected and those that were not.

Join The Roar on Thursday night at 8.10pm (AEDT) for live coverage of the clash with Indonesia.