Exactly 18 years since the Socceroos qualified for the 2006 World Cup with a famous penalty shootout win over Uruguay, Australia kickstarted its journey to a sixth-straight men’s World Cup with a dominant 7-0 win over Bangladesh.
In a one-sided clash against the world’s 183rd-ranked side, the Socceroos opened the scoring inside five minutes and never looked back, outclassing and outmuscling their opponents in a straightforward win in Melbourne.
Towering defender Harry Souttar was the first to find the net with a header from a Craig Goodwin set piece, before Australia’s strikers took over scoring duties.
First it was Brandon Borrello in the 20th minute, before Mitch Duke bagged a brace in three minutes late in the first half.
Jamie Maclaren came off the bench at the interval and struck three times to round out the victory – but the scoreline could easily have been far more emphatic if not for some wastefulness in front of goal on the part of the Socceroos, including from the penalty spot.
The Socceroos will now travel to Kuwait for a meeting with Palestine on Tuesday, a fixture doubles Australia’s last fixture before the Asian Cup in January – a tournament they will be hoping to win for just the second time after a maiden triumph in 2015.
Coach Graham Arnold could hardly have hoped for a more routine win to open the campaign for a place in the 2026 World Cup, to be held in Canada, the USA, and Mexico.
The coach also celebrated a remarkable individual milestone, with his 59th match in charge of the Socceroos a new record.
Arnold named a mix of youth and experience for the match, with six of the starting line-up having made fewer than 12 appearances before Thursday night’s clash and young forward Kusini Yengi coming off the bench for his debut.
“It was a very proud moment, I don’t think it’s really sunk in. It’s amazing,” the Portsmouth attacker told Channel 10.
But a number of the youngsters delivered standout performances, particularly midfielder Connor Metcalfe who delivered two assists.
21-year-old left back Jordy Bos and 23-year-old right-back Lewis Miller marauded down the flanks and each claimed an assist in a deserved reward for their fine work in the final third.
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AS IT HAPPENED
The opening goal came in just the fourth minute courtesy of 1.98m defender Harry Souttar, who showed his constant threat from set pieces with a thunderous header into the top corner from a Craig Goodwin cross.
Remarkably, it was the Leicester City centre-back’s ninth goal for the Socceroos in just his 20th appearance.
Australia’s set piece threat was something that Bangladesh had pointed out in the lead-up to the game, with coach Javier Fernandez Cabrera saying on Wednesday: “For us, Australia as a whole is definitely one of the best teams in Asia and one of the best teams in the world.
“When we talk about set plays, probably if not the best, it’s top five in the world, no doubt.”
But Australia’s second goal came from a sensational build-up in open play.
Right-back Lewis Miller fed Connor Metcalfe with a delightful chipped ball behind the backline. Metcalfe fended off a defender as he raced to the byline, before fizzing in a square ball for Borrello to slam home from close range.
Borrello’s goal, in the 20th minute, was his second in ten appearances on the international stage.
The Western Sydney Wanderers striker should have had a double seven minutes later when Goodwin curled in a pinpoint cross from the left wing that found Borrello directly in front of goal, but his header was aimed right at the goalkeeper.
The Socceroos were dominating possession and regularly marauding into the Bangladesh penalty area, and another great chance went begging in the 33rd minute when Goodwin whipped in a corner only for Keanu Baccus to head wide.
But it wasn’t long before Mitch Duke made it three in the 37th minute. He outmuscled two defenders to deftly head home a dinked cross from Connor Metcalfe.
Duke doubled his tally in the 40th minute. Borrello lashed a brilliant volley from outside the box into the left post, and the ball fell right to Duke to poke home.
Veteran midfielder Jackson Irvine nearly joined the scoring spree when he drew an excellent save with a long-range shot that was deflected, but Bangladesh survived to the half-time break without further damage.
Australia had 10 shots to one and three-quarters of possession in the first half.
Two goals, two minutes! Duke on FIRE | 00:44
At halftime, Graham Arnold made a bold triple-change, taking off veterans Irvine, Duke and Goodwin.
And it was one of the new arrivals – Jamie Maclaren – who continued the scoring frenzy just four minutes into the second half when he tapped home the simplest of finishes from a low Jordy Bos cross.
Maclaren, the A-League Men’s all-time top scorer, took his tally to nine in 31 appearances for the Socceroos.
Metcalfe had another fine shot from range saved, with Maclaren miscuing the follow-up half-volley.
Substitute Massimo Luongo then had a shot blocked in the 70th minute, with Maclaren reacting fastest to poke home an easy goal and make it 6-0.
Having brought on Aiden O’Neill in the 65th minute, Australia made a fifth and final substitute in the 72nd minute when youngster Kusini Yengi entered the pitch for his debut.
The Socceroos continued to batter at the Bangladesh door, but were wasteful in front of goal, with Jordy Bos missing a header from directly in front despite being totally unmarked.
But Maclaren could hardly miss in the 84th minute when Lewis Miller fed him for another close-range finish to make it a hat-trick.
Massimo Luongo could have made it eight from the penalty spot in the dying stages, but his poor attempt was well-saved by 19-year-old Bangladesh keeper Mitul Marma.
In the end, Australia finished with 29 shots to just one from Bangladesh, while controlling 70 per cent of possession.
SOCCEROOS XI
(4-3-3, R-L) Maty Ryan; Lewis Miller, Harry Souttar, Cameron Burgess, Jordan Bos; Keanu Baccus, Jackson Irvine, Connor Metcalfe; Brandon Borrello, Mitch Duke, Craig Goodwin
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