2022 Australia national soccer team season

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Australia
2022 season
ChairmanChris Nikou
ManagerGraham Arnold
← 2021
2023 →

This page summarises the Australia men's national soccer team fixtures and results in 2022.

Summary[edit]

Australia played most of the qualifiers in the third round of the qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup in 2021. Following these six matches, they sat third place in the group having won half the matches, needing to win all four of their remaining matches to secure automatic qualification and avoid a play-off.[1] Ahead of their first match of the year, coach Graham Arnold tested positive for COVID-19 and was forced to isolate,[2] while Ajdin Hrustic was suspended for the game and Aziz Behich got stranded due to a blizzard and couldn't fly to Melbourne.[3] Despite the setbacks, Australia beat Vietnam 4–0, with Jamie Maclaren and Tom Rogic opening the scoring in the first half, and substitutes Craig Goodwin and Riley McGree both scoring their first senior international goals in the second half. Joel King made his senior international debut, starting instead of Behich at the left-back position, while attacker Marco Tilio was substituted on to make his debut.[4] With the return of coach Arnold, Behich, and Hrustic, McGree tested positive for COVID-19 and missed the second match of the year.[5] Australia drew 2–2 with Oman, leading twice firstly from a Maclaren penalty and in the second half from a goal by Aaron Mooy. Oman drew back both times with goals by Abdullah Fawaz, leaving Australia 3 points behind Japan and 4 points behind Saudi Arabia, forcing them to beat both these nations in their final games to have a chance to qualify automatically.[6] In their third match of the year, Australia lost 2–0 to Japan after Kaoru Mitoma scored at the end of regular time and in injury time. This loss denied Australia the chance to qualify directly, and regardless of their final group match result finished third in the group and advanced to an Asian play-off against the third placed team of the other group.[7] Australia lost the final group match against Saudi Arabia 1–0 with Salem Al-Dawsari scoring the only goal from the penalty spot. The final group day also confirmed Australia's opponents for the Asian play-off and possible interconfederational play-off.[8] Ahead of the Asian play-off, Australia scheduled a friendly match against Jordan in Doha. Jordan opened the scoring thanks to a goal by Musa Al-Taamari, but Australia came back from behind to win 2–1, with Bailey Wright and Awer Mabil scoring.[9] Australia won the Asian play-off 2–1 against the United Arab Emirates to qualify for the inter-confederation play-off. Jackson Irvine scored the opening goal and Hrustic scored the winning goal after Caio Canedo equalised.[10] The inter-confederation play-off against Peru ended in a goalless draw after extra time and was decided by penalties. Arnold substituted Andrew Redmayne into the game at the end of extra-time to replace captain and regular starting goalkeeper Mathew Ryan. The tactic succeeded as Redmayne saved Peru's Alex Valera's penalty after Martin Boyle had his penalty saved and Peru's Luis Advíncula missed. Australia won the penalty shoot-out 5–4 and qualified for the World Cup's group stage, being placed in the group with Tunisia, France, and Denmark, having faced the last two at the last World Cup.[11]

Australia celebrated a centenary for the national team, with the 100th anniversary on 17 June 2022. To mark the occasion, they scheduled a two-game friendly series against New Zealand, with the first game played at home in Brisbane and the second game away in Auckland.[12][13] Australia won the first game 1–0, with Mabil scoring the only goal from long distance.[14] In the second game, Australia handed debuts to Harrison Delbridge, Jason Cummings, Ryan Strain, Cameron Devlin, Garang Kuol, and Keanu Baccus.[15] They won the game 2–0 with veteran Mitchell Duke scoring the first goal and debutant Cummings scoring a penalty for the second.[16]

Australia opened their group stage of the 2022 World Cup against defending champions France. They opened the match positively, attacking often and Goodwin scoring his second international goal to give Australia the lead. Unfortunately, France were ultimately too strong a team and Australia lost 4–1 after French players Adrien Rabiot and Kylian Mbappé scored a goal each and Olivier Giroud scored a brace, making him France's men's joint top goalscorer.[17] In their second match, Australia beat Tunisia 1–0, with Duke heading in the only goal.[18] He celebrated the goal by signing the letter J, dedicating it to his son Jaxson, who was sitting in the stands.[19] In the third match against Denmark, a draw would've been enough to ensure qualification to the knockout stage so long as France didn't lose to Tunisia, while a victory would ensure the progression.[20] While France played a second string team that lost to Tunisia, Australia beat Denmark 1–0 thanks to a strong defence and a 60th minute individual goal by Mathew Leckie that sent them to the round of 16 for only the second time in history.[21] In the round of 16, Australia lost 2–1 to Argentina with Lionel Messi opening the scoring and Julián Álvarez getting the second after dispossessing Mathew Ryan. Australia pulled one back with Goodwin's shot deflected into goal off Enzo Fernández and Kuol almost scored the equaliser in injury time, but his shot was smothered by Argentinian goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez.[22]

Record[edit]

As of match played 3 December 2022
Type GP W D L GF GA
Friendly 3 3 0 0 5 1
World Cup qualifiers 6 2 2 2 8 6
World Cup 4 2 0 2 4 6
Total 13 7 2 4 17 13

Match results[edit]

Friendlies[edit]

This section is for matches confirmed by Football Australia, please do not add speculative fixtures.

1 June 2022 Australia  2–1  Jordan Doha, Qatar
21:00 UTC+3
Report Stadium: Al Janoub Stadium
Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)
Referee: Saad Kamil Al-Fadhli (Kuwait)
22 September 2022 Centenary celebration Australia  1–0  New Zealand Brisbane, Australia
20:00 UTC+10
Report Stadium: Suncorp Stadium
Attendance: 25,392
Referee: Ryuji Sato (Japan)
25 September 2022 Centenary celebration New Zealand  0–2  Australia Auckland, New Zealand
16:00 UTC+12 Report
Stadium: Eden Park
Attendance: 34,985
Referee: Yusuke Araki (Japan)

World Cup qualifiers[edit]

27 January 2022 Round 3 Australia  4–0  Vietnam Melbourne, Australia
20:10 UTC+11
Report Stadium: Melbourne Rectangular Stadium
Attendance: 27,740
Referee: Ko Hyung-jin (South Korea)
1 February 2022 Round 3 Oman  2–2  Australia Muscat, Oman
20:00 UTC+4
Report
Stadium: Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex
Attendance: 0
Referee: Mohammed Abdulla Hassan Mohamed (United Arab Emirates)
24 March 2022 Round 3 Australia  0–2  Japan Sydney, Australia
20:10 UTC+11 Report
Stadium: Stadium Australia
Attendance: 41,852
Referee: Nawaf Shukralla (Bahrain)
29 March 2022 Round 3 Saudi Arabia  1–0  Australia Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
21:00 UTC+3 Report Stadium: King Abdullah Sports City
Attendance: 51,433
Referee: Adham Makhadmeh (Jordan)

World Cup[edit]

22 November 2022 (2022-11-22) Group Stage France  4–1  Australia Al Wakrah, Qatar
22:00 UTC+3
Report Stadium: Al Janoub Stadium
Attendance: 40,875
Referee: Victor Gomes (South Africa)
26 November 2022 (2022-11-26) Group Stage Tunisia  0–1  Australia Al Wakrah, Qatar
13:00 UTC+3 Report
Stadium: Al Janoub Stadium
Attendance: 41,823
Referee: Daniel Siebert (Germany)
30 November 2022 (2022-11-30) Group Stage Australia  1–0  Denmark Al Wakrah, Qatar
18:00 UTC+3
Report Stadium: Al Janoub Stadium
Attendance: 41,232
Referee: Mustapha Ghorbal (Algeria)
3 December 2022 (2022-12-03) Round of 16 Argentina  2–1  Australia Al Rayyan, Qatar
22:00 UTC+3
Report Stadium: Ahmad bin Ali Stadium
Attendance: 45,032
Referee: Szymon Marciniak (Poland)

Player statistics[edit]

Correct as of 3 December 2022 (v.  Argentina).
Numbers are listed by player's number in last match played

No. Pos Nat Player Total Friendlies World Cup qualifiers World Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
1 GK Australia AUS Mathew Ryan 12 0 2+0 0 6+0 0 4+0 0
12 GK Australia AUS Andrew Redmayne 2 0 1+0 0 0+1 0 0+0 0
18 GK Australia AUS Danny Vukovic 0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
18 GK Australia AUS Mitchell Langerak 0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
2 DF Australia AUS Miloš Degenek 9 0 1+0 0 3+1 0 2+2 0
3 DF Australia AUS Nathaniel Atkinson 6 0 1+1 0 3+0 0 1+0 0
4 DF Australia AUS Kye Rowles 7 0 1+0 0 2+0 0 4+0 0
4 DF Australia AUS Rhyan Grant 1 0 0+0 0 1+0 0 0+0 0
4 DF Australia AUS Ryan McGowan 1 0 0+0 0 0+1 0 0+0 0
5 DF Australia AUS Fran Karačić 7 0 2+0 0 2+1 0 1+1 0
5 DF Australia AUS Ryan Strain 1 0 0+1 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
7 DF Australia AUS Alex Wilkinson 0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
8 DF Australia AUS Bailey Wright 4 1 1+0 1 2+0 0 0+1 0
16 DF Australia AUS Aziz Behich 10 0 1+1 0 4+0 0 4+0 0
19 DF Australia AUS Harry Souttar 4 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 4+0 0
19 DF Australia AUS Jason Davidson 1 0 1+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
20 DF Australia AUS Thomas Deng 1 0 1+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
20 DF Australia AUS Trent Sainsbury 5 0 1+0 0 4+0 0 0+0 0
24 DF Australia AUS Joel King 4 0 1+1 0 2+0 0 0+0 0
26 DF Australia AUS Harrison Delbridge 1 0 1+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
5 MF Australia AUS James Jeggo 4 0 0+0 0 1+3 0 0+0 0
10 MF Australia AUS Ajdin Hrustic 10 1 1+1 0 4+1 1 0+3 0
10 MF Australia AUS Denis Genreau 3 0 1+1 0 1+0 0 0+0 0
11 MF Australia AUS Brandon Borrello 0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
13 MF Australia AUS Aaron Mooy 10 1 2+0 0 4+0 1 4+0 0
14 MF Australia AUS Riley McGree 8 1 2+1 0 0+1 1 4+0 0
17 MF Australia AUS Gianni Stensness 2 0 0+0 0 2+0 0 0+0 0
17 MF Australia AUS Cameron Devlin 1 0 0+1 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
22 MF Australia AUS Jackson Irvine 10 1 1+1 0 4+0 1 4+0 0
22 MF Australia AUS Tyrese Francois 0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
23 MF Australia AUS Craig Goodwin 9 2 1+0 0 1+3 1 3+1 1
23 MF Australia AUS Tom Rogic 2 1 0+0 0 2+0 1 0+0 0
23 MF Australia AUS Connor Metcalfe 3 0 1+1 0 1+0 0 0+0 0
23 MF Australia AUS Kenny Dougall 1 0 1+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
26 MF Australia AUS Keanu Baccus 5 0 0+1 0 0+0 0 1+3 0
6 FW Australia AUS Marco Tilio 5 0 1+1 0 0+3 0 0+0 0
7 FW Australia AUS Mathew Leckie 10 1 1+1 0 4+0 0 4+0 1
9 FW Australia AUS Jamie Maclaren 10 2 0+2 0 2+3 2 0+3 0
9 FW Australia AUS Bruno Fornaroli 2 0 0+0 0 1+1 0 0+0 0
9 FW Australia AUS Martin Boyle 7 0 1+0 0 6+0 0 0+0 0
11 FW Australia AUS Awer Mabil 8 2 2+0 2 2+2 0 0+2 0
15 FW Australia AUS Mitchell Duke 10 2 1+0 1 2+3 0 4+0 1
15 FW Australia AUS Nicholas D'Agostino 2 0 1+0 0 0+1 0 0+0 0
19 FW Australia AUS Adam Taggart 1 0 1+0 0 0+0 0 0+0 0
21 FW Australia AUS Garang Kuol 3 0 0+1 0 0+0 0 0+2 0
22 FW Australia AUS Ben Folami 1 0 0+0 0 1+0 0 0+0 0
25 FW Australia AUS Jason Cummings 2 1 0+1 1 0+0 0 0+1 0

References[edit]

  1. ^ Lynch, Joey (26 January 2022). "Reality may bite for Socceroos with World Cup fate in precarious position". The Guardian.
  2. ^ Rugari, Vince (23 January 2022). "Arnold set to miss crucial Vietnam qualifier after contracting COVID". Sydney Morning Herald.
  3. ^ Monteverde, Marco (26 January 2022). "Blizzard strands Socceroo in Turkey with young gun set to debut". Fox Sports.
  4. ^ "Australia claim 4-0 victory over Vietnam in World Cup qualifier". ABC News. 27 January 2022.
  5. ^ Paquette, Catherine (1 February 2022). "Socceroos camp hit by Championship player's positive COVID-19 result". FTBL.
  6. ^ "Socceroos draw 2-2 against Oman, hurting World Cup qualification hopes". ABC News. 2 February 2022.
  7. ^ Matthey, James (24 March 2022). "'That's pathetic': Socceroos dudded as World Cup disaster becomes reality". news.com.au.
  8. ^ Rugari, Vince (30 March 2022). "UAE, then Peru: Socceroos' World Cup path clear as Arnold's future hangs in balance". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  9. ^ Kemp, Emma (1 June 2022). "Socceroos come from behind to beat Jordan in World Cup qualifier warm-up". The Guardian.
  10. ^ Lynch, Joey (7 June 2022). "Socceroos stay alive as Ajdin Hrustic fires late winner in World Cup playoff win over UAE". The Guardian.
  11. ^ Lynch, Michael (14 June 2022). "Socceroos qualify for 2022 World Cup after Redmayne shootout heroics". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  12. ^ Monteverde, Marco (5 July 2022). "Socceroos confirm pre-World Cup plans as Arnie reveals big Rogic 'concern'". Fox Sports.
  13. ^ Monteverde, Marco (5 July 2022). "The Socceroos and the Matildas will play matches at Suncorp Stadium in September". Sky News Australia.
  14. ^ Rayson, Zac (22 September 2022). "Stunning rocket as sloppy Socceroos topple NZ in World Cup farewell". Fox Sports.
  15. ^ Lewis, Samantha (25 September 2022). "Socceroos' debutants sparkle in 2-0 win over New Zealand in final World Cup friendly". ABC News.
  16. ^ Williams, Paul (25 September 2022). "Garang Kuol and Jason Cummings shine on debut as Socceroos beat New Zealand". The Guardian.
  17. ^ Kemp, Emma (22 November 2022). "Giroud equals Henry's goal record as France survive scare to thrash Australia". The Guardian.
  18. ^ Kemp, Emma (26 November 2022). "Mitch Duke header downs Tunisia to keep Australia alive at World Cup". The Guardian.
  19. ^ Kemp, Emma (27 November 2022). "The 'J sign' that capped off Mitchell Duke's story from journeyman to joy". The Guardian.
  20. ^ Kemp, Emma (30 November 2022). "'They'll come out strong': Denmark wary of early Australia threat in World Cup clash". The Guardian.
  21. ^ Bilton, Dean; Pollard, Kyle (30 November 2022). "World Cup Qatar 2022 Australia v Denmark: Socceroos claim 1-0 victory to move through to final 16". ABC News.
  22. ^ Rugari, Vince (4 December 2022). "Messi genius and a Ryan mistake: Argentina end Socceroos' World Cup". The Sydney Morning Herald.

External links[edit]