An early Indonesian ambush nearly turned Asia’s World Cup Qualifying Group C on its head once again on Thursday night, but the Socceroos’ 5-1 win shows clear moments of progress for Tony Popovic.
Australia’s World Cup fate remains in its hands after Jackson Irvine’s brace, and goals to Martin Boyle, Lewis Miller and Nishan Velupillay, but if not for some Mat Ryan heroics, and a missed penalty, Australia could have been staring down the barrel within 10 minutes.
Playing at the Sydney Football Stadium for the first time since 2017, the Socceroos started with the familiarity of an away side with Team Garuda coming out of the blocks in a blistering start buoyed by a raucous noise from a large contingent of fans in red.
Indonesia’s Dutch boss Patrick Kluivert hailed his side’s opening; man-of-the-match Irvine praised the opponent’s onslaught as “the hardest I’ve been pressed in a home game in a long time”.
So what clicked after the side saw Kevin Diks’ penalty cannon off the woodwork, ensuring the Socceroos remained in second spot, a point ahead of Saudi Arabia after overnight results?
“They were absolutely flying through, there was no time on the ball in the middle of the park,” Irvine explained. “We had to control the second ball a bit better…and we started to get a hold of that as the game went on.
“Then it was about breaking that first line. As soon as we started missing the (defensive midfielders) and playing into the pockets – once we broke that pressure, it looked like we were going to score.”
He added: “It is a step in the right direction, but of course a lot to improve on. The reaction after a poor start; really pleased. We showed a lot of different elements to our game.”
Elements good, and elements to improve.
As mentioned, the start was terrible, but the character to regroup afterwards was impressive. At around 10 minutes, Irvine and Aiden O’Neill were finally able to commandeer some possession to settle the side down.
One terrific ball over the top pinned Indonesia down in their right corner and Aziz Behich triggered an aggressive press that helped the hosts switch gears. They didn’t really look back from there.
There were elements of genuinely excellent combination; Velupillay was often at the heart of it, confidence high with a licence to roam throughout the front third, buzzing thanks to Popovic’s backing.
Nishan Velupillay celebrates a goal during the round three FIFA 2026 World Cup AFC Asian Qualifier match between Australia Socceroos and Indonesia at Allianz Stadium on March 20, 2025 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)
The deflection for his clinical goal to make it 2-0 was fortuitous; the build-up was purposeful. Geria fed the ball to Martin Boyle, who linked with Adam Taggart. It cut Indonesia open seconds after the kick-off.
Some of Popovic’s squad – and team – selections raised debate amongst fans on social media but until Taggart and Boyle came off at the break as an injury precaution, they had all played their part in a front three all starting for the first time in this regime.
For a side that has struggled to be clinical in front of goal for years now, five goals after adversity is an undoubted positive, so too being ruthless from Craig Goodwin’s sizzling set pieces.
Towering defender Harry Souttar has usually been the main source for those types of goals, so while it was positive to see Miller – who had a very positive outing, winning the opening penalty as well – and Irvine cash in in the second-half in that area, Souttar’s absence in defence was felt.
Jackson Irvine of Australia celebrates scoring a goal with team mates during the round three FIFA 2026 World Cup AFC Asian Qualifier match between Australia Socceroos and Indonesia at Allianz Stadium on March 20, 2025 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
It will take time to acclimatise to missing the defensive talisman to long-term injury again, and Cameron Burgess, Kye Rowles and Jason Geria were all guilty of mistakes that led to either the missed penalty, or Indonesia’s 78th minute goal.
It wouldn’t have helped the fledgling trio that the Socceroos only had 39 percent of the ball on home soil.
Simply, both are areas Popovic will be trying to improve. As good a challenge as the improving Indonesian outfit presented, sterner challenges await.
“Defensively we weren’t great today. We were a little bit on edge, sloppy defending,” Popovic said.
Irvine added: “We want to be a team that controls possession far better than we did today.”
Popovic admitted he felt it was the first time that “this group is now starting to build into something that we’re trying to do”. Without having that base, it is possible they could have wilted or not found the attacking solutions after that harrowing start.
What he also has is his two talismen: Irvine and Ryan.
A midfielder captaining a Bundesliga side, and a captain now playing regularly and at his best in Ligue 1, they were, literally, the difference makers on Thursday night when it counted, continuing to set the standard for the squad to meet.
“What they bring, they’re robust. When you play 50-odd games a year; I could tell those guys to play as soon as they get off the plane,” Popovic gushed.
“Hopefully with this new group we can get more players in a bigger and better league when they’re ready to leave the A-League and they can start to get their 40-50 games under their belt, and when they travel, they find it quite easy.
“They know how to manage their bodies…you see the way Jackson plays, the way Maty plays, I would like to get a few more numbers amongst that.”
For now, they’ll be the first two on the team sheet when attention turns to facing China, in Hangzhou, on Tuesday night, with a spot at the 2026 World Cup still firmly in Australia’s hands.
David Weiner is the author of the young adults book The Goals That Changed Australia – Stories from the Biggest Stage on Earth. It is available as a book, e-book and now an audio book as well.
