AUSTRALIA 5, INDONESIA 1
Jackson Irvine celebrates with Australian teammates.Credit: Getty Images
There was trouble in the air long before kick-off. As soon as gates opened at 5.45pm on Thursday, thousands of red shirts streamed into Allianz Stadium.
They comfortably outnumbered the gold. Dozens of them even had seats in what passes these days for the Socceroos’ home end; plenty more were at the opposite end, which formed a wall of constant noise.
This was Sydney, not Jakarta. A home game for Australia that felt as hostile as anything this team has experienced abroad. And it got no better once the game began.
Indonesian fans in the crowd.Credit: Getty Images
Indonesia’s starting XI featured just one player who was born there. The rest were products of Tim Garuda’s aggressive naturalisation policy, the one that their federation is hoping will spark their first World Cup appearance since 1938. Most of them were Dutch, with Indonesian heritage, and playing at a comparative level to the Socceroos. One of them, Dean James, got his citizenship 10 days ago. Most Australians have been to Bali more often than some of these blokes.
Massive outsiders according to bookmakers, those in the know were aware of how dangerous this match was. Indonesia weren’t here to poop anyone’s party. To them, this was their party. And so it seemed for the first 17-odd minutes, in which they gave the Socceroos and their makeshift defence an absolute bath.
The world No.127-ranked side, under their new coach Patrick Kluivert, came out on the front foot. And they looked very, very good - south-east Asian ferocity mixed with European prowess.
Five minutes in, Maty Ryan needed to produce a world-class save to tip over a header from Indonesia’s captain Jay Idzes from a free kick, which was greeted with an almighty roar from the southern end when it was given. Two minutes later, the roar was even louder: Indonesia had a spot kick.
Indonesia’s Kevin Diks takes the penalty kick.Credit: AP
Cameron Burgess, a Premier League player for Ipswich Town, missed a clearing header from a long ball and Rafael Struick – who plays his club football for Brisbane Roar, where he can’t even get a game – pounced. Kye Rowles tried to mop up the mess but clipped his leg. Clear penalty. If you needed more proof of the shifting world order in football, and particularly in the Asian confederation, here it was, in full and confronting view.
Up stepped Kevin Diks, the FC Copenhagen defender. His attempt hit the right post. The Socceroos were out of jail. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Ten minutes after that, they had a penalty of their own. From one of their first real attacks, having weathered Indonesia’s early storm, they won a corner kick. After it was taken, replays showed that Lewis Miller was bear-hugged by Nathan Tjoe-A-On and brought to the ground. After a VAR review that felt like it took an eternity, referee Adham Mohammad Makhadmeh pointed to the spot.
Martin Boyle stepped up, stared down the thousands of red shirts in front of him and converted. Two minutes after that, they had another. Jason Geria shimmered to lose his man on Australia’s right defensive flank, passed to Martin Boyle, he passed to Adam Taggart, and he half-passed it to Nishan Velupillay, who timed his run to perfection to beat Indonesia’s last man and streak through for a one-on-one with the goalkeeper. (Half-passed it because it was half-deflected off Thom Haye, who was closing him down.) Velupillay held his nerve and made the back of the net bulge.
Nishan Velupillay celebrates a goal for Australia.Credit: Getty Images
And 15 minutes after that, it was 3-0. This time Velupillay was the driving force, playing a one-two with Jackson Irvine before going wide to Lewis Miller. His attempted cross came off a defender and landed perfectly for Irvine, whose initial shot was saved by goalkeeper Maarten Paes, but the rebound fell to him and he was not to be denied the second time.
Suddenly, those early worries felt like a distant memory. A diving header from Lewis Miller early in the second half took the remote possibility of an Indonesian fightback out of the equation, although they did get one back – through Ole Romeny in the 78th minute – to deny Socceroos coach Tony Popovic the first clean sheet of his tenure.
It was the first goal Indonesia had scored against Australia in 44 years. But for another couple of clutch Ryan saves, it might have been closer.
Still, a 5-1 victory – capped off by an Irvine header at the death from a corner kick – was more than sufficient. If the performance left a fair bit to be desired, the character shown in responding to Indonesia’s challenge was outstanding.
Jackson Irvine scores for Australia.Credit: Getty Images
Both second-half goals came from set pieces delivered by the glorious left foot of Craig Goodwin. The visitors had more possession, but ... in the circumstances, so what?
It is not only the result which was so important for their 2026 World Cup hopes, but also what it did for their goal difference. As things stand, with games still to be played overnight, the Socceroos are four points clear in second position in Group C but with a +10 better goal difference than their nearest rivals Saudi Arabia, and that’s worth an extra point.
One more win, on Tuesday night in China, will take them to the precipice of direct qualification.
