Socceroos earn direct qualification for 2026 World Cup beating Saudi

The Socceroos are going to a sixth straight FIFA World Cup after sealing qualification with a 2-1 win over Saudi Arabia in Jeddah*.

The Australians had all but booked their spot in next year’s tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada following last Thursday night’s 1-0 win over Japan in Perth.

Despite beating Bahrain 2-0 last Friday morning (AEST), the Saudis still needed to defeat the Socceroos by five goals to grab the second guaranteed qualifying berth from Group C in the third round of AFC qualifiers.

And a 19th-minute goal from winger Abdulrahman Al-Aboud gave the Green Falcons not only the lead but a glimmer of hope that a miracle was on the cards.

After surviving another scare less than 15 minutes later, when Saudi midfielder Musab Al-Juwayr failed to convert a great chance, the Socceroos steadied, ending any belief that the Saudis had of winning by the margin needed to qualify ahead of the Aussies.

Goals either side of halftime from midfielder Connor Metcalfe and striker Mitch Duke silenced the crowd and left no doubt that the Socceroos were on their way to another World Cup.

The Saudis had a chance to equalise from the penalty spot in the 85th minute after a controversial* decision to award a foul against Socceroos defender Jason Geria for a challenge on winger Salem Al-Dawsari.

However, fittingly, in his 100th appearance for the national team, Australia’s captain and goalkeeper Mat Ryan saved the spot kick that was taken by Al-Dawsari.

Ryan became the third player behind retired pair Mark Schwarzer (109) and Tim Cahill (108) to secure a century of caps for the Socceroos.

His penalty save was the icing on the cake for the Socceroos, who for the first time since qualifying for the 2014 World Cup won’t need to survive do-or-die playoffs to reach the tournament.

“It just feels unbelievable,” Duke said.

“We didn’t get fazed by the one-goal deficit*, and we bounced back.

“It’s a game of big moments, and everyone stepped up when they needed to. It just feels so good.”

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GLOSSARY

• Jeddah: port city on the Red Sea in Saudi Arabia
• controversial: an issue, decision, speech, person or group causing disagreement or discussion
• deficit: when a quantity or quality of something or someone is less than needed or expected

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QUICK QUIZ

1. Which team scored the first goal in the match?
2. What was the final score?
3. How many goals did Saudi Arabia need to score against Australia?
4. Where and when will the World Cup be held?
5. What was so special about Socceroos captain Mat Ryan making a save in the 85th minute?

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Write down the key points from this Kids News article in short, succinct sentences:

Who:
What:
When:
Where:
Why:
How:
Possible headline for the article:

Time: allow 15 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Critical and Creative Thinking

2. Extension
Identify the most important pieces of information in this article and write a condensed version of it using 50 words or less.

Draw a picture or diagram to support your condensed news story.

Time: allow 25 minutes to complete this activity
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VCOP ACTIVITY
I’ve always wanted to know
If you had the opportunity to talk to one of the Socceroos and ask them five questions, what would you ask them?

Come up with five different questions. Challenge yourself to use different question stems (question openers words) to write your questions, and don’t forget to end with a question mark.