Socceroos’ supporters will likely have one chance to watch the team play on home soil before travelling to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, with the team set to play New Zealand in September.
Australia will play a two-game series against their cross-Tasman rivals in the next FIFA international window as part of the Socceroos’ centenary celebrations.
While a venue for the first game is yet to be decided, the Herald can confirm it will take place in Australia on September 22 before a return match at Auckland’s Eden Park on September 25.
Football Australia chief James Johnson confirmed the series will likely be the only games the Socceroos play in the September window.
“We know we are going to play a game in New Zealand,” he said. “We’ll announce another game against New Zealand here in Australia very soon. That will be a key window for us because the next window for us will be the window that leads into the World Cup in November.”
Despite the temptation to harness the public frenzy surrounding the World Cup side, Johnson all but ruled out a specific farewell match in November for the side that will travel to Qatar.
Andrew Redmayne’s Socceroos teammates celebrate after the keeper’s crucial save in Doha.Credit: Getty
The timing of the World Cup - which this year falls in the middle of the European leagues’ season - will make it difficult for the final 23-man squad to start their preparations on home soil.
National team sources suggest the preference is for the Socceroos to go into camp closer to Qatar at a venue that is logistically convenient for players arriving from Europe, Asia and Australia.
Australia has customarily had a farewell match for World Cup sides, hosting Uruguay in 1974, Greece in 2006, New Zealand in 2010 and South Africa four years later. Only before the 2018 World Cup in Russia did Australia not have a farewell match.
“I think we will treat the matches against New Zealand as a farewell match. It will be a specially important match because in those matches we are going to be celebrating the 100-year birthday of the Socceroos,” Johnson said.
“The matches against New Zealand will be a celebration of a fantastic 100 years of Socceroos history, and also let’s farewell and wish the boys all the best going into Qatar.”
Brisbane was touted as a possible venue for the Socceroos’ home match against New Zealand. It’s understood Football Australia remains in discussions with other state governments and venues about hosting the centenary celebrations.
Australia will play two or three warm-up games in November before the World Cup. Those games will almost certainly be played abroad with opponents selected on how it would best prepare the Socceroos for their group D opponents; France, Tunisia and Denmark.
Australia’s coach Graham Arnold will have a significant influence in deciding friendly opponents, venues and scheduling in the November window.
“In relation to the November window, it’s something we have to sit down and discuss with Graham and the high-performance team as we plan the journey leading into the World Cup in Qatar,” Johnson said.
Sources close to the national team informed the Herald the Socceroos will likely wear a custom kit of light blue and maroon to honour the uniform worn by the first Socceroos. That kit bore the colours of NSW and Queensland, the states where the first Socceroos came from.
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