Superb Socceroos Sink Indonesia in Major Qualifying Win

Australia VS Indonesia    Livescore / H2H stats and Live Streaming
Time:20-03-2025 17:10 Thursday

The Socceroos took a significant step toward automatic World Cup qualification with a commanding 5-1 victory over Indonesia, marking the most emphatic win of the Tony Popovic era.

After a chaotic first 15 minutes, Popovic's team rallied at Sydney's Allianz Stadium on Thursday, delivering a punishing performance against the Indonesia side managed by Dutch legend Patrick Kluivert.

Martin Boyle opened the scoring with a penalty in the 18th minute, and goals from Nishan Velupillay and Jackson Irvine ensured a comfortable 3-0 halftime lead. Lewis Miller added a fourth, and Irvine capped off the night with a late header. Ole Romeny netted Indonesia's lone goal in the 78th minute, which was the only blemish on an otherwise stellar performance for Popovic's squad.


"Scoring five goals is always satisfying, especially at home and under pressure," Popovic said. "Achieving this is no easy feat, and tonight felt like we're building something special."

The victory reinforced Australia’s hold on the second automatic qualification spot in Group C, while Japan, who secured their World Cup finals berth with a 2-0 win over Bahrain, comfortably leads the group.

The sizeable win not only widened the gap over the four teams below them but also significantly improved Australia’s goal difference. However, the Aussies faced early pressure in front of a crowd of 35,241, many of whom were vocal Indonesian supporters.
Australia captain Mat Ryan made an impressive save, denying a header from Jay Idzes in the fourth minute. The Socceroos were then fortunate when Indonesian midfielder Kevin Diks hit the post from a penalty in the eighth minute, awarded after Rafael Struick was fouled.


"It was the hardest I've been pressed at home in a long time," said Irvine, who was named man of the match. "Once we broke that pressure, it felt like we could score every time we went forward."

Australia began to control the game and earned a corner in the 18th minute, with VAR revealing Nathan Tjoe-A-On had tackled Socceroos wing-back Miller in the box. Boyle converted the penalty, quickly followed by Velupillay's goal, which came after a defensive error from Thom Haye.

Velupillay's creativity sparked Australia’s third goal, scored by the relentless Irvine. After a shot rebounded back to him, Irvine found the net, extending the lead to 3-0.

Miller added a fourth with a header from a Craig Goodwin corner before Romeny pulled one back for Indonesia. Irvine, however, restored the four-goal cushion with a powerful header from a corner in the 90th minute.


The Socceroos now look ahead to their next match against China in Huangzhou on Tuesday, where another victory could bring them closer to World Cup qualification.