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Australia secures a much-anticipated victory against China

After a shaky start in the earlier rounds, the Australian national football team bounced back to overcome a deficit against China, and win 3-1 today, Thursday. This marked Australia’s first win in the third round of the AFC World Cup 2026 qualifiers, which will be hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Today’s match was the debut for interim coach Tony Popovic, who took over from Graham Arnold. Arnold stepped down following a disappointing start that saw Australia earn just one point from games against Bahrain and Indonesia.

Despite playing in front of 46,000 fans in Adelaide, Australia fell behind after 20 minutes when Shi Wenjing scored against the run of play. However, the Australians responded with three goals. Lewis Miller equalized with a header from a free-kick (45+2), Craig Goodwin struck a powerful shot from distance (53), and Nectarios Triantis sealed the win with a goal in injury time.

This victory lifted Australia to four points from three matches, putting them in a better position in the group, trailing Japan by just two points.

Australian captain Jackson Irvine commented on the victory, stating, “We stayed calm and composed, even after the first goal… the boys adapted well to the game plan.”

He added, “The boys responded quickly. This is a team that can adapt. It was a good performance in every aspect.”

Australia is set to face their toughest test yet as they meet Japan in the next round of AFC World Cup 2026 qualifiers. For China, however, the situation is dire. With key players like Wu Lei and Brazil-born Alan Carvalho missing due to injuries, their third consecutive defeat has left coach Branko Ivanković under immense pressure as they struggle to earn points.

In this qualification stage, 18 teams from the second round are divided into three groups. The top two teams from each group will directly qualify for the 2026 World Cup after 10 rounds of matches that will continue until June 2025. Two more spots will be available through the fourth round, where six teams will compete for them. Additionally, up to nine Asian teams could potentially qualify for the World Cup via an intercontinental playoff system.

Thursday’s Match Schedule in the Third Round of the Asian Qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup (GMT):

Group A:

14:00 GMT: Uzbekistan vs. Iran
16:00 GMT: UAE vs. North Korea
16:00 GMT: Qatar vs. Kyrgyzstan

Group B:

14:00 GMT: Jordan vs. South Korea
16:00 GMT: Oman vs. Kuwait
18:00 GMT: Iraq vs. Palestine

Group C:

09:10 GMT: Australia 3-1 China
16:00 GMT: Bahrain vs. Indonesia
18:00 GMT: Saudi Arabia vs. Japan

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