After some mediocre first showings under new Socceroos coach Tony Popovic the national team is firing

A 5-1 take-down of Indonesia could kickstart a significant Socceroos run to the next World Cup according to the new coach.

It’s a feeling that would have been doubted five minutes into Australia’s World Cup qualifier against Indonesia, but five goals later and Tony Popovic’s sense that something special was brewing in his Socceroos squad this week came to fruition.

The 5-1 hammering was easily the most convincing result of the Popovic era so far.

It has helped isolate Saudi Arabia as the sole challengers to Australia’s occupancy of the second automatic qualifying spot for the 2026 tournament, with Japan now already through to the US, Canada and Mexico.

That can all change if Australia drops points in another crunch encounter on Tuesday night away to China, but for now, the destiny of a sixth straight World Cup appearance is in the Socceroos’ hands.

“This camp, it’s the first time I’ve felt in training and just around the hotel that this group is starting to build into something that we’re trying to build going forward,” Popovic said post-match.

The Socceroos under Tony Popovic have finally hit their straps. Picture: Saeed Khan / AFP/

“I’m honoured and proud of what I saw tonight. To be head coach in Sydney, my home town, it’s just special. You stand there listening to the national anthem and you say, ‘OK, I want to play my part in helping these players do something special’,” he added.

Early on though at Allianz Stadium, Australia was under siege.

A superb save as part of an accomplished display from captain Mat Ryan denied Indonesia an early opener, which was followed up by a penalty miss a minute later by the visitors.

“It’s the hardest I’ve been pressed in a home game in a long time. They were flying through, there was no time in the middle of the park,” said two-goal hero Jackson Irvine.

“Once we broke that pressure if felt like we were going to score every time we went through,” he said.

The main catalyst for the shifting of the game Australia’s way was winger Nishan Velupillay.

Nishan Velupillay scores the second goal. Picture: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

The Melbourne Victory livewire broke the contest open with a clinical finish for Australia’s second after breaking clear through on goal. From there, he was Australia’s chief creator, repaying Popovic’s faith in him in abundance on his starting debut.

“It’s a special moment for the boy, starting your first game under pressure. He’s handling it well. He has that talent and hopefully we’ll get him stronger so that he can maintain that level for longer,” the Socceroos coach added.

Indonesian coach Patrick Kluivert, a Dutch great, bemoaned his side’s inability to take advantage of their early ascendancy but said they “fought like lions”.

The result makes it extremely difficult for them to qualify automatically for the World Cup for the first time since 1938 but the playoffs remain a possibility.

That is a path Australia will be desperate to avoid, but they may need to beat China on Tuesday in Hangzhou to ensure that is the case.

“They sit in their block, they’re very dangerous on the break. We saw that with Indonesia, so we got a taste of what could come against China. If they press us we have to deal with that a bit better and if they sit off we need to understand that we have to build up play and be connected better than what we were tonight,” Popovic said.

Originally published as After some mediocre first showings under new Socceroos coach Tony Popovic the national team is firing