Key events
58 mins: It’s not only the Socceroos defence that is due a breather. Indonesia midfielder Mees Hilgers takes a seat in the middle of the pitch looking in some discomfort. The stretcher comes out but he waves that away before walking off to be replaced by Sandy Walsh.
56 mins: The Socceroos have barely made their way out of the defensive half since the break. A long ball from Rowles gives them some respite.
53 mins: Romenij isn’t done yet as he bursts wide and swings a left boot to send a shot toward the far post. Australia captain Ryan quickly gets down low and holds onto the ball with his left mit. That should be a wake up call for the Socceroos, on the off chance they needed one.
52 mins: Another great save from Ryan! And another strong period for Indonesia comes to nothing. Miller almost heads the ball back into the net as Ryan comes off his line trying to clear a cross, but the keeper can’t get enough on the ball before it trickles wide of the post for a corner.
51 mins: Calvin Verdonk ends the long wait to take the free kick and its nothing but an anti-climax has he slams the shot into the wall. Corner for Indonesia.
49 mins: An innocuous bomb forward earns a free kick for Indonesia just outside the box. Cam Burgess was leaning over Ole Romenij but the Indonesian attacker seemed to instigate all the contact.
47 mins: Australia have swung a couple of changes to their attack with Craig Goodwin and Brandon Borrello entering the fray as Martin Boyle and Adam Taggart make way.
46 mins: The second half gets under way and just as they did about an hour ago Indonesia are immediately on the attack.
Australia have built their 3-0 lead off the back of their only three shots on goal, while Indonesia have had a couple of shots with one on target. Indonesia have perhaps played into the Socceroos’ hands by having 59% possession and giving the hosts space to run into.
Half-time: Australia 3-0 Indonesia
The Socceroos head down the tunnel in control of the game at 3-0 but there has been much less between the two teams than that score suggests. Indonesia made the early running and might have opened the scoring but for a sharp save from Maty Ryan and a mis-fired spot kick from Kevin Diks. Australia went on to make Indonesia pay a huge price for those missed opportunities as Martin Boyle nailed his own penalty after a sloppy free kick on Lewis Miller off a corner.
Young Socceroos attacker Nishan Velupillay then silenced any doubters over his place in the side as he ran clear and onto a long pass from Adam Taggart to chip over keeper Paes under little pressure. Velupillay soon turned provider with a slicing run that ended with the ball at Jackson Irvine’s feet not once but twice, as the midfielder extended the lead. We’ll be back shortly to find out how Indonesia respond.
48 mins: A bit more grappling creeps into the contest with the players slowing down as we edge towards half-time. We’re yet to see a caution though.
46 mins: Six minutes of added time seems generous with few breaks other than to get second opinions for a pair of penalty calls. No complaints here though!
44 mins: Indonesia continue to work away on the left with hints of success. The visitors pick up another corner but Mees Hilgers’ header floats high for a goal kick.
42 mins: The third Australia goal has taken a bit of sting out of the game as the break approaches. That’s at least until Romenij almost creates something out of nothing as he gets off a shot that Geria only just gets a foot on.
40 mins: This contest has turned Australia’s way as a robust challenge from Irvine outside their defensive penalty box is waved away as the home side clear.
38 mins: Indonesia keep pushing forward but the risk of leaving the back door open remains as Taggart almost finds a way through at the halfway line.
36 mins: Australia have been happy to play without the ball but have pulled away to a commanding lead. The second goalscorer, Nishan Velupillay, has another shot but a deflection takes it wide for a corner.
GOAL! Australia 3-0 Indonesia (Irvine 34)
Jackson Irvine finishes a clever move from the Socceroos at the second attempt. Intricate passing at the top of the box ends up with Martin Boyle on the right but his speculative cross looks to have wasted the opportunity until a deflection takes the ball to Irvine standing on top of the spot. A fantastic save from Paes keeps out the first strike, but the rebound ends up with Irvine to hammer home.
32 mins: The Socceroos are looking more comfortable at the back now after being overwhelmed in the opening 10 minutes.
30 mins: Ole Romenij wins a race to the ball down the left but his cross towards Indonesia and Brisbane Roar attacker Rafael Struick making his way into the box is cut off by Kye Rowles.
28 mins: Indonesia are happy to knock the ball around the back but keeper Paes puts hearts in mouths as a pause on the ball almost allows Taggart to close him down.
26 mins: A moment of serenity as Indonesia finally accept it’s in their interests to slow the game down a bit.
24 mins: A defensive error from Kevin Diks almost gifts Aziz Behich with a shot on goal. The Indonesia defender looks to head back to his keeper from outside the penalty box but the ball falls well short. Behich might have tried his luck on the volley before Diks tidies up his mess with a better header to Paes.
22 mins: Indonesia are showing few signs of having just given up two goals as they continue to attack. The ball bounces from one end to the other and back again. This has been a chaotically brilliant opening.
GOAL! Australia 2-0 Indonesia (Velupillay, 20)
What a turnaround! Two goals in as many minutes as Adam Taggart wins the ball back for the Socceroos and releases Nishan Velupillay charging through the middle all on his own. The Melbourne Victory attacker knocks the ball over advancing Indonesia keeper Maarten Paes to give Australia a suddenly strong advantage.
GOAL! Australia 1-0 Indonesia (Boyle, 18)
Martin Boyle steps up to the spot and casually slams the ball into the bottom left corner. That’ll be a huge relief for Australia after the blazing start from Indonesia.
15 mins: While the Socceross prepare to take a corner following Boyle’s strike, the game has paused and the referee is called to review the tussle between Miller and Nathan Tjoe A On. Penalty to Australia!
14 mins: A first corner for the Socceroos who are finally settling into the contest. Martin Boyle crosses the ball in before Lewis Miller is wrapped up and taken to ground. Indonesia clear with a header but Boyle soon has possession again and his deflected shot sails just wide of the far post.
12 mins: The Socceroos spend some time in their attacking half without threatening the penalty box. Indonesia play out comfortably and all but bypass the midfield with an exquisite crossfield pass.
10 mins: It has been a scintillating start from Indonesia but Diks’ missed penalty means the visitors have failed to take a deserved lead. Australia need to get a foothold in the game before it gets away from them.
Diks misses from the spot!
8 mins: Kevin Diks hits the post! The penalty kick was hammered to the left of Maty Ryan but Diks fails to convert.
Penalty to Indonesia!
7 mins: Rafael Struick read a long ball better than Cam Burgess, Kye Rowles comes across to cover and swings a leg. There is hardly a touch on the striker’s leg but VAR clears the decision.
5 mins: Fantastic save from Maty Ryan! And a warning shot for the Socceroos. Nishan Velupillay gives away a needless free kick in Indonesia’s attacking half, Calvin Verdonk whips in the cross and their captain Jay Noah Idzes almost glances a header into the net.
3 mins: The Socceroos have their first look up front as Ole Lennard Romenij, otherwise of Oxford United, wins the ball in a tough challenge and tries to release Indonesia down the left. The pace of Jason Geria covers any danger.
1 min: Indonesia kick off and quickly find on the right in space Ole Lennard Romenij.
The players are in place and here we go … peeeeep!
Now it’s the local side’s turn for a singalong as Advance Australia Fair is belted out both on the pitch and in the stands. Can already feel energy coming from the stands with a decent turn out of punters.
The visitors’ national anthem, Indonesia Raya (which roughly translates as Indonesia the Great) takes over Sydney Football Stadium as one end is packed with a sea of red and more shirts of the same hue are dotted around the ground.
Andy de la Rue has kindly reminded me that a weather forecast is called for. In the tried and true method of popping a head out the window at Sydney Football Stadium, and peeping through the haze of fireworks smoke, I can confirm the sky is clear as the temperature hovers around the mid 20s.
Perfect conditions for football, really.
The Socceroos and Indonesia are moments away from making their way onto the pitch at Sydney Football Stadium with kick-off scheduled for 8.10pm. Just enough time to catch up on the qualification state of play across all the regions for the 48 spots at the 2026 World Cup.
Indonesia’s major naturalisation program has lifted their quality and options across the pitch and is at least partly behind only five starters from their previous clash with Australia returning to the XI for coach Patrick Kluivert’s first match in charge. Marselino Ferdinan will be the only Indonesian-born player in the starting XI, while the Socceroos have their own import in Martin Boyle.
John Duerden says that a more competitive and expansive Indonesia could be a boost for Australia on as much as off the pitch.
For tournament regulars Australia, a home defeat to Indonesia would be painful but, at least, signal that the two neighbours can push each other to greater heights. Instead of looking to a country on the opposite end of a mighty ocean, there would be one just the other side of the Timor Sea.
Indonesia XI
Indonesia look set to line up in a 3-5-2 formation with their midfield packed with defensive muscle.
Maarten Vincent Paes; Calvin Verdonk, Dean James, Nathan Tjoe A On; Mees Hilgers, Thom Jan Haye, Marselino Ferdinan, Kevin Diks, Jay Noah Idzes (capt); Rafael William Struick, Ole Lennard Romenij.
Australia XI
Tony Popovic made a big call in leaving forward Mitchell Duke out of the squad and has made an even bigger call in leaving pacey attacker Craig Goodwin out of the starting lineup with Martin Boyle to play in his place in a 5-2-3. Maty Ryan is back in goal and will wear the captain’s armband.
Maty Ryan (capt); Lewis Miller, Jason Geria, Cameron Burgess, Kye Rowles, Aziz Behich; Jackson Irvine, Aiden O’Neill; Nishan Velupillay, Adam Taggart, Martin Boyle.
Coach Tony Popovic won’t be letting any complacency creep into his Socceroos side against Indonesia especially with the race for a place at the 2026 World Cup so tight and tense and the neighbouring nation evidently on the rise.
The expectation of the Australian public, is that they should expect their national team to produce and to play good football. Then I expect every Australian to get behind the team tomorrow, which is what we want and we know that that’ll help us tomorrow night.
Preamble
Martin Pegan
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the 2026 World Cup qualifier between Australia and Indonesia at Sydney Football Stadium (known to most in these parts as Allianz Stadium). The Socceroos are out to tighten their rather loose grip on second place in Group C of Asian qualification and edge closer to a spot at next year’s showpiece event in the US, Mexico and Canada.
Coach Tony Popovic’s side currently sit in the critical second place in the group that will in short time automatically qualify for the World Cup. But the margins could hardly be finer with Australia on seven points from six matches, while tonight’s opponents Indonesia, as well as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and China are just one point behind in the five-way battle for what has become a single prized spot. Tearaway leaders Japan are already on 16 points and all but assured of taking the other spot and could even book their ticket to North America with a win at home against Bahrain tonight or if other results simply fall their way. With Saudi Arabia hosting China in the group’s other clash in the wee hours of tomorrow morning (AEDT), Australia need a positive result in Sydney to at the very least keep their hopes in their own hands.
Indonesia successfully frustrated Australia with a determined, low block when these two sides last met in the second batch of Group C matches last September, holding the six-time World Cup qualifiers to a 0-0 draw in what proved to be coach Graham Arnold’s last match in charge. Popovic took the Socceroos’ reins just days later and first led the team to win at home over China and a gallant draw in Japan, before less impressive performances in draws with Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. That’s the state of play in Group C as we enter classic “must-win” areas which should be more than enough to ensure a tense, cagey contest.
Kick-off is at 8.10pm AEDT. I’ll be back shortly with the line-ups and team news.
Remember to get in touch with any comments, questions, thoughts and predictions. You can shoot me an email, or find me on X @martinpegan and Bluesky @martinpegan.bsky.social. Let’s get into it!
IT’S MATCHDAY IN SYDNEY! 🙌
🆚: Indonesia 🇮🇩
⏰: 8:00pm AEDT
🏟️: Sydney Football Stadium
📱💻📺: Live on 10, Paramount+, 10 Play
📻: ABC Radio via the ABC Listen App#Socceroos #FeelNewSydney— Subway Socceroos (@Socceroos) March 19, 2025
