Australia men's national soccer team

Early years

The first Australia national team was constituted in 1922 for a tour of New Zealand,^[6] which included two defeats and a draw. For the next 36 years, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa became regular opponents in tour (exhibition) matches.^[7] During that period, Australia also competed against Canada and India during their tours of Australia in 1924 and 1938 respectively.^[8][9] Australia recorded their worst ever defeat on 30 June 1951 as they lost 17–0 in a match to a touring England side.^[10] Australia had a rare opportunity to compete on the world's stage during the team's first major international tournament as hosts of the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. However, an inexperienced squad proved to be reason for the team's disappointing performance.^[11] With the advent of cheap air travel, Australia began to diversify its range of opponents.^[7] However, its geographical isolation continued to play a role in its destiny for the next 30 years.^[7] Australia won the 1967 South Vietnam Independence Cup against seven other nations, but this gained little recognition domestically.^[12]

After failing to qualify for the FIFA World Cup in 1966 and 1970, losing in play-offs to North Korea and Israel respectively, Australia finally appeared at their first World Cup in West Germany, 1974.^[13] After managing only a draw from Chile and losses from East Germany and West Germany, the team which was made up of mostly amateur players was eliminated at the end of the first round, finishing last in their group without scoring a goal. It would prove to be the only appearance for the Australian team until the World Cup tournament returned to Germany more than three decades later in 2006.^[13] Over a 40-year period, the Australian team was known for its near misses in its attempts to qualify for the World Cup; they lost play-offs in 1966 to North Korea, 1970 to Israel, 1986 to Scotland, 1994 to Argentina, 1998 to Iran and 2002 to Uruguay.

First successes and "golden generation"

The team's previously poor record in World Cup competition was not reflected in their reasonable performances against strong European and South American sides. In 1988, Australia defeated reigning world champions Argentina 4–1 in the Australian Bicentennial Gold Cup.^[14][15] In 1997, Australia drew with reigning world champions Brazil 0–0 in the group stage and then defeated Uruguay 1–0 in the semi-finals to reach the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup Final.^[16] In 2001, after a victory against reigning world champions France in the group stage, Australia finished the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup in third place after defeating Brazil 1–0 in the third-place decider.^[17] Australia defeated England 3–1 at West Ham United's Boleyn Ground in 2003 as Wayne Rooney made his international debut.^[18]

In early 2005, it was reported that Football Australia had entered into discussions to join the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and end an almost 40-year association with the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC).^[19] Many commentators and fans, most notably soccer broadcaster and former Australian captain Johnny Warren, felt that the only way for Australia to progress was to abandon Oceania.^[20] On 13 March, the AFC executive committee made a unanimous decision to invite Australia to join the AFC.^[21] After the OFC executive committee unanimously endorsed Australia's proposed move, FIFA approved the move on 30 June 2005.^[21] Australia joined Asia, with the move taking effect on 1 January 2006, though until then, Australia had to compete for a 2006 World Cup position as an OFC member country.^[21]

After a successful campaign, the team took the first steps towards qualification for the 2006 World Cup.^[22] After coach Frank Farina stood down from the position after Australia's dismal performance at the 2005 Confederations Cup, Guus Hiddink was announced as the new national coach.^[22] Australia, ranked 49th, would then have to play the 18th ranked Uruguay in a rematch of the 2001 qualification play-off for a spot in the 2006 World Cup. After a 5–0 friendly win against Jamaica,^[23] the first leg of the play-off tournament was lost (1–0), with the return leg still to be played in Australia four days later in Sydney on 16 November 2005.^[24]

The second leg of the qualifying play-off was played in front of a crowd of 82,698 at Stadium Australia.^[25] Australia led Uruguay 1–0 after 90 minutes following a goal by Mark Bresciano in the first half. The aggregate was tied, and extra time was played. Neither team scored after two periods of extra time, bringing the game to a penalty shootout. Australia won the penalty shootout (4–2), making Australia the first ever team to qualify for a World Cup via a penalty shootout.^[26] Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer made two saves, with John Aloisi scoring the winning penalty for a place in the World Cup, Australia's first qualification in 32 years.^[24]

Australia went into the 2006 World Cup as the second lowest-ranked side. Although their ranking vastly improved in subsequent months after a series of exhibition matches against high-profile teams, including a 1–1 draw against the Netherlands, and a 1–0 win at the sold-out 100,000 capacity Melbourne Cricket Ground against the then European champions Greece^[27] for the 2006 World Cup, Australia was placed into Group F, along with Japan, Croatia and defending champions Brazil. In their opening group game, Australia defeated Japan 3–1, with Tim Cahill scoring two goals (84', 89') and John Aloisi scoring one (90+2') in the last eight minutes. Their goals made history, being the first ever scored by Australia's men's soccer team in a World Cup and it was also the first victory of an Oceania team in World Cups, as well as all three goals being scored in the last seven minutes of the game, which was never before done in a World Cup match.^[28] Australia met Brazil in their second group game, which Australia lost to Brazil 2–0. Australia faced Croatia in their third match. The final score (2–2) was enough to see Australia proceed to the round of 16, where they were eliminated from the competition after a 1–0 defeat by the eventual champions Italy after conceding a controversial penalty in the 93rd minute.^[29][30] The loss marked the official end of Hiddink's tenure as Australia's national coach.^[31] The success achieved at the 2006 World Cup later saw the team named AFC National Team of the Year,^[32] as well as being dubbed the "golden generation" in the history of the Socceroos.^[33]

Later success

Led by coach Graham Arnold, Australia went to their first Asian Cup in 2007, sending a strong squad which included 15 players from the previous year's World Cup team. In Group A they played against Oman (1–1 draw), Thailand (4–0 win) and eventual champions Iraq (3–1 loss), assuring Australia's progression to the quarter-final stage of the tournament. Though after drawing 1–1 with Japan after extra time, Australia exited the tournament on penalties at the quarter-final stage. An international friendly on 11 September 2007 against Argentina (1–0 loss) was Graham Arnold's last game as head coach, with the position eventually being filled by Pim Verbeek on 6 December 2007.^[34]

Australia began their 2010 World Cup campaign in the third round of qualification, drawn into a group, composed of Qatar, Iraq and China PR, in which Australia finished first. Australia eventually saw progression through to the 2010 World Cup after comfortably winning the fourth round of qualification in a group consisting of Japan, Bahrain, Qatar and Uzbekistan.^[35] Australia's qualification was already assured before the final two games, finally topping its group ahead of Japan by five points.

Australia was drawn into Group D in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, which featured three-time world champion Germany, Ghana and Serbia. On 14 June 2010, Australia faced Germany. Pim Verbeek's surprising decision to play without a recognised striker saw Australia comprehensively defeated 4–0. Verbeek received heavy criticism for his tactics,^[36] with SBS (Australia's World Cup broadcaster) chief soccer analyst Craig Foster calling for his immediate sacking.^[37] Australia's second group match against Ghana resulted in a draw of 1–1, and their third and final group match against Serbia resulted in a 2–1 win. Ultimately Australia's heavy loss to Germany saw them eliminated in the group stage. Pim Verbeek completed his term as Australian coach at the end of the 2010 World Cup and was soon replaced by Holger Osieck.^[38]

In 2010, Australia qualified for their second AFC Asian Cup, topping their qualification group. A successful campaign at the 2011 AFC Asian Cup saw Australia become runners-up to Japan, after losing in the Final 1–0 in extra time.^[39]

In 2012, Australia agreed to compete in the East Asian Cup.^[40] Australia travelled to Hong Kong to compete in a series of qualification matches with the hopes of qualifying for the 2013 East Asian Cup. Despite handing several debuts and fielding an in-experienced squad, Australia was successful, finishing ahead of Hong Kong, North Korea, Guam and Chinese Taipei to progress to the 2013 East Asian Cup, where Australia eventually finished last behind Japan, South Korea and China PR.^[41][42] On 26 August 2013, Australia became full members of the ASEAN Football Federation^[43] but as part of their entrance agreement with the sub-confederation, their national team is barred from participating in the AFF Championship due to their perceived wide gap in playing standards between Australia and the rest of the region.^[44]

Australia's 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification began with a series of friendlies against the United Arab Emirates (0–0), Germany (1–2 win), New Zealand (3–0 win), Serbia (0–0) and Wales (1–2 win).^[45] Australia's World Cup campaign started in the third round of qualification, with Australia topping their group to progress to the fourth round. After winning their last fourth round-game, Australia finished as runners-up in their group, qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup on 18 June 2013.^[46]

Shortly after achieving qualification to the World Cup, Australia played a series of friendly matches against Brazil and France, suffering consecutive 6–0 defeats. This along with previous poor performances during the 2014 World Cup qualification campaign resulted in manager Holger Osieck's sacking, bringing his four-year tenure as Australia's manager to an end.^[47]

New generation: the 2015 Asian Cup triumph

After a two-week search for a new manager, Ange Postecoglou was eventually appointed in the position.^[48] Postecoglou was tasked with regenerating the Australian national team, which was deemed to have been too reliant on members of their Golden Generation of 2006, subsequently leading to a stagnation of results, culminating in successive 6–0 defeats to Brazil and France.^[49] In his first game as Australia's manager, a home friendly match against Costa Rica, Australia won 1–0 courtesy of a goal from Tim Cahill.^[50]

For the 2014 World Cup, Australia were drawn in Group B alongside reigning Cup holders Spain, 2010 runners-up Netherlands and Chile.^[51] Their first match was off to a lacklustre start, having conceded two goals in the opening 15 minutes from Alexis Sánchez and Jorge Valdivia. Despite a goal from Tim Cahill that inspired a late resurgence from Postecoglou's team, they ultimately lost to Chile 3–1. Their second match against the Netherlands was a close one, but their efforts ended in a 3–2 loss, thus earning their early exit along with the Spanish team. In the end, Australia finished Group B with a third, consecutive defeat to world champions Spain, 3–0. Australia's competitive World Cup performances in a difficult group lead to believe that a new Golden Generation was about to begin.^[52][53]

In their first international match proceeding the World Cup, Australia played World Cup quarter-finalists Belgium in Liège, with Australia going down 2–0. Four days later, Australia achieved their first international win in ten months, and just their second win under Ange Postecoglou, with a 3–2 victory over Saudi Arabia in London. After drawing against the United Arab Emirates, and suffering successive losses against Qatar and Japan, combined with previous poor results earlier in the year, Australia slipped to 94 and 102 in the FIFA World Rankings, their lowest ever ranking.^[54]

The new year saw Australia host the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, with the team making their third consecutive appearance in the tournament. Australia won their first two group matches against Kuwait and Oman comfortably, with scorelines of 4–1 and 4–0 respectively. This guaranteed their qualification for the knockout stage, despite losing their final group match against South Korea in Brisbane 1–0.^[55] They faced China PR in the quarter-finals and won 2–0, courtesy of a second-half brace from Tim Cahill. In the semi-finals, Australia won 2–0 over the United Arab Emirates and advanced to the final for the second time in a row. They faced South Korea in the final on 31 January at Stadium Australia, winning 2–1 after extra time to claim their first Asian title and qualify for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup.^[56][57]

After Australia qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Ange Postecoglou resigned from his position as coach;^[58] and former manager of the Netherlands national team, Bert van Marwijk, was subsequently appointed as his replacement.^[59][60][61] On 8 March 2018, after van Marwijk's first squad announcement, the FFA announced that Graham Arnold will take the coaching role from after the 2018 FIFA World Cup until the 2022 FIFA World Cup.^[62]

With van Marwijk, Australia was grouped with Denmark, France and Peru. The first match of Australia against eventual world champions France was praised by a valiant effort, in which Australia only lost 1–2 by a virtual own goal from Aziz Behich.^[63] After the defeat to France, Australia produced another outstanding performance, drawing Denmark 1–1.^[64] However, in the crucial match against already eliminated Peru, Australia lost 0–2 and crashed out from the World Cup with only a point, became the only team from the AFC to be winless in the 2018 FIFA World Cup.^[65] Subsequently, van Marwijk left his post and Arnold came to replace him as the new coach of the Socceroos.

Under Graham Arnold, Australia started their 2019 AFC Asian Cup in hope of defending the title, being grouped with Jordan, Syria and Palestine, but their hope was shattered by a shocking 0–1 defeat to Jordan.^[66] Australia soon returned to the race by beating Palestine 3–0^[67] before winning an important encounter with a hard-fought 3–2 win over Syria,^[68] eliminating both Palestine and Syria in the process. The win gave Australia to qualify for the round of sixteen, where they overcame Uzbekistan after winning on penalties 4–2, having drawn 0–0 for 120 minutes.^[69] In the quarter-finals, however, in the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, the place where Australia had lost their opening match against Jordan, Australia once again failed to register any win in the same ground, losing to the host United Arab Emirates 0–1 due to a mistake from Miloš Degenek, eventually failing to defend the title.^[70]

2022 World Cup resurgence

Australia took part in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification, which they entered in the second round, in which they faced Kuwait, Jordan, Nepal and Chinese Taipei.^[71] Australia dominated the group with eight wins out of eight to reach the third round, where it faced Saudi Arabia, Japan, China, Oman and Vietnam.^[72] After a good start with three straight wins over China, Vietnam and Oman, Australia then won only one game, against Vietnam, in their final seven games, being held thrice and losing thrice, finishing third in the group. It then had to rely on fourth round playoffs.^[73] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all of Australia's playoffs were centralised in Doha. The Socceroos began their quest with a 2–1 win over the United Arab Emirates, to face fifth place CONMEBOL qualification finisher Peru, a rematch of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.^[74] This time around, Australia held Peru goalless, before winning on penalties to make it to the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Australia was drawn in group D along with world champions France, Denmark and Tunisia.^[75] Australia's qualification also meant that the Asian confederation had the largest number of teams in their World Cup history, with six countries qualifying.^[76]

As preparation for the World Cup, Australia played two friendlies against neighbouring New Zealand, winning both games.^[77][78] It began its World Cup quest on 23 November against world champions France, losing 4–1 despite initially taking the lead with goal from Craig Goodwin.^[79] Three days later Australia registered its first World Cup win since 2010, overcoming Tunisia with a header from Mitchell Duke to seal a 1–0 win, sending Australia from bottom to second place.^[80] Four days later, against UEFA Euro 2020 semi-finalists Denmark, Australia won 1–0, thanks to a Mathew Leckie goal. Australia finished the group stage in second place behind France on goal difference, making Australia the first Asian representative to reach the knockout stage in Qatar 2022.^[81] Australia's resurgence in the group stage was widely watched and followed by Australian supporters. Mass celebrations occurred after the upsets over Tunisia and Denmark, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called it "magnificent".^[82][83][84] In the round of 16, Australia lost 2–1 to Argentina, with Lionel Messi opening the scoring and Julián Álvarez getting the second after dispossessing Mathew Ryan. Australia pulled one back when Goodwin's shot deflected into goal off Enzo Fernández and Garang Kuol almost scored the equaliser in injury time, but his shot was smothered by Argentinian goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez.^[85]

Media coverage

Australian matches are broadcast by Paramount+ and on free-to-air by Network 10.^[86]

Previous coverage has been provided by Fox Sports (2018–2021),^[87] Ten network on its 10 Bold channel, ABC,^[88] SBS until 2016 and Nine on its 9Go! channel (2016–2017).

The national team has set multiple ratings records for both subscription and free-to-air television. Australia's final 2006 World Cup qualifying match against Uruguay was the highest rating program in SBS history with an audience of 3.4 million viewers,^[89] while a 2010 World Cup qualifying match against Uzbekistan set a record for the highest subscription television audience, with an average of 431,000 viewers.^[90] The 2015 Asian Cup Final against South Korea had a total reach of 5.3 million Australians overall.^[91]

Kit

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Australia national soccer team kits.

Australia's first national kit, 1922

Australia's first kit was sky blue with a maroon hoop on the socks, the colours representing the states of New South Wales and Queensland, a look that was reminiscent of the Australian national rugby league team's strips of the period.^[92] They wore the predominantly light blue kit until 1924 when they changed to green and gold.^[93]

Australia has worn a yellow jersey, usually accompanied by green shorts, and yellow socks since the 1960s. The colour of the socks altered throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s from white to the same green as the shorts to the same yellow colour as the jersey. This peculiarity of the uniform refers to exactly the combination of colours used in it: although the country's flag has the colours blue, red and white, the selection uses shades of green and yellow. That's because, unlike many national teams, who base their colours on the flag, the Australian team uses as a base the colours of a typical plant in the country, the acacia, which has green leaves and yellow flowers.

Their current away kit is a turquoise shirt with a gold stripe on either side of the shirt, the coat of arms being on top of a navy background. It is accompanied by navy shorts (also containing the gold stripes) and turquoise socks. Australia's kits have been produced by manufacturers including Umbro, Adidas, KingRoo, and since 2004 by Nike.^[94]

Rather than displaying the logo of Football Australia, Australia's jersey traditionally features the coat of arms of Australia over the left breast. The team first wore the traditional green and yellow colours in 1924.^[95] Australia's 1974 World Cup kits were produced by Adidas as were all other national team kits in the tournament, with Adidas sponsoring the event. The kits, however, contained Umbro branding, due to the manufacturer's Australian partnership at the time.^[96] Nike renewed the kit manufacturer deal with FFA for another 11 years in 2012, handing them the rights to make national team kits until 2022.^[97] In the lead-up to the 2014 World Cup, the new kits to be worn by the team were revealed. The design of the new kits included a plain yellow shirt with a green collar, plain dark green shorts and white socks, a tribute to the 1974 Socceroos. Inside the back of the neck also had woven the quote, "We Socceroos can do the impossible", from Peter Wilson, the captain of the 1974 Australian team.^[98] This kit was well received.^[99] In March 2016, FFA revealed the new Socceroos kit, which featured a yellow jersey, yellow shorts and green socks. This was reportedly in accordance with a FIFA directive, instructing all national teams to have matching shirts and shorts.^[100][101] This kit was met with wide public contention, primarily due to the colour change of the shorts from the traditional green to yellow.^{[100][101][102][103][104]}

Kit suppliers

Nickname

Australia's nickname, "Socceroos", was coined in 1967 by Sydney journalist Tony Horstead in his coverage of the team on a goodwill tour to South Vietnam during the Vietnam War.^[106] It is commonly used by both the Australian people and the governing body, the FFA.^[107] The nickname represents a cultural propensity for the use of colloquialisms in the country. It also represents the Australian English use of the sport's name.^[108][109]

The name itself is similar to most other Australian national representative sporting team nicknames; used informally when referring to the team, in the media or in conversation. Similarly, the name is derived from a well-known symbol of Australia, in this case, the kangaroo. The words soccer and kangaroo are combined into a portmanteau word as soccer-roo; such as Olyroos for the Australia Olympic soccer team^[110] or Hockeyroos for the Australian national women's hockey team.

Rivalries

New Zealand

Australia's longtime rivals are trans-Tasman neighbours New Zealand.^[111] The two teams' history dates back to 1922, where they first met in both their international debuts. The rivalry between the Socceroos and the All Whites (New Zealand) is part of a wider friendly rivalry between the neighbours Australia and New Zealand, which applies not only to sport but to the culture of the two countries. The rivalry was intensified when Australia and New Zealand were both members of the OFC, regularly competing in OFC Nations Cup finals and in FIFA World Cup qualifications, where only one team from the OFC progressed to the World Cup. Since Australia left the OFC to join the AFC in 2006, competition between the two teams has been infrequent, with the occasional match still receiving much media and public attention.^[112]

Japan

After joining the AFC, Australia began to develop a fierce rivalry with fellow Asian powerhouse Japan.^[113] The rivalry began at the 2006 World Cup, where the two countries were grouped together. The rivalry continued with the two countries meeting regularly in various AFC competitions, including the 2011 Asian Cup final and qualification for the 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022 World Cups.^[114]

South Korea

Another major rival within Asia is South Korea, who Australia came up against in three World Cup qualification campaigns in the 1970s and, since joining the AFC, have met regularly including the victory by Australia in the 2015 Asian Cup final.^[115]

Uruguay

A rivalry exists with Uruguay since their first meeting on the eve of the 1974 FIFA World Cup. Both nations have faced each other in consecutive World Cup play-offs in 2001 and 2005 with each nation winning a playoff final each to progress through to the World Cup. Australia and Uruguay also faced off in the 1997 Confederations Cup in Saudi Arabia, with Australia progressing through to the final against Brazil via a golden goal winner from Harry Kewell.^[116]

Supporters

The main supporter group of the Australian national team is Australian Active Support (AAS).^[117] AAS, then known as Socceroos Active Support (SAS), was founded in January 2015 as an independent group,^[118] who uses social media to organise and keep in touch. This replaced the former active support group Terrace Australis,^[119] who were founded by Football Federation Australia and fans in 2013, during Australia's 2014 World Cup qualification campaign.^[120] Its establishment came in the wake of poor off-field action and minimal community engagement.^[121] Previously, the emergence of Terrace Australis saw the Green and Gold Army relinquish its role as a hub for active support, which it had claimed since its establishment in 2001.^[122][123] Since the 2015 AFC Asian Cup triumph, the supporters had encouraged people in Australia to focus more on the national team, and the nation's soccer pride.

Home stadium

Australia does not have a dedicated national stadium, instead the team plays at different venues throughout the country for exhibition or tournament purposes. In recent years, major international matches have usually been rotated around various large grounds, including Stadium Australia in Sydney, Hunter Stadium in Newcastle and Docklands Stadium in Melbourne. International matches have also been played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and Melbourne Rectangular Stadium in Melbourne and Canberra Stadium in Canberra.

Australia has played at the Gabba in Brisbane, which hosted Australia's first international match on home soil in 1923, a 2–1 win over New Zealand. It was the fourth Australian team match overall, with the first three internationals played in New Zealand.^[124] Other venues which regularly hosted international home matches included Olympic Park Stadium in Melbourne, the Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney Sports Ground, Sydney Showground, and Sydney Football Stadium in Sydney, and Subiaco Oval in Perth.

Games in England

Since the 2003 friendly against England, the Socceroos have also played a significant number of games in England, especially London, since a high proportion of the senior team play in European leagues. This includes games at Craven Cottage in Fulham (Fulham Football Club's home ground), Loftus Road in Shepherd's Bush (Queens Park Rangers' home ground) and The Den in Bermondsey (Millwall Football Club's home ground).

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win  Draw  Loss  Fixture

2023

Argentina  v  Australia

15 June Friendly	Argentina	2–0	Australia	Beijing, China
20:00 UTC+8	Messi 2' Pezzella 68'	Report		Stadium: Workers' Stadium Attendance: 68,000 Referee: Ma Ning (China)

Mexico  v  Australia

9 September Friendly	Mexico	2–2	Australia	Arlington, United States
21:00 UTC-5	Jiménez 69' (pen.) Huerta 83'	Report	Souttar 16' Boyle 63' (pen.)	Stadium: AT&T Stadium Attendance: 52,787 Referee: Rubio Vázquez (United States)

England  v  Australia

13 October Friendly	England	1–0	Australia	London, England
19:45 UTC+1	Watkins 57'	Report		Stadium: Wembley Stadium Attendance: 81,116 Referee: Stéphanie Frappart (France)

Australia  v  New Zealand

17 October Soccer Ashes	Australia	2–0	New Zealand	London, England
19:45 UTC+1	Duke 13'[125] Irvine 76'	Report		Stadium: Gtech Community Stadium Attendance: 5,761 Referee: Stuart Attwell (England)

Australia  v  Bangladesh

16 November 2026 World Cup Qualifiers Round 2	Australia	7–0	Bangladesh	Melbourne, Australia
20:00 UTC+11	Souttar 4' Borrello 20' Duke 37', 40' Maclaren 48', 70', 84'	Report		Stadium: Melbourne Rectangular Stadium Attendance: 20,876 Referee: Ahrol Risqullaev (Uzbekistan)

Palestine  v  Australia

21 November 2026 World Cup Qualifiers Round 2	Palestine	0–1	Australia	Kuwait City, Kuwait[a]
17:00 UTC+3		Report	Souttar 18'	Stadium: Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium Attendance: 14,537 Referee: Qasim Al-Hatmi (Oman)

2024

Bahrain  v  Australia

6 January Friendly	Bahrain	0–2	Australia	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
18:00 UTC+4		Report	Benaddi 36' (o.g.) Duke 61'	Stadium: Baniyas Stadium Referee: Mohamed Al-Harmoodi (United Arab Emirates)

Australia  v  India

13 January 2023 AFC Asian Cup group stage	Australia	2–0	India	Al Rayyan, Qatar
14:30 UTC+3	Irvine 50' Bos 73'	Report		Stadium: Ahmad bin Ali Stadium Attendance: 35,253 Referee: Yoshimi Yamashita (Japan)

Syria  v  Australia

18 January 2023 AFC Asian Cup group stage	Syria	0–1	Australia	Al Rayyan, Qatar
14:30 UTC+3		Report	Irvine 59'	Stadium: Jassim bin Hamad Stadium Attendance: 10,097 Referee: Adel Al-Naqbi (United Arab Emirates)

Australia  v  Uzbekistan

23 January 2023 AFC Asian Cup group stage	Australia	1–1	Uzbekistan	Al Wakrah, Qatar
14:30 UTC+3	Boyle 45+1' (pen.)	Report	Turgunboev 78'	Stadium: Al Janoub Stadium Attendance: 15,290 Referee: Yusuke Araki (Japan)

Australia  v  Indonesia

28 January 2023 AFC Asian Cup round of 16	Australia	4–0	Indonesia	Al Rayyan, Qatar
14:30 UTC+3	Baggott 12' (o.g.) Boyle 45' Goodwin 89' Souttar 90+1'	Report		Stadium: Jassim bin Hamad Stadium Attendance: 7,863 Referee: Mohammed Abdulla Hassan Mohamed (United Arab Emirates)

Australia  v  South Korea

2 February 2023 AFC Asian Cup quarter-finals	Australia	1–2 (a.e.t.)	South Korea	Al Wakrah, Qatar
18:30 UTC+3	Goodwin 42'	Report	H.C. Hwang 90+6' (pen.) Son 104'	Stadium: Al Janoub Stadium Attendance: 39,632 Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)

Australia  v  Lebanon

21 March 2026 World Cup Qualifiers Round 2	Australia	2–0	Lebanon	Sydney, Australia
20:10 UTC+11	Baccus 5' Rowles 54'	Report		Stadium: Western Sydney Stadium Attendance: 27,026 Referee: Khamis Al-Marri (Qatar)

Lebanon  v  Australia

26 March 2026 World Cup Qualifiers Round 2	Lebanon	0–5	Australia	Canberra, Australia[b]
19:45 UTC+11		Report	Yengi 2' Jradi 47' (o.g.) Goodwin 48', 81' Iredale 68'	Stadium: Canberra Stadium Attendance: 25,023 Referee: Mooud Bonyadifard (Iran)

Bangladesh  v  Australia

6 June 2026 World Cup Qualifiers Round 2	Bangladesh	v	Australia	Dhaka, Bangladesh
		Source		Stadium: Bashundhara Kings Arena

Australia  v  Palestine

11 June 2026 World Cup Qualifiers Round 2	Australia	v	Palestine	Perth, Australia
20:05 UTC+8		Source		Stadium: Perth Rectangular Stadium

Australia  v

5 September 2026 World Cup Qualifiers Round 3

Australia

v

Australia  v

10 September 2026 World Cup Qualifiers Round 3

Australia

v

Australia  v

10 October 2026 World Cup Qualifiers Round 3

Australia

v

Australia  v

15 October 2026 World Cup Qualifiers Round 3

Australia

v

Australia  v

14 November 2026 World Cup Qualifiers Round 3

Australia

v

Australia  v

19 November 2026 World Cup Qualifiers Round 3

Australia

v

As of November 2023^[128]

Position	Name
Head coach	Graham Arnold
Assistant coach	René Meulensteen
Assistant coach	Tony Vidmar
Goalkeeper coach	John Crawley

Current squad

The following 25 players were called up for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round matches against Lebanon.^{[129][130][131]}
Caps and goals correct as of 26 March 2024, after the match against Lebanon.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Mathew Ryan (captain)	(1992-04-08) 8 April 1992 (age 32)	93	0	AZ
12	1GK	Tom Glover	(1997-12-24) 24 December 1997 (age 26)	0	0	Middlesbrough
18	1GK	Joe Gauci	(2000-07-04) 4 July 2000 (age 23)	2	0	Aston Villa
2	2DF	Thomas Deng	(1997-03-20) 20 March 1997 (age 27)	4	0	Albirex Niigata
3	2DF	Nathaniel Atkinson	(1999-06-13) 13 June 1999 (age 24)	13	0	Heart of Midlothian
4	2DF	Kye Rowles	(1998-06-24) 24 June 1998 (age 25)	20	1	Heart of Midlothian
17	2DF	Joel King	(2000-10-30) 30 October 2000 (age 23)	4	0	Sydney FC
13	2DF	Gethin Jones	(1995-10-13) 13 October 1995 (age 28)	5	0	Bolton Wanderers
19	2DF	Harry Souttar	(1998-10-22) 22 October 1998 (age 25)	29	11	Leicester City
21	2DF	Cameron Burgess	(1995-10-21) 21 October 1995 (age 28)	8	0	Ipswich Town
5	3MF	Josh Nisbet	(1999-06-15) 15 June 1999 (age 24)	1	0	Central Coast Mariners
6	3MF	Patrick Yazbek	(2002-04-05) 5 April 2002 (age 22)	1	0	Viking
8	3MF	Connor Metcalfe	(1999-11-05) 5 November 1999 (age 24)	21	0	St. Pauli
10	3MF	Ajdin Hrustic	(1996-07-05) 5 July 1996 (age 27)	26	3	Heracles Almelo
22	3MF	Jackson Irvine	(1993-03-07) 7 March 1993 (age 31)	68	11	St. Pauli
	3MF	Keanu Baccus	(1998-06-07) 7 June 1998 (age 25)	18	1	St Mirren
7	4FW	Samuel Silvera	(2000-10-25) 25 October 2000 (age 23)	6	0	Middlesbrough
9	4FW	Bruno Fornaroli	(1987-09-07) 7 September 1987 (age 36)	7	0	Melbourne Victory
11	4FW	Kusini Yengi	(1999-01-15) 15 January 1999 (age 25)	6	1	Portsmouth
14	4FW	Adam Taggart	(1993-06-02) 2 June 1993 (age 30)	17	6	Perth Glory
15	4FW	Mitch Duke	(1991-01-18) 18 January 1991 (age 33)	39	12	Machida Zelvia
16	4FW	Brandon Borrello	(1995-07-25) 25 July 1995 (age 28)	11	2	Western Sydney Wanderers
20	4FW	John Iredale	(1999-08-01) 1 August 1999 (age 24)	2	1	SV Wehen Wiesbaden
23	4FW	Craig Goodwin	(1991-12-16) 16 December 1991 (age 32)	25	6	Al-Wehda

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up within the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Lawrence Thomas	(1992-05-09) 9 May 1992 (age 31)	1	0	Western Sydney Wanderers	v.  South Korea, 3 February 2024
GK	Ashley Maynard-Brewer	(1999-06-25) 25 June 1999 (age 24)	0	0	Charlton Athletic	v.  Palestine, 21 November 2023
GK	Andrew Redmayne	(1989-01-13) 13 January 1989 (age 35)	4	0	Sydney FC	v.  New Zealand, 18 October 2023
DF	Jordan Bos	(2002-10-29) 29 October 2002 (age 21)	13	1	Westerlo	v.  Lebanon, 21 March 2024 INJ
DF	Lewis Miller	(2000-08-24) 24 August 2000 (age 23)	6	0	Hibernian	v.  Lebanon, 21 March 2024 INJ
DF	Aziz Behich	(1990-12-16) 16 December 1990 (age 33)	69	2	Al-Nassr	v.  South Korea, 3 February 2024
DF	Ryan Strain	(1997-04-02) 2 April 1997 (age 27)	5	0	St Mirren	v.  Palestine, 21 November 2023
DF	Alessandro Circati	(2003-10-10) 10 October 2003 (age 20)	1	0	Parma	v.  Palestine, 21 November 2023
DF	Miloš Degenek	(1994-04-28) 28 April 1994 (age 30)	45	1	Red Star Belgrade	v.  New Zealand, 18 October 2023
DF	Gianni Stensness	(1999-02-07) 7 February 1999 (age 25)	2	0	Viking	v.  Argentina, 15 June 2023
MF	Riley McGree	(1998-11-02) 2 November 1998 (age 25)	25	1	Middlesbrough	v.  Lebanon, 21 March 2024 INJ
MF	Aiden O'Neill	(1998-07-04) 4 July 1998 (age 25)	13	0	Standard Liège	v.  South Korea, 3 February 2024
MF	Massimo Luongo	(1992-09-25) 25 September 1992 (age 31)	45	6	Ipswich Town	v.  Palestine, 21 November 2023 RET
MF	Alexander Robertson	(2003-04-17) 17 April 2003 (age 21)	2	0	Portsmouth	v.  New Zealand, 18 October 2023
MF	Denis Genreau	(1999-05-21) 21 May 1999 (age 24)	6	0	Toulouse	v.  Mexico, 9 September 2023
MF	Cameron Devlin	(1998-06-07) 7 June 1998 (age 25)	2	0	Heart of Midlothian	v.  Mexico, 9 September 2023
FW	Martin Boyle	(1993-04-25) 25 April 1993 (age 31)	28	8	Hibernian	v.  South Korea, 3 February 2024
FW	Marco Tilio	(2001-08-23) 23 August 2001 (age 22)	9	0	Melbourne City	v.  South Korea, 3 February 2024
FW	Jamie Maclaren	(1993-07-29) 29 July 1993 (age 30)	32	11	Melbourne City	v.  Palestine, 21 November 2023
FW	Awer Mabil	(1995-09-15) 15 September 1995 (age 28)	33	9	Grasshoppers	v.  New Zealand, 18 October 2023
FW	Mohamed Toure	(2004-03-26) 26 March 2004 (age 20)	1	0	Paris FC	v.  New Zealand, 18 October 2023
FW	Nicholas D'Agostino	(1998-02-25) 25 February 1998 (age 26)	3	0	Viking	v.  Mexico, 9 September 2023
FW	Mathew Leckie	(1991-02-04) 4 February 1991 (age 33)	78	14	Melbourne City	v.  Mexico, 9 September 2023 INJ

• ^INJ Withdrew due to injury
• ^RET Retired

Australia currently hold the world record for the largest win and the most goals scored by a player in an international match.^[132] Both records were achieved during the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification match against American Samoa on 11 April 2001. Australia won 31–0 with Archie Thompson scoring 13 goals and David Zdrilic scoring 8.^[132][133] Two days before the 31–0 win, Australia broke the record for largest win with a 22–0 win over Tonga.^[134] With 13 and 8 goals respectively, both Thompson and Zdrilic broke the previous record jointly held by another Australian, Gary Cole, who scored seven goals against Fiji in 1981,^[135] and Iranian Karim Bagheri, who also scored seven goals against Maldives in 1997.^[136]

As of 26 March 2024^[137][138]

Most capped players

Top goalscorers

Most clean sheets

FIFA World Cup

Australia's FIFA World Cup record												FIFA World Cup qualification
Year	Host	Round	Pos	Pld	W	D*	L	F	A	Squad		Pos.	Pld	W	D*	L	F	A
1930 to 1962		Not a member of FIFA										Not a member of FIFA
1966	England	Did not qualify										Final Round	2	0	0	2	2	9
1970	Mexico											Final Round	9	3	5	1	12	8
1974	West Germany	Group stage	14th	3	0	1	2	0	5	Squad		Final Round	11	5	5	1	21	10
1978	Argentina	Did not qualify										4th	12	6	2	4	20	11
1982	Spain											2nd	8	4	2	2	22	9
1986	Mexico											1st (PO)	8	4	3	1	20	4
1990	Italy											2nd	6	2	2	2	11	7
1994	United States											1st (PO)	10	7	1	2	21	7
1998	France											1st (PO)	8	6	2	0	34	5
2002	South Korea  Japan											1st (PO)	8	7	0	1	73	4
2006	Germany	Round of 16	16th	4	1	1	2	5	6	Squad		1st (PO)	9	7	1	1	31	5
2010	South Africa	Group stage	21st	3	1	1	1	3	6	Squad		1st	14	9	3	2	19	4
2014	Brazil	Group stage	30th	3	0	0	3	3	9	Squad		2nd	14	8	4	2	25	12
2018	Russia	Group stage	30th	3	0	1	2	2	5	Squad		3rd (PO)	22	14	6	2	51	18
2022	Qatar	Round of 16	11th	4	2	0	2	4	6	Squad		3rd (PO)	20	13	4	3	45	12
2026	Canada  Mexico  United States	To be determined										In progress	4	4	0	0	15	0
2030	Morocco  Portugal  Spain											To be determined
2034	Saudi Arabia
Total		Round of 16	–	20	4	4	12	17	37	—		6/15	165	99	40	26	422	125
Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks. From 1966 to 2006 played as a full member of the OFC Since 2010 played as a full member of the AFC

FIFA Confederations Cup

Australia's FIFA Confederations Cup record
Year	Host	Round	Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1992	Saudi Arabia	No OFC representative invited
1995	Saudi Arabia
1997	Saudi Arabia	Runners-up	2nd	5	2	1	2	4	8
1999	Mexico	Did not qualify
2001	South Korea  Japan	Third place	3rd	5	3	0	2	4	2
2003	France	Did not qualify
2005	Germany	Group stage	8th	3	0	0	3	5	10
2009	South Africa	Did not qualify
2013	Brazil
2017	Russia	Group stage	6th	3	0	2	1	4	5
Total		0 titles	4/10	16	5	3	8	17	25

AFC Asian Cup

Australia's AFC Asian Cup record												AFC Asian Cup qualification
Year	Host	Round	Pos	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	Squad		Group Pos.	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
1956–2004		Not a member of the AFC										Not a member of the AFC
2007	Indonesia  Malaysia  Thailand  Vietnam	Quarter-finals	7th	4	1	2	1	7	5	Squad		1st	4	3	0	1	7	3
2011	Qatar	Runners-up	2nd	6	4	1	1	13	2	Squad		1st	6	3	2	1	6	4
2015	Australia	Champions	1st	6	5	0	1	14	3	Squad		Qualified as hosts
2019	United Arab Emirates	Quarter-finals	7th	5	2	1	2	6	4	Squad		1st	8	7	0	1	29	4
2023	Qatar	Quarter-finals	6th	5	3	1	1	9	3	Squad		1st	8	8	0	0	28	2
2027	Saudi Arabia	Qualified										In progress	4	4	0	0	15	0
Total		1 title	5/19	26	15	5	6	49	17	—		—	30	25	2	3	85	13
Champions    Runners-up    Third place/semi-finalists   Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks. Red border colour indicates tournament was held on home soil. Australia played their 2007 matches in Thailand and Vietnam.

Summer Olympics

Australia's Summer Olympics record											Summer Olympics qualification
Year	Host	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA		GP	W	D	L	GS	GA
1908–1952	Did not participate
1956	Melbourne	Quarter-finals	5th	2	1	0	1	4	4		Qualified as Host
1960	Rome	Withdrew									Withdrew
1964	Tokyo	Did not enter								Did not enter
1968	Mexico City
1972	Munich
1976	Montreal
1980	Moscow
1984	Los Angeles
1988	Seoul	Quarter-finals	7th	4	2	0	2	2	6	8	6	2	0	18	4
1992–present	See Australia national under-23 team
Total		0 titles	2/17	6	3	0	3	6	10	8	6	2	0	18	4

OFC Nations Cup

Australia's OFC Nations Cup record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1973	Did not participate
1980	Champions	1st	4	4	0	0	24	4
1996	Champions	1st	4	3	1	0	14	0
1998	Runners-up	2nd	4	3	0	1	23	3
2000	Champions	1st	4	4	0	0	26	0
2002	Runners-up	2nd	5	4	0	1	23	2
2004	Champions	1st	7	6	1	0	32	4
2008–present	Not OFC member
Total	4 titles	6/10	28	24	2	2	142	13

AFC–OFC Challenge Cup

Australia's OFC Nations Cup record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
2001	Runners-up	1/2	1	0	0	1	0	3
2003	Did not qualify
Total	0 titles	1/2	1	0	0	1	0	3

AFF Championship

Since joining the AFF in 2013, Australia has never competed in this event.

Minor tournaments

Year	Position	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA
1922 Soccer Ashes	2nd	3	0	1	2	3	7
1923 Soccer Ashes	2nd	3	1	0	2	5	8
1933 Soccer Ashes	1st	3	3	0	0	14	8
1936 Soccer Ashes	1st	3	3	0	0	21	2
1948 Soccer Ashes	1st	4	4	0	0	17	0
1954 Soccer Ashes	1st	3	2	0	1	9	4
1967 South Vietnam Independence Cup	1st	5	5	0	0	15	6
1982 Merlion Cup	1st	4	4	0	0	14	2
1983 Trans-Tasman Trophy	2nd	2	0	0	2	1	4
1983 Merlion Cup	1st	4	3	0	1	10	5
1984 China–Australia Ampol Cup	2nd	1	0	0	1	2	3
1985 China–Australia Ampol Cup	1st	1	1	0	0	3	0
1986 Trans-Tasman Trophy	1st	2	1	1	0	3	2
1986 China–Australia Ampol Cup	1st	1	1	0	0	2	0
1987 President's Cup	2nd	3	2	1	0	2	1
1987 Trans-Tasman Trophy	2nd	2	0	1	1	1	2
1988 Australia Bicentenary Gold Cup	2nd	4	2	0	2	7	4
1988 Trans-Tasman Trophy	1st	2	2	0	0	4	1
1990 Independence Cup	1st	1	1	0	0	3	0
1991 Trans-Tasman Trophy	1st	2	2	0	0	3	1
1991 President's Cup	2nd	1	0	1	0	0	0
1992 Independence Cup	3rd	2	1	0	1	3	1
1994 Kirin Cup	2nd	2	0	1	1	1	2
1995 Trans-Tasman Trophy	1st	2	1	1	0	3	0
1996 Simba Cup	2nd	3	2	0	1	6	2
2000 Copa Ciudad de Valparaíso	4th	3	0	2	1	2	3
2000 LG Cup (UAE)	3rd	2	1	0	1	3	4
2001 AFC–OFC Challenge Cup	2nd	1	0	0	1	0	3
Total	14 titles	69	42	9	17	150	75

Last update was on 4 April 2024Source:^[139]

  Best Ranking    Worst Ranking    Best Mover    Worst Mover  

Australia's FIFA world rankings
	Rank	Year	Games Played	Best		Worst
				Rank	Move	Rank	Move
	24	2024		23	2	24	1
	25	2023	8	25	2	29	2
	27	2022	13	27	8	42	6
	35	2021	10	32	6	41	2
	41	2020	0	41	1	42	1
	42	2019	10	41	2	46	3
	41	2018	11	32	4	43	7
	38	2017	13	38	7	55	10
	47	2016	10	40	17	68	9
	57	2015	14	57	37	100	2
	100	2014	11	53	4	102	14
	58	2013	12	36	7	59	7
	36	2012	13	20	2	36	9
	23	2011	17	19	5	26	2
	26	2010	13	19	4	26	6
	21	2009	12	14	13	32	10
	28	2008	13	28	10	48	5
	48	2007	10	39	4	52	6
	39	2006	13	33	9	48	4
	48	2005	12	48	9	60	4
	58	2004	12	49	40	89	9
	82	2003	3	45	6	82	13
	50	2002	4	43	4	50	3
	48	2001	16	46	18	77	5
	73	2000	15	63	29	92	6
	89	1999	0	50		89	11
	39	1998	9	32	3	39	6
	35	1997	19	31	17	36	4
	50	1996	12	48	9	61	9
	51	1995	9	47	11	58	8
	58	1994	6	44	2	58	6
	49	1993	10	49	12	65	13

Major

• FIFA Confederations Cup
  • Runners-up: 1997
  • Third place: 2001
• AFC Asian Cup
  • Winners: 2015
  • Runners-up: 2011
• OFC Nations Cup
  • Winners: 1980, 1996, 2000, 2004
  • Runners-up: 1998, 2002
• AFC–OFC Challenge Cup
  • Runners-up: 2001

Other

• AFC Men's Team of the Year: 2006, 2015

Invitational Tournaments

• 1967 South Vietnam Independence Cup – Winners
• 1988 Australia Bicentenary Gold Cup – Runners-up

• Australia women's national soccer team
• Soccer in Australia
• List of Australian national soccer team captains
• Australia 31–0 American Samoa
• Trans-Tasman Cup

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Australia national association football team.

• Official website
• Australia at AFC
• Australia at FIFA