Part one complete as Tony Popovic’s Australia lock up World Cup berth
Sign up now: Get the biggest sports news in your inbox
Australia coach Tony Popovic celebrates with Joe Gauci after qualifying for the World Cup.
PHOTO: REUTERS
JEDDAH – Tony Popovic was already thinking about the improvements Australia needed to make for the 2026 World Cup soon after they sealed automatic qualification with a gritty 2-1 win in Saudi Arabia on June 10.
He took over as coach last September after the Socceroos made a poor start to the third round of Asian qualifying and has overseen five wins and three draws to book a ticket to North America.
“Very, very satisfying right now, I’m sure it’ll sink in as the days go by,” he said shortly after the final whistle at Jeddah’s King Abdullah Sports City.
“It’s been a very intense period since I’ve joined and I’ve loved it so far. We’ve done the first part, qualifying automatically, and now the next part is to be bigger and better for the World Cup.”
After beating Group C winners Japan 1-0 with a late goal in Perth last week, the Socceroos needed only to avoid a 5-0 loss to the Saudis to take their place in the Finals for a sixth straight edition.
They got the job done despite going a goal down in front of a hostile crowd, watching a red card for Saudi’s Ali Majrashi rescinded by the video assistant referee, and conceding a late penalty.
Goalkeeper Mat Ryan, who won his 100th cap, saved Salem Al-Dawsari’s penalty to ensure that goals from Connor Metcalfe and Mitch Duke either side of half-time would give Australia the points.
“To do it here in this atmosphere, you’ve got to deal with the weather as well, and it’s not easy to show that character resilience and quality, to come back and actually take the lead and win the game,” added Popovic.
“For Matty Ryan, his career speaks for itself and there’s a lot more for him to achieve... but it’s a day he’ll never forget.”
Former centre-back Popovic was a member of the squad that reached the last 16 of the World Cup for the first time in 2006, a feat matched by Graham Arnold’s team in Qatar three years ago.
The 2006 squad had flair as well as the famed Australian resilience, and the task for Popovic over the next year is to build a team who can play a bit as well as fight.
“We’ve built a good foundation now, and we want to really get better, kick on and try and do something special for the World Cup,” he said.
“We need to play games to keep improving, giving other players that deserve it an opportunity and then we want to be a squad that’s much better than what we are now. I think that’s the expectation we should have.”
Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, must instead make do with a place in the fourth round, alongside Indonesia.
In Group B, Palestinian hearts were broken when they conceded a penalty deep into injury time to draw 1-1 with Oman in Amman. The stalemate ended their hopes of a first appearance at the Finals.
Oman finish fourth and therefore advance to the next phase of qualification. REUTERS, AFP
