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Across the opening 15 minutes of their World Cup qualifier against Indonesia, the Socceroos looked like they were being swept away. Any suggestions of the eventual 5-1 scoreline would have been laughable. Travelling supporters and the local Indonesian diaspora made a mockery of any home advantage, as a sea of red surrounded the Sydney Football Stadium pitch before kick-off, auguring a tide of furious pressure and intent upon the opening whistle.
In just the fifth minute, a free-kick swung in from the right by Calvin Verdonk beat the outstretched head of Cameron Burgess and found Jay Idzes, whose resulting header forced Mat Ryan into a leaping diving save. The roar from the stands felt like it shook the foundations. Two minutes later, a ball lofted over the top of the defensive line fell for Rafael Struick, who was clipped by Kye Rowles for a penalty.
Australia looked like they didn’t know what was happening. This wasn’t the same Indonesia they faced in Jakarta last September, a team who had largely been content to sit back and absorb pressure. In his first game in charge, Patrick Kluivert instructed his side not to take a backward step, to harry and press with a high line and deny their hosts a moment’s peace. The result was an almost frantic panic from the Socceroos in possession, as if Indonesi’s decision to try to win the game, as opposed to not lose it, had caught them unawares.
But rather than give his nation a deserved lead, Kevin Diks’ attempt from 12 yards smashed off the post and back into play. It was hit with such power that the frame of goal continued to rattle well after the Socceroos had desperately scrambled the ball away. And the reverberations continue to be felt longer.
Just under 10 minutes later, Australia had a corner. And while the Indonesians did enough to initially see off the danger, a subsequent VAR found that Nathan Tjoe-A-On had wrapped Lewis Miller in an embrace as the ball was swung in. The Socceroos had a penalty. And unlike Diks, Martin Boyle struck true, sending Maarten Paes the wrong way.
Just three minutes later, Jason Geria turned inside Marselino Ferdinan and played a pass to Boyle, who knocked a first-time pass to Adam Taggart. A surprise selection at the tip of the Socceroos’ spear, the Perth Glory frontman turned Idzes and clashed with Thom Haye. Regardless of who got the telling touch from that collision, it saw the ball loop out in front of a galloping Nishan Velupilay to advance on goal and fire beyond the advancing Paes.
Just like that, the game was irrevocably altered. The air had been taken out of the Indonesian players on the field and the fans in the stands. All of a sudden, the malevolence that came with their pressure had lessened. The confidence and comfort of Australia, in contrast, was growing, and combinations and patterns began to become noticeable in their attacking play. It is remarkable what a two-goal buffer will do for the nerves.
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Combining with Velupilay and Miller, Jackson Irvine made it three just past the half-hour when he collected the rebound of his own saved attempt and placed the ball into the top corner. It was 4-0 in the 61st when Craig Goodwin, inserted as a half-time substitute for Boyle, swung a corner onto the head of a diving Miller. Ole Romeny’s 78th-minute consolation meant the Socceroos are still seeking a first clean sheet of the Tony Popovic era but it was answered by Irvine’s second in the 90th.
Ultimately, this was a game of Popaball that did what it said on the tin and, after being given a second wind through an early reprieve, did it well. Grabbing an early two-goal cushion, Australia had 40% possession and were outshot 10 to nine. They had 11 touches in Indonesia’s penalty area to 18. But they settled. They found their shape. They were clinical. And they won comfortably, taking a major step towards the tournament in 2026.
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