LIVE: The Socceroos face New Zealand in a milestone match celebrating the centenary of the Australian national team – and doubling as the final home game for coach Graham Arnold’s men ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The Socceroos’ first ever match took place on June 17, 1922, losing 3-1 to New Zealand in Dunedin.
Following Thursday night’s clash in Brisbane, with kick-off set for 8pm AEST, the teams will travel to Auckland for a second match at Eden Park (1pm Sunday AEST).
This will be the first time the teams have met since a 3-0 win for Australia in Adelaide 11 years ago.
Overall, the teams have met 63 times, with the Socceroos winning 39 to New Zealand’s 13, with 11 games finishing in draws – and only two of them without goals.
Follow the action in the live blog below!
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As part of the celebrations of the centenary of the Australian national men’s team, Football Australia announced a Socceroos’ Team of the Century – a squad which includes two current internationals in captain Mat Ryan and midfield maestro Aaron Mooy.
The ceremonial team, partially voted by legions of Socceroos fans, also featured 75-year-old Guus Hiddink as coach – the man who ended Australia’s 32-year World Cup exile back in 2006 and guided the Socceroos to the final 16.
Current Socceroos coach Graham Arnold was Hiddink’s assistant then – and was also named as an assistant in the Team of the Century – and this week reunited with his former mentor in Brisbane.
Hiddink was brought in to help out Arnold’s Socceroos in their final preparations for the World Cup, with Arnold’s regular assistant coach Rene Meulensteen in Europe to scout France and Denmark this international window – two opponents Australia will face in Group D in Qatar.
“Guus will drive some strong messages to the players, today and tonight, about what he’s achieved, and what it takes to achieve success at a World Cup,” Arnold said earlier this week.
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TEAM NEWS
Arnold has named an unusually large 31-man squad for this final pair of fixtures, and is expected to name two very different starting XIs for each match. He hinted to media that he was planning on leaving ‘10 or 11’ players out of the trip to NZ for the second match – likely overseas-based players, allowing them to travel back to their clubs early and prepare for their domestic competitions, which resume next weekend.
That means that those players are likely to be preferred for tonight’s clash, with Australian-based players set to get their moment in the sun on Sunday. The Australian A-Leagues Men’s competition has not yet started, meaning Arnold is under no pressure to return his players to their club immediately.
The squad features seven uncapped players, including 18-year-old breakout star Garang Kuol, who has played just a handful of matches off the bench for Central Coast Mariners but is currently being watched by a host of Europe’s top clubs.
The other uncapped players are Cameron Devlin, Jason Cummings, Ryan Strain, Harrison Delbridge, Tyrese Francois and Keanu Baccus.
The squad is without Tom Rogic, who hasn’t played since his recent move to West Bromwich Albion, while recent Socceroos including Craig Goodwin, Nick D’Agostino and Jason Davidson were also omitted. Daniel Vukovic, Kenny Dougall, Gianni Stensness, and Callum Elder are also absent, as are centre-back duo Harry Souttar and Kye Rowles, both recovering from injury.
FULL SQUAD
Goalkeepers
Mitch Langerak; Andrew Redmayne; Mathew Ryan
Defenders
Nathaniel Atkinson; Aziz Behich; Harrison Delbridge; Milos Degenek; Thomas Deng; Fran Karacic; Trent Sainsbury; Ryan Strain; Bailey Wright; Joel King
Midfielders
Keanu Baccus; Cameron Devlin; Tyrese Francois; Ajdin Hrustic; Denis Genreau; Jackson Irvine; Riley McGree; Connor Metcalfe; Aaron Mooy
Forwards
Jason Cummings; Martin Boyle; Garang Kuol; Mathew Leckie; Awer Mabil; Adam Taggart; Marco Tilio; Mitchell Duke; Jamie Maclaren
LIVE BLOG
Follow the action in the live blog below! If you can’t see the blog, click here.
Socceroos vs New Zealand All Whites
Date: Thursday, 22 September 2022
Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Kick-off: 8.00pm AEST
