20 years ago, Australia claimed a first-ever win over England, beating the Three Lions 3-1 in a momentous night for football down under that quickly earned the Socceroos the moniker ‘Shockeroos’.
Two decades on, the Australians are out to repeat that iconic victory when they face world number four England at Wembley Stadium – one of the most famed venues in world sport.
England has not lost in six appearances since their quarter-final exit at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, while Australia – ranked 23 places below their high-flying rivals – have played four extremely tricky fixtures since their knockout loss to eventual champions Argentina in Qatar.
That included a rematch with Argentina and most recently a draw with Mexico last month, with Australia winning just one of those four matches (against Ecuador).
Now the Australians are out to repeat the magic of 2003’s win and claim just a second-ever win over England at the eighth time of asking.
Coach Graham Arnold said: “We aim to win. We’re not going out there to lose or draw the game, we’re going out there to win the game.”
The match kicks off at 5.45am AEST, with rain teeming down at a sold-out Wembley before kick-off.
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TEAM NEWS
England manager Gareth Southgate has fielded an experimental line-up, no surprise given they face Italy on Tuesday in a qualifier for next year’s European Championships, with a win guaranteeing England qualification.
Chelsea defender Levi Colwill starts at left-back for his debut, while just three England players have ten caps or more – Trent Alexander-Arnold, Jack Grealish and Jordan Henderson. In fact, just one England player – centre-back Lewis Dunk – also started their last match (a win over Scotland last month).
Australia has named a strong starting side, with Jackson Irvine recovering from an ankle injury suffered against Mexico last month to start.
Socceroos XI
4-3-3 (R-L): Maty Ryan; Ryan Strain, Harry Souttar, Cameron Burgess, Kye Rowles; Keanu Baccus, Jackson Irvine, Connor Metcalfe; Martin Boyle, Mitch Duke, Craig Goodwin
England XI
Sam Johnstone; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Levi Colwill, Connor Gallagher, Lewis Dunk; Fikayo Tomori, Jack Grealish, Jordan Henderson, Ollie Watkins, James Maddison, Jarrod Bowen
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