Precious few Australians know what it is like to experience joy at Saitama Stadium, Japan’s national footballing cauldron, just north of Tokyo.
Graham Arnold took the Socceroos there three years ago and fell short when a late own goal subjected them to a 2-1 defeat. Failure, too, greeted Ange Postecoglou before him in front of 60,000 droning fans.
But Mitch Duke knows what it’s like to win there. Sure, not in the green and gold of Australia, but the royal blue shirts of Machida Zelvia, the brash J.League upstarts who were promoted to the top tier for the first time this season and, to everyone’s surprise, remain very much a live chance of winning the title.
In May, Duke came off the bench against Urawa Red Diamonds, the club side that calls Saitama home on a week-to-week basis, and won 2-1. Two of his teammates are in Japan’s star-studded squad; on Tuesday, they will reunite there for a crucial World Cup qualifier, and the only people who seem to think the Socceroos can win it are themselves.
“It’s a great stadium and a great atmosphere and a great chance for us to shock the favourites, I guess,” Duke said of the Group C leaders, who sit five points clear of second-placed Australia after three of the 10 matches in this phase of qualification.
Australia’s Nishan Velupillay celebrates with Riley McGree after scoring in the 3-1 win over China on Thursday.Credit: Getty
“There’s an extra special feeling with me, because I do call Japan my second home. I’ve spent most of my career playing over there, so for me, it is a special game – and for me to make an impact, to be able to score a goal and help us win will be really, really good.”
Australia and Japan share a strong and mutually respectful rivalry. In truth, though, it is one-sided. The Socceroos have won only seven of their 27 meetings, but five of those victories came before the turn of the century. Since the famous Tim Cahill-inspired 3-1 win in Kaiserslautern at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, they have beaten the Samurai Blue just once in 12 meetings. And that was in 2009. They’ve never won on Japanese soil.
“No one’s even mentioning the record,” Duke said. “I’ve not heard any of the boys or the coaching staff or anyone mention about our previous history. It’s about what we do on Tuesday.”
Mitchell Duke with Machida Zelvia coach Go Kuroda. They are still in the hunt to win the J.League title.Credit: Getty
The Socceroos put their terrible start to World Cup qualification behind them on Thursday night with a come-from-behind 3-1 win over China. Japan are, of course, streaking away on top of the group, which means the second direct spot on offer in this round for 2026 will probably be a straight shootout between Australia and Saudi Arabia, who meet for the first time next month in Melbourne.
That’s the critical game; this one, not so much. Most fans would be happy for them to escape from Japan with their dignity intact. Even a point would be gold for them. But try telling that to Duke, or any of his teammates, whose veins are coursing with a new sense of belief and confidence administered by their new coach, Tony Popovic.
They will not be parking the bus and playing for a draw – or so their rhetoric suggests.
“Once all the boys got together in camp, the boss got us together and started speaking about his expectations, what he wants out of the group, and what he wants us to do as individuals to prepare for games like that,” Duke said.
Craig Goodwin celebrates the Socceroos’ second goal against China.Credit: Getty
“And there’s no reason why we can’t beat anyone on our day. We need to have that belief, and that’s the approach. We’re not going to this with a point mentality, and just to not lose. We’re going there for the three points.”
Graham Arnold, of course, would have told his players the same thing. But Popovic may have provided them with the tools they need to actually bring those ambitions into this sphere of reality. It’s early days, but the way they set up against China – in a 3-4-3 formation with two inverted wingers – helped create visibly different patterns of play and some very promising combinations in central areas compared to Arnold’s previous reliance on long balls, diagonals and crosses.
It’s been a while since the Socceroos played with such attacking variation, but it’s one thing doing it against China and another against a team like the world No.16-ranked Samurai Blue. Then again, as the 2022 World Cup showed, this is a side that usually struggles against minnows but tends to rise to the level of higher-calibre opponents.
“We probably had a few wayward passes … which we can’t afford to give away to Japan, because they can punish you with their quality,” Duke said. “So we need to tidy those things up. But once those connections start to improve, our football’s only going to get better and better.
“When we start making them stick and everyone knows where they’re going to be, we can create a lot more chances. And for me as a striker, that’ll be brilliant, to try and get more chances like that as well.
“He’s had such a short time to instil this with the boys. Everyone’s taken that on board, really tried to do it. We stuck to it, even though we went 1-0 down – no one panicked, no one started just popping long balls. We believed in what we were doing, and we got the job done.”
Duke declared himself ready to back up his 90-minute shift against China, and an early fan of Popovic’s demanding style. The new boss is notorious for his finicky levels of attention to detail and emphasis on skinfolds and nutrition, and the environment around Camp Socceroo has changed dramatically. As an example, there used to be jars of lollies around the meeting rooms of the team’s hotel. Not any more.
“[He’s about] no slacking, and making sure that we take accountability for what we do, individually and collectively,” Duke said.
“And that could be small percentages of what you do either with your diet, your sleep, what you do on the pitch … and he’s also mentioned as well that he’s ready to take accountability if the standards are not up to scratch in whatever circumstance, not to be afraid to communicate that to him.
“The boys have to get on board, and if you’re not on board, then you’re not going to be around for too much longer – and that’s fair enough. If that helps us get results on the pitch, I don’t think anyone’s going to be complaining.”
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