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Socceroos smash Indonesia in important qualifying win
Nicholas Quinlan • March 21st, 2025 9:12 am
The Socceroos produced an important win in the context of their World Cup qualification campaign, beating Indonesia 5-1 in Sydney on Thursday night.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing for the Socceroos as Indonesia enjoyed periods of dominant possession throughout the match and in particular within the first 15 minutes.
And had Indonesia been luckier, they would have likely been 2-0 up had it not been for a stellar save by Mat Ryan from a set piece and Indonesia’s Kevin Diks hitting the crossbar when taking their penalty.
While Australia may not have dominated possession as they would have liked, they were clinical in front of goal.
Within the space of two minutes they netted twice to turn the game on its head.
In the 15th minute, a penalty was awarded to Australia by VAR which saw Martin Boyle score from the spot and Nishan Velupillay scoring a one one one with the keeper to lob past him.
Later, Australia would double it’s lead with another two goals.
Jackson Irvine eventually slotted home from a rebounded save in the first half, while defender Lewis Miller scored Australia’s fourth with a header from a corner in the second half.
Indonesia did manage a consolation goal through striker Ole Romney to get the score to 4-1.
However, Australia would close out the game with Jackson Irvine scoring his second from a header in the 90th minute to secure the 5-1 result.
Speaking post-game, Australian manager Tony Popovic was pleased with the performance but believes there are areas for improvement particular in their defensive game.
“Whenever you score five goals you have to be pleased,” Popovic told Channel 10.
“I think defensively we weren’t great, especially in the backline.
“They didn’t look comfortable the whole night, so that will be something we have to address for the next game.”
The win against Indonesia sees the second-placed Socceroos move four points clear of third in Group B, but still nine in arrears of group leaders Japan.
Their next match will be against China in Shenzhen on Tuesday at 9:15pm AEDT.
