What the road to 2026 World Cup looks like for Tony Popovic’s Socceroos

With change afoot for the struggling Socceroos there is no time to waste on their mission to reach the 2026 World Cup. Find out what’s gone wrong and how they can still reach North America here.

Freshly announced Socceroos coach Tony Popovic has no time to waste as he gets set to tackle one of the biggest tasks in world football and lift the Socceroos off the canvas.

The 2026 World Cup is just 20 months away and the Australian side is no guarantee of booking their flight to North America as it stands.

The Socceroos were on fire earlier this year, cruising through the second stage of the AFC WC qualifiers, topping their group with six straight victories without conceding a goal.

Yet, the challenge grew for Graham Arnold’s men in the third round of qualifying games which took place just last month.

Graham Arnold quit as coach of the Socceroos. Picture: AFP

WHAT’S GONE WRONG?

After being drawn in Group C, the Roos have looked poor, losing their first game against Bahrain on the Gold Coast before only managing a draw against Indonesia.

Currently, the Aussies sit bottom of their group despite entering the pool as the second highest ranked team in it.

On the back of the two performances described as “not good enough” by Socceroos’ legend Robbie Slater, Arnold quit after six years at the head of mens football in the country.

But with just the top two from Australia’s group of six earning automatic qualification to the highly anticipated World Cup, former Melbourne Victory coach Popovic has little time to pick up the pieces.

How long will it take the Socceroos the reach the World Cup. Picture: Getty Images

THE ROAD TO THE 2026 WORLD CUP

But if Australia was to miss the top two, which is looking increasingly likely, it does not mean it’s the end of the road.

With an expanding World Cup fixturing, growing to 48 from 32 nations, Australia will still have a good chance of reaching the tournament.

If Australia is to finish third or fourth in their pool they will enter the fourth round of AFC qualifications, the Asian play-offs.

It consists of the six sides who finished third or fourth in their third-round group. The six countries will be split into two groups of three with the winners of those groups qualifying for the World Cup.

If the Socceroos still fail to qualify, it’s not all doom and gloom with there being one final chance to reach the USA, Mexico and Canada.

The fifth and final round, scheduled for November 2025, will see the two sides that finished runners up in their groups in stage four face each other in a two-legged contest.

The winner will move on to a FIFA organised play-off tournament where they will be tasked with playing sides from the other six confederations to make up just one of the two remaining spots at the World Cup.

So while Australia is a long way off not reaching the World Cup and backing up their best ever performance, as we saw in 2022 at Qatar, Popovic will be desperate to book in his spot as soon as possible.

Originally published as What the road to 2026 World Cup looks like for Tony Popovic’s Socceroos