Craig Goodwin stars in very good win for Socceroos in Canberra

The return of Craig Goodwin and his exquisite left foot has propelled the Socceroos into the next round of World Cup qualifying with a 5-0 victory over Lebanon, confirming his status as one of Australia’s most important players.

Goodwin missed last week’s 2-0 win in Sydney due to illness but recovered in time to start on Tuesday night – and he put on a virtuoso performance for the sold-out crowd at Canberra’s GIO Stadium. It began in the second minute when he set up Kusini Yengi’s first international goal with an inch-perfect cross.

Craig Goodwin starred for Australia in their 5-0 win over Lebanon.Credit: Getty

He was at it again two minutes into the second half, floating in a free kick that was eventually bundled over for an own goal, credited to Bassel Jradi, after Harry Souttar’s initial header was saved and Jackson Irvine’s follow-up effort helped squeeze the ball over the line.

Just two minutes later came the South Australian’s pièce de résistance – a sweetly-struck shot from the edge of the box with his trusty left boot that whistled into the back of the net with a sense of destiny.

Goodwin then completed the rout in the 81st minute with a simple finish at the back post after John Iredale’s cross was poorly dealt with by Cedars defender Walid Shour.

On another night, Goodwin could have ended up with four assists to go with his brace, had Souttar scored directly from that free kick – and if the lanky defender had converted another chance late in the second half, when Goodwin delivered an absurd outside-of-the-foot cross. Souttar met it with his head and bounced it into the ground, only for it to clip the right post and go out of play. Ajdin Hrustic also skied a brilliant cutback from Goodwin when he should have at least hit the target.

Kusini Yengi scored the first goal for Australia.Credit: Getty

“That felt good,” Goodwin, 32, said after the match.

“Whenever these windows come up, I want to be involved in every single game and play as much as I can. To miss [the game in Sydney] and watching at home on TV, it was obviously a little bit hard to take, but I’m really happy I could make up for it.”

Graham Arnold sent on two debutants in the second half, midfielders Patrick Yazbek and Josh Nisbet, with the former providing the pass for Iredale, who earned his first cap in Sydney five days before, to extend Australia’s lead to four goals in the 68th minute.

The only sour note for Australia was another injury to Hrustic, who was scythed down by Lebanese midfielder Ali Tneich just moments after assisting Goodwin’s goal with a delightful chip over the top. Hrustic waved away a stretcher that was brought onto the field for him before hobbling off with the assistance of two trainers, unable to put pressure on his left foot.

Ajdin Hrustic of Australia was injured in the clash against Lebanon.Credit: Getty

Arnold will be desperately hoping it is not as serious as it looked, having also lost Riley McGree and Jordan Bos to injuries in Sydney, which ruled them out of this fixture.

“If there was VAR, that was red. It was a pretty horrible tackle,” Arnold said. “He’s hobbling around in the dressing room, so that’s a good sign.”

The win was precious for the Socceroos, who have now booked their spot in the third round of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup – to be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico – with two matches left to spare, to be played in the June international window.

While they were the dominant team, Australia’s performance in the first half left plenty to be desired, with Goodwin seemingly the only player capable of making anything happen in attack. Across the opening 45 minutes, he was the only Socceroo to have completed a successful pass into the side’s own attacking box.

“When I knew Craig Goodwin younger, he doesn’t believe in himself like he does these days,” Arnold said. “Obviously, he’s a top-quality player, but he’s a fantastic person and a great leader. His delivery, set pieces, is fantastic, and his finishing, it’s just got better and better as he gets older.”

The floodgates eventually opened after Goodwin’s double-salvo at the start of the second half, but there is work to do for Arnold to iron out the creases in Australia’s game ahead of the commencement of the next round of qualification in September, when the bigger teams in Asia will await.

The crowd of 25,023 was a record for a football match in Canberra – an impressive turnout, given the relatively low-stakes nature of the match and the late organisation of it, with it being a nominal home match for the Cedars, who were unable to stage the match in Lebanon due to the ongoing conflict in the region.

Vince Rugari travelled to Canberra as a guest of Football Australia.

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