Tuesday, March 25, 2025
Year : 2, Issue: 30
Reuters: Australia took another stride towards qualifying for the 2026 World Cup on Tuesday with Tony Popovic’s side handing China a 2-0 defeat in Hangzhou as Group C rivals Saudi Arabia were held to a 0-0 draw by already-qualified Japan at Saitama Stadium.
South Korea’s struggles on home soil continued, meanwhile, as Hong Myung-bo’s side were held to a 1-1 draw by Jordan in Suwon in Group B.
The top two finishers in each of Asia’s three preliminary groups advance directly to the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico with the teams in third and fourth progressing to another round of qualifiers.
Australia made it six points out of six in the current window with victory over China as first-half goals from Jackson Irvine and Nishan Velupillay earned another Socceroos success following Thursday’s 5-1 win against Indonesia.
Irvine put his side in front after 16 minutes when he stepped inside onto his left foot to fire into the bottom corner beyond Wang Dalei. The Shandong Taishan goalkeeper was to blame for the visitors’ second 13 minutes later, fumbling Velupillay’s bobbling shot from the edge of the penalty area over his own line. The win moves Australia to 13 points from eight matches, consolidating their hold on second place in the group behind Japan and taking them three points ahead of third-placed Saudi Arabia.
