Sam Kerr is set to continue her rehabilitation from a long-term knee injury with the Matildas this week in Sydney after being cleared of further punishment by Football Australia for her drunken run-in with London police.
The equation is simple for Australia after their 2-0 victory in China:win their next match and they’ll seal qualification for next year’s tournament.
Australia may now be in the driver’s seat,but the hard work is still to come. Here’s a look at how they performed in their World Cup qualifier against China in Hangzhou.
Australia’s direct qualification hopes for next year’s World Cup will now come down to June’s clashes with Japan and Saudi Arabia after an important victory in Hangzhou on Tuesday night.
Socceroos star Milos Degenek insists he does not feel pressure heading into the team's crucial clash against China.
Gianluigi Donnarumma,who broke the hearts of Liverpool and England in penalty shootouts,suffered one of the most embarrassing goalkeeping blunders ever seen on Sunday night.
FIFA expanded the World Cup to 48 teams partly to give China a better chance to qualify. But unless they beat the Socceroos on Tuesday,they will likely fall short again.
Injuries to Adam Taggart and Kusini Yengi have further exposed Australia’s lack of quality striking options - an issue coach Tony Popovic probably can’t fix until after 2026 World Cup qualification is clinched.
Craig Goodwin is assessing his club options ahead of a likely move away from Saudi Arabia. On recent form,he could hold his own in a top five league in Europe.
Tony Popovic’s Socceroos are clearly a work in progress,as their first 15 minutes against Indonesia showed. But there is clear progress being made.
Tony Popovic’s Socceroos walked away with a solid victory against Indonesia at Allianz Stadium on Thursday night.