With a 2-1 victory over Saudi Arabia on Wednesday morning, the Socceroos qualified for their sixth consecutive FIFA World Cup.
It’s a year to the day until the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico begins, which means Socceroos coach Tony Popovic has 365 days to ready his team for their first match of the tournament.
So now Australia is guaranteed a start, here’s what you need to know ahead of kick-off.
Where is it, and who is playing?
The 2026 World Cup in North America will be the first tournament under the expanded format and will run for about five weeks from June 11 to July 19.
Previously, 32 teams have always competed for the title, but that will increase to 48 for the first time next year, and teams will compete across three nations and 16 cities.
Extra teams mean that qualification has become a little easier, but the Socceroos have qualified directly, which takes the pressure off the next few months.
The Socceroos after qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.Credit: Getty Images
Eight countries have so far guaranteed their spot at the 2026 World Cup – Australia, Japan, Jordan, Korea Republic, Iran, Uzbekistan, New Zealand and Argentina. The host nations are also guaranteed a spot, which means the United States, Canada and Mexico have also booked their tickets.
Qualifying is divided by confederation (decided by continent/location), with the AFC – the Asian confederation that Australia is in – the first to have multiple nations begin securing spots. Back in March, Japan were the first to secure a World Cup spot; European qualification only began that month.
Between now and March 2026 is when all the other confederations – South American (CONMEBOL), Europe (UEFA), North American, Central America, Caribbean (Concacaf), Africa, Oceania – will have settled their qualifying nations.
For countries that miss out, there will be inter-confederation playoffs for the World Cup’s final two places – those will also be played in March 2026.
What’s next for the Socceroos, and how have they fared previously?
The Socceroos have no upcoming matches, but that will change now they’ve secured their World Cup spot.
Between now and next June, Football Australia will look to secure friendly matches to get the Socceroos match-ready and give them plenty of minutes to gel together as a team.
Until then, players return to their clubs to compete as normal.
The 1974 Australian World Cup Soccer team.
The Socceroos made their first World Cup appearance back in 1974, where the group of amateurs managed to pull off a scoreless draw against Chile.
Australia didn’t make it past the group stages in that first World Cup in West Germany, and it was a long time before the Socceroos were back in the tournament, missing the next seven World Cups.
However, the Socceroos made their World Cup comeback in Germany 2006, which would end up being their equal-best performance.
Australia, with the likes of Tim Cahill, John Aloisi, Harry Kewell and Mark Schwarzer, managed to progress to the round of 16. Popovic, the current Australian coach, was also in that team.
Harry Kewell celebrates the goal against Croatia that effectively put Australia through to the knock-out stage in 2006.Credit: Vince Caligiuri
The Socceroos would go on to be eliminated in the group stages of the 2010, 2014 and 2018 World Cups, but their appearances at the tournaments marked a consistency in Australian football that hadn’t been seen before.
At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Australia managed to equal their best performance after progressing past the group stages, despite having a tough group with France, Denmark and Tunisia. However, the Australian team bowed out of the tournament with a 2-1 loss to eventual champions, Argentina.
Since taking over from Graham Arnold, Popovic has so far enjoyed a great record with the Australian team.
When do tickets go on sale?
As with all World Cups, ticket access is limited.
Tickets are distributed through a ballot system to ensure fairness and transparency.
At this point, you can’t secure tickets, but you can register your interest at the FIFA website.
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