Socceroos disappoint again in ‘mindblowing’ Cup qualifier

The Socceroos’ path to the 2026 FIFA World Cup has taken another hit with a deflating 0-0 draw with Indonesia.
Australia dominated possession with 63 per cent on Tuesday night, and had 19 shots, 32 touches in the opposition box, and 19 corners – yet could not find a solitary goal.
Teen wunderkind Nestory Irankunda rocketed a long-range strike which beat the goalkeeper but hit the woodwork, bounced back off the ‘keeper but still didn’t go in.
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The draw follows last week’s loss to Bahrain.
It leaves Australia with just one point – and no goals – from two games and needing to beat China in Adelaide on October 10 to solidify their spot in the top two of their Group C.
Japan is clear at the top after a 5-0 win over Bahrain that followed last week’s 7-0 thrashing of China.
China is in sixth and last place in the group after a last-minute 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia in Dalian despite taking an early lead and then playing most of the match against 10 men.
Australia is shooting for a sixth consecutive men’s World Cup appearance.
Coach Graham Arnold will once again feel the heat following the draw.
The Socceroos were expected to win both last week and on Tuesday, and could do neither.
Arnold made five changes to the starting line-up following last week’s shock loss to Bahrain on the Gold Coast.
“It was a vastly improved performance and the boys showed that,” Arnold said following Tuesday’s game.
“But extremely disappointed because how many chances do we create? How many chances do we get? And it’s been a common theme for over a year.”
Arnold blamed a lack of finishing polish rather than anything he did before or during the game.
He also said the five changes he made had worked well.
“I thought the boys did quite well,” he said.
“At the end of the day you come here, hostile crowd – I counted how many fans we had here, 14.
“The boys put in the effort. They all admitted their performance wasn’t good enough in the first game.
Harry Souttar of Australia heads the ball during the FIFA World Cup qualifer against Indonesia. Getty
“They are in there (dressing sheds), they are filthy about the result.”
Arnold admits the path to the World Cup is now much tougher.
“There’s eight games to go,” he said.
“Second spot is on four (points) at the moment, so it’s not like it’s a disaster.
“But I’ve got to go home and do a lot of thinking.”
There were more than 70,000 fans in the crowd in Jakarta.
Samuel Silvera of Australia fights for the ball. Getty