Socceroos closer to World Cup qualification with win over China

The Socceroos are within striking distance of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, after a 2-0 win over China in Hangzhou.

First-half goals from Jackson Irvine and Nishan Velupillay on Tuesday night were enough to secure the Australians back-to-back victories following last Thursday’s 5-1 thrashing of Indonesia in Sydney.

In the battle for the second guaranteed World Cup spot in Group C* of the third-round of AFC* World Cup qualifiers, the Socceroos have moved to 13 points, only behind runaway leaders* Japan, who have already qualified.

Australia is three points ahead of third-placed Saudi Arabia, who drew 0-0 with Japan in Saitama on Tuesday night.

Second spot will be decided in June’s international window, when the Socceroos meet Japan in Perth before playing against Saudi Arabia in an overseas match.

Australia will take plenty of confidence into those matches, having comfortably dealt with China, who failed to inspire in front of their home fans.

Melbourne Victory midfielder Ryan Teague was given his Socceroos debut* in one of three changes to the side that started in the win over Indonesia.

Teague came in for Belgium-based Aiden O’Neill, Western Sydney Wanderers attacker Brandon Borrello took the spot of injured Perth Glory marksman Adam Taggart, and Serbia-based centre-back Milos Degenek played instead of Kye Rowles.

The Socceroos took control from the start and should have gone ahead in just the fifth minute when a cross from Borrello found its way beyond the far post and into the path of teammate Martin Boyle.

However, Boyle failed to hit the target from close range.

But it didn’t take much longer for the Australians to grab a deserved lead, with the in-form Irvine adding to the two goals he scored in the win over Indonesia with another one in the 16th minute.

Irvine was named man of the match on Tuesday night and was a hero all over the pitch.

Irvine was rewarded for his perseverance. His first shot was blocked but after getting the ball back, he created just enough space to kick a curling left-footed shot that was too good for Chinese goalkeeper Wang Dalei.

A horror mistake from Wang led to the Socceroos scoring their second goal in the 29th minute.

The 36-year-old gloveman made a complete mess of attempting to save a seemingly harmless shot from Melbourne Victory star Velupillay, who made it two goals in two matches after also scoring against Indonesia.

The Socceroos seemed to be cruising to another win but China came out with renewed strength after halftime.

They pressured the Australians, who needed captain and goalkeeper Mat Ryan to make an impressive save to deny China substitute, the recently naturalised* Serginho, in the 54th minute.

However, having weathered China’s storm, the Socceroos comfortably closed out the match to end any hopes the hosts had of a top-two Group C finish.

POLL

GLOSSARY

• Group C: the group that Australia and China are a part of in the qualifying process
• AFC: Asian Football Confederation, where Asian countries, including Australia, are grouped together for the purpose of playing one another in order to determine who qualifies for the World Cup
• runaway leaders: a team that has a clear advantage or lead over others, making it very hard for other teams to beat them
• debut: first time playing for the team
• naturalised: became a citizen of China even though he was not born there

EXTRA READING
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Young Socceroos win Asian Cup
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QUICK QUIZ
1. What was the final score of the match played between the Socceroos and China?
2. Where was the game played?
3. Which team has already qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup?
4. What role did Chinese goalkeeper Wang Dalei play in the Socceroos’ victory?
5. Who scored Australia’s second goal of the match?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. What would you say?
Choose one of the events in the game that are included in the story. Imagine that you are a commentator for radio or a podcast. Your job is to describe what is happening in as much detail as you can for the people listening to you. You should also get your listeners excited about what is happening too. Write your detailed, exciting description.

Time: allow at least 25 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Health and Physical Education

2. Extension
Can you work out the steps that the Socceroos have to take to qualify for the World Cup from information in the story? Use information from the story to write a list of the steps to qualify. Use your research skills to see if you are right and add to your list. Then, think about your list. Do you think that this is a fair system? Write reasons why and/or why not.

Time: allow at least 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Health and Physical Education

VCOP ACTIVITY
Read with Kung Fu punctuation
Pair up with the article between you and stand up to make it easy to demonstrate your Kung Fu punctuation.

Practise reading one sentence at a time. Now read it again, while acting out the punctuation as you read.

Read and act three sentences before swapping with your partner.

Take two turns each.

Now ask your partner to read a sentence out loud while you try and act out the punctuation. Can you keep up? Swap over?

Try acting out two sentences – are you laughing yet?