We’re deep into qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and football fever should be gripping Australia. It’s not, though, is it?
So long between games, Australia sitting in a false position in 2nd, but only one point above China in last place, with a squad that looks nothing like the group that headed to Jakarta back in September on the back of the horrific defeat to Bahrain on the Gold Coast.
Even the Melbourne Victory violinist playing AC/DC in front of a boisterous Sydney Cove couldn’t hide the fact that the home end had been infiltrated by hundreds of red shirts, and that this felt like a Socceroos away game in their own backyard.
The countdown to kick off was met by a massive roar from the Indonesia faithful, the Allianz Stadium away end packed with fervent fans in red, who set the scene with a rousing chant of ‘In-do-ne-sia’ as their team started the game on the front foot.
The noise when Mat Ryan tipped away a header from Jay Idzes in the fifth minute was incredible. Moments later, the A-League’s own Rafael Struick was upended in the box and the scene was set for Kevin Diks to stroke the ball home and send Indonesia into a priceless lead. When the ball smashed off the corner of post and bar, relief flooded around the stadium and the Socceroos had escaped the ignominy of going behind at home against a team they were expected to thrash.
Martin Boyle’s speed took him into the box and his deflected shot went fizzing past the post. Cries for a penalty followed as Lewis Miller appeared to be impeded in the box, and after the VAR check came up trumps, we had parity at one penalty each, albeit rather fortuitously.
The red bank of fans behind the goal were rightly vocal in their dissent, but Boyle sent Dutch goalkeeper Maarten Paes the wrong way, racing into the corner to celebrate. Better was to come moments later as Boyle chose the blind flick and the ball was brilliantly helped on to Nishan Velupillay via Adam Taggart, completely onside, and the Melbourne Victory striker made no mistake with the one-on-one to put Australia in the box seat. The away fans had the wind taken out of their sails, the only noise could be heard coming from the Socceroos fans and we were once again at a home game.
The away fans were just coming back to life, two goals down but still believing, when Lewis Miller got two bites at setting up play down the right, and Jackson Irvine got a second bite at finishing after Paes saved his initial shot, finishing in the top corner when a less composed midfielder would have blazed over.
This was becoming one-sided, despite Indonesia having bossed the opening stages, and Allianz Stadium became a peaceful haven, any early-game nerves settled and it was a case of how many, Australia being so efficient in front of goal.
It was party time from now on for the Indonesian massive behind the goal, having dared to dream but were now facing life under party boy Patrick Kluivert as one of the chasing pack in World Cup qualification. At halftime the visiting fans were standing hands on hips, wondering what had happened to their chances of qualifying for next year’s North American rodeo.
The halftime music spilled over into the start of the second half, and any impetus that the visitors hoped to project was stifled as the Socceroos controlled possession to take the sting out of the game. Calvin Verdonk hit a free kick into the wall and the screams from the red fans increased for the subsequent corner.
Miller headed a free kick out of Ryan’s hands to bring the noise to a crescendo and when Ole Romeny and Marselino Ferdinan combined to carve through the Socceroos’ defence there were screeches and cries from the crowd.
With Craig Goodwin and Brandon Borrello introduced at the break, there was little to cheer going forward for Australia until the two combined to raid down the right and only a smart save for Paes prevented Western Sydney’s marksman from adding to the home team’s lead. The fourth wasn’t far away, the corner finding Miller completely unmarked to plant his header into the net in front of the home fans. The contrast between his snazzy new fluoro shirt and the more golden egg-yolk shirts of the supporters behind the goal was stark, the uptake of the new lemon and lime playing strip of the Australian national teams not yet hitting the mark.
The break in play as the unfortunate substitute Sandy Walsh’s five minutes of action came to an end allowed the young Australia fans to lead a successful Mexican wave, a taste of what the World Cup will have in store in 2026.
The crowd was suitably amused, the contest now over, it was now time to give some more players a go, Velupillay replaced by club teammate Daniel Arzani and Miller being replaced by Fran Karacic. Indonesia pressed for a lifeline, but stray passes and increased energy from the hosts was making their task even more difficult.
Jason Geria was then turned inside out by Romeny, who was left with the whole goal to aim at and finished easily past the stranded Ryan. Even a VAR check couldn’t find anything wrong and the red army had their reward, a stark reminder for the Socceroos that they couldn’t switch off even for a second against any team in this wide-open qualification phase.
Eliano Reijnders almost took the roof off the stadium when his shot from right in front, after Romeny had again teased Geria on the left, was well-saved by Ryan. Borrello and Arzani fizzed around up front, Australia choosing not to commit to attack, but when Arzani won a corner, Cam Burgess slapped his defender around, leaving Irvine to thump his header unchallenged into the net for a fifth Socceroos goal.
Was this the perfect performance from Australia tonight? No way. However, to have won so convincingly in a qualification group with only one point separating the teams behind runaway leaders Japan was definitely a statement.
A smart shot from Karacic flashed past the post deep into added time, and the Socceroos tried to take the sting out of the game with the stadium fast emptying. The Indonesia team, taking a leaf out of the Philippines women’s national team and stacking their ranks with passport holders, applauded their fans at the south end of the stadium before embarking on a lap of honour to applaud the red shirts on all sides of the ground.
China away next week now looks like a very winnable game, and qualification is definitely in our hands. Do we dare to dream?
