2018 Australia national soccer team season

This page summarises the Australia national soccer team fixtures and results in 2018.

Australia

2018 season
Chairman	Steven Lowy Chris Nikou (from November 2018)
Manager	Bert van Marwijk Graham Arnold (from July 2018)
Home colours Away colours

Summary

Australia participated in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, held in Russia in June and July. The draw took place in Moscow on 1 December 2017, with Australia drawn in Group C alongside France, Peru, and Denmark.[1]

On 25 January 2018, the FFA appointed Bert van Marwijk on a short-term contract for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.[2]

On 8 March 2018 the FFA announced that Graham Arnold would take over the head coach position from van Marwijk at the conclusion of the World Cup and will continue in the role until the 2022 FIFA World Cup.[3]

On 24 March 2018, Australia played their first match under the management of van Marwijk, playing a friendly against Norway at Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo. Van Marwijk reverted from Ange Postecoglou's favoured formation of three-at-the-back to the more traditional four defenders formation, and handed international debuts to Andrew Nabbout, Dimitri Petratos, and Aleksandar Susnjar. Despite going ahead in the 20th minute after a goal by Jackson Irvine, Australia lost the match 4–1.[4] A few days later, Australia drew 0–0 in a friendly match against Colombia at Craven Cottage in London, with Danny Vukovic saving an 86th minute penalty.[5]

More than 2 months later, on 1 June 2018, Australia played the first of two friendlies in preparation for the World Cup. They beat Czech Republic 4–0 at NV Arena in Sankt Pölten, Austria, with Mathew Leckie scoring a brace and Nabbout scoring his first international goal.[6] Six minutes before the end of the game, teenager Daniel Arzani was subbed on, making his international debut.[7] In the second friendly on 9 June 2018, Australia defeated Hungary 2–1 in Budapest, with Arzani scoring his first goal for the national team before both teams scored own goals late in the game.[8]

Australia entered the World Cup ranked 36 in the official FIFA World Rankings.[9] In their first match, Australia lost 2–1 to France with Mile Jedinak scoring the goal for Australia from a penalty kick given after Samuel Umtiti handled the ball in the box. France scored with a penalty by Antoine Griezmann after Uruguayan referee Andrés Cunha consulted VAR and with a deflected shot by Paul Pogba which was confirmed by goal line technology.[10] Arzani was subbed on in the 84th minute and at the age of 19 years and 163 days became the youngest player to ever make a World Cup appearance for Australia.[11] In their second match, Australia drew 1–1 with Denmark with Jedinak scoring the goal for Australia from a penalty kick given after Yussuf Poulsen handled the ball in the box which was confirmed by VAR. Denmark had opened the scoring from a goal by Christian Eriksen.[12] In their third and final match, Australia lost to Peru 2–0, with André Carrillo and Paolo Guerrero scoring from open play.[13]

During their first match under new coach Arnold, and also their first match following the World Cup, Australia beat Kuwait 4–0, leading via an own goal from Khalid El Ebrahim, with Apostolos Giannou and Tom Rogic scoring the second and third goals. Awer Mabil sealed the scoreline, scoring his first senior international goal.[14] The game was also marked by Mabil and Thomas Deng making their senior debuts for Australia, with both South Sudanese refugees growing up together and playing together during their boyhood.[15] Their debuts lead to tributes on social media, led by Patrice Evra.[16]

In the beginning of November, upcoming star Arzani was injured while playing for his club Celtic during a domestic match, rupturing his ACL, most likely ruling him out for the season.[17]

In mid-November Australia played two friendly matches in Australia in preparation for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, against South Korea and against Lebanon. The match against South Korea ended in a 1–1 draw, with Massimo Luongo equalising in the 94th minute, cancelling-out Hwang Ui-jo's opening goal.[18] The match against Lebanon was a send-off match for Tim Cahill, who played 9 minutes and marked his 108th and final appearance for Australia. Australia won the match 3–0 with Martin Boyle, on his starting debut, scoring twice and assisting Leckie for the third goal.[19] Australia finished the year, beating Oman 5–0 as a final warm-up for the AFC Asian Cup. Chris Ikonomidis and Milos Degenek scored their first international goals, while Nabbout, Mabil, and Irvine also scored.[20]

Australia finished the year ranked 41 on the official FIFA rankings released on 20 December, 5 places lower than in the January rankings.[21]

Record

As of 30 December 2018

Type	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA
Friendly	8	5	2	1	20	6
World Cup	3	0	1	2	2	5
Total	11	5	3	3	22	11

Match results

Friendlies

Norway  v  Australia

23 March 2018	Norway	4–1	Australia	Oslo, Norway
18:00 CET (UTC+1)	Kamara  36', 57', 90+1' Reginiussen  48'	Report	Irvine  19'	Stadium: Ullevaal Stadion Referee: Andreas Ekberg (Sweden)

Colombia  v  Australia

27 March 2018	Colombia	0–0	Australia	London, England
20:00 BST (UTC+1)		Report		Stadium: Craven Cottage Referee: Robert Madley (England)

Australia  v  Czech Republic

1 June 2018	Australia	4–0	Czech Republic	St. Pölten, Austria
13:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Leckie  32', 72' Nabbout  54' Jugas  80' (o.g.)	Report		Stadium: NV Arena Referee: Alexander Harkam (Austria)

Hungary  v  Australia

9 June 2018	Hungary	1–2	Australia	Budapest, Hungary
17:30 CEST (UTC+2)	Sainsbury  88' (o.g.)	Report	Arzani  74' Kádár  90+2' (o.g.)	Stadium: Groupama Arena Referee: Matej Jug (Slovenia)

Kuwait  v  Australia

15 October 2018	Kuwait	0–4	Australia	Kuwait City, Kuwait
19:30 AST (UTC+3)		Report	El Ebrahim  12' (o.g.) Giannou  21' Rogic  82' Mabil  88'	Stadium: Al Kuwait Sports Club Stadium Referee: Yaqoob Said Abdullah Abdul Baki (Oman)

Australia  v  South Korea

17 November 2018	Australia	1–1	South Korea	Brisbane, Australia
18:50 AEST (UTC+10)	Luongo  90+4'	Report	U.J. Hwang  22'	Stadium: Suncorp Stadium Attendance: 32,922 Referee: Jumpei Iida (Japan)

Australia  v  Lebanon

20 November 2018	Australia	3–0	Lebanon	Sydney, Australia
19:30 AEDT (UTC+11)	Boyle  19', 41' Leckie  68'	Report		Stadium: ANZ Stadium Attendance: 33,268 Referee: Ryuji Sato (Japan)

Australia  v  Oman

30 December 2018	Australia	5–0	Oman	Dubai, United Arab Emirates
16:00 GST (UTC+4)	Nabbout  10' Ikonomidis  14' Mabil  24' Degenek  58' Irvine  89'	Report		Stadium: Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)

World Cup

France  v  Australia

16 June 2018 (2018-06-16) Group Stage	France	2–1	Australia	Kazan, Russia
13:00 MSK (UTC+3)	Griezmann  58' (pen.) Behich  81' (o.g.)	Report (FFA) Report (FIFA)	Jedinak  62' (pen.)	Stadium: Kazan Arena Attendance: 41,279 Referee: Andrés Cunha (Uruguay)

Denmark  v  Australia

21 June 2018 (2018-06-21) Group Stage	Denmark	1–1	Australia	Samara, Russia
16:00 SAMT (UTC+4)	Eriksen  7'	Report (FFA) Report (FIFA)	Jedinak  38' (pen.)	Stadium: Cosmos Arena Attendance: 40,727 Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain)

Australia  v  Peru

26 June 2018 (2018-06-26) Group Stage	Australia	0–2	Peru	Sochi, Russia
17:00 MSK (UTC+3)		Report (FFA) Report (FIFA)	Carrillo  18' Guerrero  50'	Stadium: Fisht Olympic Stadium Attendance: 44,073 Referee: Sergei Karasev (Russia)

Player statistics

Correct as of 30 December 2018 (v.  Oman).
Numbers are listed by player's number in World Cup or last friendly played

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Friendlies		World Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK		Mathew Ryan	9	0	6+0	0	3+0	0
12	GK		Brad Jones	2	0	1+1	0	0+0	0
18	GK		Danny Vukovic	3	0	1+2	0	0+0	0
2	DF		Milos Degenek	5	1	4+1	1	0+0	0
3	DF		Alex Gersbach	2	0	0+2	0	0+0	0
4	DF		Rhyan Grant	2	0	2+0	0	0+0	0
6	DF		Matthew Jurman	2	0	0+2	0	0+0	0
8	DF		Bailey Wright	1	0	1+0	0	0+0	0
16	DF		Aziz Behich	11	0	8+0	0	3+0	0
19	DF		Josh Risdon	8	0	5+0	0	3+0	0
20	DF		Trent Sainsbury	9	0	6+0	0	3+0	0
21	DF		Thomas Deng	1	0	0+1	0	0+0	0
26	DF		Aleksandar Susnjar	1	0	0+1	0	0+0	0
5	MF		Mark Milligan	10	0	7+0	0	3+0	0
8	MF		Massimo Luongo	7	1	5+2	1	0+0	0
13	MF		Aaron Mooy	8	0	5+0	0	3+0	0
13	MF		James Jeggo	1	0	0+1	0	0+0	0
14	MF		James Troisi	1	0	0+1	0	0+0	0
15	MF		Mile Jedinak	6	2	2+1	0	3+0	2
17	MF		Daniel Arzani	6	1	0+3	1	0+3	0
17	MF		Mustafa Amini	3	0	2+1	0	0+0	0
21	MF		Dimitri Petratos	2	0	1+1	0	0+0	0
22	MF		Jackson Irvine	10	2	3+4	2	0+3	0
23	MF		Tom Rogic	9	1	5+1	1	3+0	0
4	FW		Tim Cahill	4	0	0+3	0	0+1	0
7	FW		Mathew Leckie	10	3	6+1	3	3+0	0
9	FW		Tomi Juric	9	0	2+4	0	1+2	0
10	FW		Robbie Kruse	10	0	5+2	0	3+0	0
11	FW		Andrew Nabbout	8	2	5+1	2	2+0	0
14	FW		Jamie Maclaren	3	0	1+2	0	0+0	0
14	FW		Martin Boyle	3	2	1+2	2	0+0	0
15	FW		Chris Ikonomidis	1	1	1+0	1	0+0	0
17	FW		Nikita Rukavytsya	2	0	0+2	0	0+0	0
21	FW		Awer Mabil	4	2	2+2	2	0+0	0
24	FW		Apostolos Giannou	1	1	1+0	1	0+0	0

• Source:

References

1. Law, James; McKern, James; Adno, Carly (2 December 2017). "Socceroos fate revealed as FIFA World Cup draw unveiled in Russia". news.com.au.
2. Hytner, Mike (25 January 2018). "Bert van Marwijk: Socceroos name coach for World Cup 2018". The Guardian.
3. Howcroft, Jonathan (8 March 2018). "No surprises as Graham Arnold takes on impossible Socceroos job". The Guardian.
4. Lynch, Michael (24 March 2018). "Van Marwijk's debut humiliation as Socceroos crash 4-1 to Norway". The Sydney Morning Herald.
5. Davidson, John (27 March 2018). "Much improved Socceroos hold their own in goalless draw with Colombia". The Guardian.
6. "Australia 4 Czech Republic 0: Nabbout and Leckie lead solid Socceroos". FourFourTwo. 1 June 2018.
7. "Australia warm up for World Cup with record-breaking rout of Czech Republic". The Guardian. 1 June 2018.
8. Bossi, Dominic (10 June 2018). "Daniel Arzani to rescue as Socceroos struggle to beat Hungary". The Sydney Morning Herald.
9. "Socceroos rise up Fifa rankings to highest position since 2012". The Guardian. 8 June 2018.
10. Lawrence, Amy (16 June 2018). "Paul Pogba scores with technology's help to take France past Australia". The Guardian.
11. Atkinson, Guy (16 June 2018). "France 2 Australia 1: Historic Griezmann goal and Pogba secure slender win". Goal.com.
12. Kelner, Martha (21 June 2018). "Mile Jedinak's controversial penalty earns Australia draw against Denmark". The Guardian.
13. Ames, Nick (26 June 2018). "Australia out of World Cup as Carrillo and Guerrero strike for Peru". The Guardian.
14. "New Socceroos era begins with a bag of goals in 4-0 win against Kuwait". news.com.au. 16 October 2018.
15. "'A dream come true': refugees Deng and Mabil make Socceroos debuts together". The Guardian. 16 October 2018.
16. Greco, John (17 October 2018). "'An amazing story': Patrice Evra leads social media tributes to Mabil, Deng debuts". Football Federation Australia.
17. McKay, Ben (3 November 2018). "Socceroo young gun Daniel Arzani out for season with ACL injury". The Sydney Morning Herald.
18. "Australia snatch late draw against South Korea amid controversy". The Guardian. 17 November 2018.
19. Hytner, Mike (20 November 2018). "Martin Boyle states Socceroos case with brace as Tim Cahill bids farewell". The Guardian.
20. "Australia 5 Oman 0: Socceroos enjoy serene Asian Cup warm-up". FourFourTwo. 30 December 2018.
21. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. Retrieved 31 December 2018.

External links

• Australia: Fixtures and Results