Australia vs China, 2026 World Cup Qualifying - AFC, Third Round
· FIFA World Cup Qualifying - AFCPopovic's Socceroos sink China to revive World Cup hope
New coach Tony Popovic has steered the Socceroos to a 3-1 victory against China to revitalise hopes of qualifying for the World Cup.
Game Information
Venue: Adelaide Oval
Location: Adelaide, Australia
Attendance: 46,219
Line-Ups
Australia (3-4-2-1)
| No. | Name |
|---|---|
| 18 | Joe Gauci (GK) |
| 19 | Harry Souttar |
| 4 | Kye Rowles |
| 2 | Thomas Deng |
| 22 | Jackson Irvine |
| 13 | Aiden O'Neill |
| 16 | Aziz Behich |
| 3 | Lewis Miller |
| 15 | Mitchell Duke |
| 11 | Nestory Irankunda |
| 23 | Craig Goodwin |
China (4-4-2)
| No. | Name |
|---|---|
| 14 | Wang Dalei (GK) |
| 16 | Jiang Shenglong |
| 2 | Jiang Guangtai |
| 4 | Li Lei  |
| 13 | Hu Hetao |
| 8 | Li Yuanyi |
| 6 | Wang Shangyuan |
| 10 | Wei Shihao |
| 20 | Xie Wenneng |
| 9 | Zhang Yuning |
| 17 | Fernandinho |
WCQ - AFC News
Two-time World Cup coach Takeshi Okada resigned as Japanese federation VP in protest over AFC support of FIFA during Gianni Infantino's re-election campaign.
Philippines have shown enough promise over the past two tournaments. They now need to show progress.
The Asian Football Confederation is set to introduce a Nations League competition, which will affect the qualification process for the World Cup and Asian Cup.
Football Australia has given an early thumbs-up to the AFC's proposed Nations League concept, with director Heather Garriock describing it as a 'great concept' to strengthen Asia's position in world football.
Three games in and now reunited with a former coach, Ilhan Fandi is satisfied with how life is going at the Sailors.