It’s job almost done for the Socceroos.
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Saudi Arabia’s 2-0 win over Bahrain in Riffa on Friday morning means Australia will head to Jeddah knowing they can lose 4-0 and still automatically qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. That would see both sides sitting on +4 goal difference, but the Socceroos would be ahead on goals scored. A 5-0 defeat and it’s off to the fourth round for another crack at qualifying.
It would be an unthinkable outcome to throw it away from here, but seasoned Socceroos observers, who watched the team at any time in the period post their maiden FIFA World Cup appearance in 1974 through until that glorious night at Stadium Australia against Uruguay where a 32-year drought was broken in 2005, have seen the unthinkable plenty of times before.
Surely though football can’t be that cruel. A routine scoreless draw has never looked so good.
The victory over Japan should have the necessary belief flowing through the side. What it lacked in style it made up for in effectiveness. Aziz Behich’s 90th minute right foot rocket set off pandemonium on the field, touchline and in the stands. It felt like FIFA boss Gianni Infantino himself was about to walk out onto the pitch and hand every player and member of the coaching staff a plane ticket to somewhere in North America right then and there.
That scene wouldn’t have looked out of place. The reality on the morning after the night before though is that there is still work to be done.
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The emotion, as unbridled as it was – who will ever forget the sight of Socceroos coach Tony Popovic sinking to his knees with a mix of joy and relief coursing through him – will have to be put back in the bottle. Saudi Arabia won’t settle for being a bit-part-player in this final chapter. The answer to surviving this one last big test lies in what unfolded against Japan in Perth.
AZIZ BEHICH FINALLY THE HERO
Aziz Behich might’ve scored his first international goal in 13 years, but it’s not the first time the left back has had a high-profile chance to be a hero.
Rewind to the Round of 16 at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and Behich looked certain to score with Australia 2-1 down against Argentina in the 81st minute after a weaving run into the box. On that night a shot with that same right foot was miraculously blocked. This time fate was kinder.
“As soon as it sat and its come off my foot, I’ve felt it hit pretty nicely,” said Behich.
“I actually didn’t see the ball hit the net. I just kind of saw the crowd erupt and players start running everywhere and that’s when I looked at the goal.
“It’s right up the top that’s for sure.”
Behich might not have seen it hit the net, but Popovic did. His technical area afforded him the perfect view from behind.
“I could see the ball was going in as soon as it left his foot,” Popovic said.
Less than an hour after the euphoria settled the coaches mind turned to the desire it took, not just from Behich to produce a lung busting run to the top of the box that deep into the match, but his teammates as well.
“We had six players in the box, six players trying to score a goal.”
THE SUB-PAR FIRST HALF PERFORMANCE
The Socceroos’ desire can never be questioned, but post-game, no-one was operating under the illusion that this was a perfect performance.
Japan’s press was suffocating and for large parts of the first half the game more closely resembled the AFL’s Western Derby than a World Cup qualifier with the ball bouncing all over Perth Stadium. It was not classic football from either side and hardly the outcome expected from a squad, who in large part, had spent the last fortnight together at a camp in Abu Dhabi before the final few days of preparation in Perth.
“Of course we’ve had better games. We’ve played better and we can do better,” said Popovic.
The Socceroos tried to play through Japan’s press and stick to Popovic’s structure even under immense pressure.
“Their intent was there, but we couldn’t execute, or we couldn’t retain the ball, but we could see the intent.”
It was a reminder that this side remains a work in progress despite being at the pointy end of a World Cup Qualifying campaign.
POPOVIC’S SWIFT HALF-TIME FIX PAY OFF
Popovic walked to the dressing room at half-time under no illusions as to what needed to change. It wasn’t fine margins or a difficult problem to diagnose and the fact Japan hadn’t capitalised on their dominance made the route back into the contest a little easier for the Socceroos.
“We didn’t win a challenge; we didn’t win a second ball,” Popovic said.
“They were a lot tougher than us in the first half.”
The coaches’ actions were decisive. There was no waiting for the hour mark to see if things changed. Winger Martin Boyle and midfielder Ryan Teague came off and were replaced by Riley McGree and Patrick Yazbek.
The impact was instant.
McGree got the bouncing ball on the deck and retained possession, and Yazbek was all intent and energy in the middle of the park.
The Socceroos were back in the game.
“We just felt at half time we needed to change, we needed to get a little bit better in retaining the ball, but also better physicality in midfield,” said Popovic.
“When you can keep winning the ball you can keep your momentum going forward.
“You’re always hoping for the players that come on to have an impact.”
Popovic also sowed a seed; reminding a side who had just been forced onto the back foot in-front of more than 57-thousand fans in the biggest home qualifier of the campaign, that the next 45-minutes wasn’t about surviving, but looking for what could be one rare chance to score.
“One thing that the boss said at half-time was we still got to work hard, be tough to break down, but we’ll get our opportunity if we stick to our structure and get numbers into the box, and we’ll get one opportunity and we’ll take it,” said Behich who did just that.
McGree, who spent most of the season battling injuries at Middlesbrough in the Championship provided the pass that Behich would curl elegantly into the net. It was the final act of a tireless 45-minute spell for a player who was digging deep into the reserves.
“In all honesty, I was actually worried about him with about 15 to go,” said Popovic.
“I thought he was really looking fatigued, but then Riley shows that bit of quality that he has, that we really want to harness, and get him fully fit so that he can show that over a long period of time.”
BACKLINE PRODUCES STUNNING DISPLAY OF RESILIENCE
Japan had 13 shots on goal but just one on target.
Several others were heading towards goalkeeper and captain Mat Ryan, but the back three of Milos Degenek, Cameron Burgess and Alessandro Circati repelled attacking wave after wave from Japan who ended the match with 69% possession.
The technical ability of the Samurai Blue is among the best in world football but the defensive trio’s positioning, work rate and decision making was immense.
For Circati and Burgess it was an extra special night. Both grew up in Perth and Circati had 55 family and friends in the stands to see him play in a match few gave him a chance of being selected for after he ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee while training with club side Parma in Italy in September last year.
Remarkably, he returned from injury in just seven months, played Parma’s last two Serie A games of the season and helped save them from relegation.
His rehabilitation was gruelling. For six hours a day and six days week, Circati would push through the pain and frustration all with the goal of wearing green and gold against Japan in Perth in mind.
“It has been seven very hard months,” Circati said while barely able to hold back tears after the game.
“When you have an injury like this it is a bit of an unknown. You don’t know how you return back.
“Luckily, I feel better than before.
As for those closest to him who shared the journey back from the most serious injury of his young career.
“They all know their role and what they’ve helped me do. It’s all thanks to them as well.”
The tears could be held back no more from there. Who could blame him.
BEATING ANY JAPAN SIDE A MENTAL BOOST FOR SOCCEROOS
This was the Socceroos first victory over Japan in 16-years.
“We’ve done something special tonight,” Popovic said after the game.
It was Japan at far from full strength. The starting eleven had just 69-caps of experience and 40 of those belonged to Crystal Palace’s Daichi Kamada.
It mattered little to the Socceroos. This was about removing a mental blockage and proving a Japan is beatable.
“We said we want to be the squad that does that and yeah look it feels great,” said Behich.
“We’re always the underdog and always expected to lose but we always had belief within those four walls.”
Japan entered the contest riding a 21-match unbeaten streak in World Cup Qualifiers dating back to 2021. The Socceroos have put them on a pedestal; not as a team to idolise but a target to aim at.
The fact such an experimental Japan side performed so well is quite frankly a little scary and an ominous sign for the World Cup itself, but the confidence Australia takes away from this victory is invaluable.
“They are the best and we want to challenge them to be the best so we shouldn’t shy away from that and hopefully today we take a big step forward knowing we can beat Japan,” said Popovic.
“They know they’ve done something that hasn’t been done for quite a while and the part we keep telling them is there is a lot more growth and we need to get better if we want our expectations to be high. We don’t want to shy away from that.”
DEALING WITH THE EMOTIONAL ROLLERCOASTER
Refocusing the players mentally on finishing the job is now the biggest task facing Popovic and his coaching staff.
It feels like Australia has qualified for a sixth consecutive World Cup, but they haven’t.
To be able to lose 4-0 on Wednesday morning (AEST) and still qualify is a fittingly strange final hurdle to what, in large part, has been a bizarre campaign.
“We’ve still got another important game to go now away in Saudi and we want a good result there as well. This obviously is nice, but we want to be that team that has expectations of winning every game,” Popovic said.
Saudi Arabia manager Herve Renard, who masterminded their stunning come from behind 2-1 win over Argentina in the group stage at the World Cup in Qatar in 2022, will have no problem convincing his players another miracle is possible.
“We need to do a job in Saudi. We’re in a great position but we have to finish it off,” Popovic said.
“Emotions were obviously very high I think for many reasons. We know what we’re aiming to do is to get direct qualification, you’re playing the best team in Asia at the moment and when you win it so late you can’t script it better than that – although it’s obviously a nervous 90-minutes before it gets to that point.”
Another nervous 90-minutes awaits.
It’s all that now stands between the Socceroos and a first automatic qualification berth since the 2014 FIFA World Cup campaign.