Follow updates as Socceroos face Seleção in Brisbane
Kick-off time at Suncorp Stadium is 8.10pm AEST/7.10am BRT
Any thoughts? with an email
As the two teams walk out onto the pitch to prepare for the anthems, the commentators are giving us a little history lesson.
Australia has beaten Brazil just once in their 11 meetings, which came 25 years ago. That was, coincidentally, the only other time that the Socceroos had scored against the former world champions… until last Friday in Townsville.
In another cute piece of trivia, Australia’s head coach Tony Popovic shadowed Carlo Ancelotti at AC Milan as he was starting out on his coaching journey while still a player at Crystal Palace. Now they’re facing each other across the dugout. The master v the apprentice.
The two nations are separated by 23 spots on the FIFA men’s rankings, but based on last week’s game, you really couldn’t tell. Might we see a little bit more history made tonight?
The lights of Lang Park have gone down, the flamethrowers are roaring, and the music is pumping as the stadium announcer reads the two line-ups.
Irankunda, unsurprisingly, gets the biggest roar from the almost sell-out crowd. Big Sam-Kerr-but-for-the-boys energy.
Kick-off is just minutes away. Who wins this one, team? Email me your predictions: samantha.lewis.freelance@guardian.co.uk
Brazil boss Carlo Ancelotti has also shared the thinking behind his mass rotation of players for this second match.
We have to be a little bit sharper in front compared to the last game, and hope everything will be okay. For us, it’s another test… I think we will play a little bit different from the first game. It is a test and I would like to know about the young players who have a lot of quality. We are going to play with three midfielders; a little different from the first game. We have to keep open the two systems, with the first striker in front because we have a lot of quality in front, but with three midfielders it keeps us more balanced in the middle of the pitch.
We have to be a little bit sharper in front compared to the last game, and hope everything will be okay.
For us, it’s another test… I think we will play a little bit different from the first game. It is a test and I would like to know about the young players who have a lot of quality.
We are going to play with three midfielders; a little different from the first game. We have to keep open the two systems, with the first striker in front because we have a lot of quality in front, but with three midfielders it keeps us more balanced in the middle of the pitch.
Australia’s two central midfielders might be in for a rude shock tonight based on that.
Tony Popovic gives us a little hint as to what we can expect from the Socceroos tonight, with one eye on the Asian Cup. He spoke to Paramount+ before the game.
It’s a challenge for all of us. We’ve named the same line-up, and want to see if Nestor [Irankunda] can make the same impact as he had the other day, four days later. That’s part of his growth individually. But also, as a team, we want to develop and try to challenge Brazil once more. The back-line is still new. They played together for the first time at the World Cup, and it was nice to get another game together in Townsville. So trying to find some continuity is good. They’ll be challenged tonight, but they’re excited by that challenge and I think the fans are as well. We want to walk away from these two games pleased.
It’s a challenge for all of us. We’ve named the same line-up, and want to see if Nestor [Irankunda] can make the same impact as he had the other day, four days later.
That’s part of his growth individually. But also, as a team, we want to develop and try to challenge Brazil once more.
The back-line is still new. They played together for the first time at the World Cup, and it was nice to get another game together in Townsville. So trying to find some continuity is good. They’ll be challenged tonight, but they’re excited by that challenge and I think the fans are as well.
We want to walk away from these two games pleased.
Jackson Irvine shared some thoughts, too:
We want to play on the front foot, especially at the beginning of games. Be aggressive, be positive, so we’re looking to do that again tonight which will hopefully give us a strong foot-hold once again. It’s just working on the details; on the small margins and percentages that can turn the positive performances we’ve been putting in into positive results. We’ve taken some big steps forward, even this week.
We want to play on the front foot, especially at the beginning of games. Be aggressive, be positive, so we’re looking to do that again tonight which will hopefully give us a strong foot-hold once again.
It’s just working on the details; on the small margins and percentages that can turn the positive performances we’ve been putting in into positive results. We’ve taken some big steps forward, even this week.
Hard to disagree with you there, Jacko!
Seleção (4-2-3-1): Otavio (GK, 12); Gabriel (3), Cunha (24), Junior (16), Vanderson (2); Guimaraes (8), Danilo (5); Bontempo (25), Rayan (26), Vinicius (7); Raphinha (C, 10).
Brazil, meanwhile, have made seven changes from the opening game, with midfielders Guimaraes and Danilo, plus attackers Raphinha and Vinicius, the only players remaining from the Townsville draw.
Socceroos (5-3-2): Beach (GK, 18); Circati (3), Souttar (C, 19), Herrington (25), Behich (16), Italiano (4); Irvine (22), Metcalfe (8), Okon-Engstler (24); Irankunda (17), Yengi (26).
No changes for Australia from the first friendly in Townsville, and who could blame Tony Popovic after such an impressive performance? Let’s see if they can do it again.
Irankunda isn’t the only star-boy in the Socceroos now, though. Lucas Herrington’s rapid rise from Brisbane Roar to Hull City has been a marvel to watch, alongside the club moves made by the likes of Alessandro Circati (Benfica), Paul Okon-Engstler (Köln), and Patrick Beach (Troyes).
If you, like me, struggle to keep tabs on what’s happening with all the Aussies everywhere, you can sign up for Football Desk Australia: our free, weekly newsletter with the brilliant Jonathan Wilson.
Pitch, please.
For all the pride and bombast of the Queensland government when promoting this friendly series, Townsville sure didn’t roll out the green carpet for the visiting South Americans.
The local council reportedly had 20 untouched days to get the pitch ready for the first match, yet it was visibly patchy and raw from the opening whistle. The first couple of passes barely travelled in a straight line due to bobbling and bouncing off random tufts of turf.
Players from both teams also slipped multiple times, sending their passes whizzing long or wide of their targets. The unstable ground almost certainly affected both teams’ abilities to attack in the ways they wanted to, with final touches and passes sabotaged by the field.
Brazil boss Carlo Ancelotti was openly critical of the surface after the game, saying “it was difficult to play on a pitch like this, and we hope to have a better pitch for the next game.”
Lang Park in Brisbane has had even less time to prepare after hosting an NRL preliminary final between the Dolphins and the Roosters on Friday, but based on the look of it on the broadcast as the teams warm up, it hopefully won’t play the same starring role in tonight’s friendly. Thank goodness.
Anyone who’s been paying attention to the Socceroos over the past 18 months already knows about Nestory Irankunda, but the youngster’s performance against Brazil last week undoubtedly introduced him to a whole new South American audience.
From his slaloming run and strike in the sixth minute to his bullet free kick to put Australia ahead in the 68th, the Sporting winger reminded all of us what he’s capable of when played in the position he’s best at.
It does make you wonder what the World Cup may have looked like for the Socceroos had Irankunda played down the left for the whole tournament, instead of spending the final few games at centre-forward where he played with his back to goal and got shoved to the ground most of the time.
Head coach Tony Popovic said he has “no major regrets” from the World Cup, though admitted he had reflected on the loss to Egypt and the lack of impact Australia had in the front third up until the penalty shoot-out. Juggling different players based on fitness and fatigue levels was part of that dilemma, apparently, while the loss of Jacob Italiano and Jordan Bos to injury took the wind out of their sails.
Yet the question of Irankunda still lingers. With Mohamed Touré and Tete Yengi - two natural centre-forwards - seemingly available for those games, Popovic persisted with Irankunda up front against Egypt, where he achieved very little and looked frustrated as a result.
But against Brazil last week, we saw how lethal he can be when given the space to turn and tear in behind or run directly at defenders. He’s in the line-up once again tonight, where you’d expect to see the same. Come the Asian Cup, one would hope Popovic has learned that lesson, too.
This international window carries a bit more urgency for Australia than for Brazil, with the Socceroos already preparing for the 2027 Asian Cup which kicks off in Saudi Arabia in January.
Head coach Tony Popovic has used the opportunity to bring in a few new faces, though his hand has been forced somewhat by a spate of injuries to some of his World Cup players including Mohamed Touré (shoulder), Cristian Volpato (hamstring), Cameron Burgess (Achilles), Jordan Bos (knee), and Alex Robertson, while a few veterans including captain Mat Ryan, Mat Leckie, and Awer Mabil simply weren’t selected.
The silver lining is that five debutants were called up for this series in goalkeeper Jacob Chapman, Kealey Adamson, Eli Adams, Yaya Dukuly and Marcus Younis, who earned his first cap in Townsville. Kasey Bos – the younger brother of Jordan – and teenage defender Dylan Leonard were also selected and could make their debuts today.
There is a growing sense that this group may become the best Socceroos side since the Golden Generation of the early 2000s, with this year’s World Cup acting as a launchpad for several Australian stars into bigger and better clubs.
It’s in rather stark contrast to Brazil, who appear to still be figuring out what their new era looks like after getting knocked out of the World Cup by Norway in the round of 16.
They never really got going under Carlo Ancelotti in North America, but the head coach has called in a couple younger names to this camp such as Artur Dias (Athletico Paranaense) and Maurio Júnior (PSV Eindhoven) as they look to slowly and sustainably rebuild, with their next World Cup qualifiers starting in late 2027.
How do you think this Socceroos team will fare come January, friends? With Singapore, Iraq, and Tajikistan in their group, are they ready to seriously compete at the Asian Cup or are they still a bit too green?
Send me your thoughts and feelings via email at samantha.lewis.freelance@guardian.co.uk
Hello folks and welcome to live coverage of the Socceroos’ second and final friendly match against Brazil. Tonight’s game at Lang Park in Brisbane will kick off at 8.10pm AEST (7.10am BRT).
It was framed as a David v Goliath match when Australia hosted the Seleção in Townsville last week, but the 90 minutes that unfolded on the rough north Queensland turf told a totally different story.
The Socceroos were seconds from a famous win after Nestory Irankunda’s dipping free kick, only to cop an equaliser from substitute Rayan in stoppage time.
Still stinging from a disappointing World Cup campaign, Brazil did not make a particularly strong statement that they’re turning things around. Despite Brazil starting some of their biggest players such as Marquinhos, Guimarães, Raphinha, and Vinícius Júnior, they struggled to break down an organised and aggressive Australian backline, carving out only a handful of serious chances on goal.
The Socceroos, meanwhile, continued their own World Cup theme of collective defence, pressing with gusto, and choosing their moments to attack at speed, though the cow-paddock surface dented some of those chances.
Both teams will feel they were robbed of something in that first match, be it a historic home win against the five-time world champions on the side of Australia, or an opportunity to turn a new page and show their true quality in the case of Brazil. Tonight’s rematch in Brisbane will be a chance for each to make amends.
In case you missed the game itself, you can catch up on the blow-by-blow over on Martin Pegan’s live blog here, or if you don’t have that kind of time and just want to get a sense of the vibes, take a read of Joey Lynch’s match report below.
