Australia thrash Indonesia in AFC World Cup qualifiers

With Dutch legend Patrick Kluivert well beaten in his first game in charge, Australia thrashed Indonesia 5-1 to move closer to World Cup qualification.

A Martin Boyle spot-kick and a Nishan Velupillay strike in the opening 20 minutes of a frantic opening 20 minutes caused the damage at Sydney Football Stadium before Indonesia missed a penalty.

The victory was secured by a brace from Jackson Irvine and another from Lewis Miller.

The fact that we managed to score five goals made me very pleased, according to man-of-the-match Irvine.

Lewis Miller, from Australia, is at right. [David Gray/AFP] heads the ball for his team’s fourth goal.

Mat Ryan, the skipper of Australia, was unsatisfied.

The goalkeeper said, “I think the scoreline does a little flatter us, to be honest. They had two significant chances at the start of the game, and if they had thrown one of them away, it might have been a different game.

However, momentum is crucial in sport, and we have already jumped-started it in a crucial [FIFA] window, and it’s crucial that we continue to improve.

Tony Popovic’s men won the tournament in Asia Group C, placing them ahead of Japan, and earning them a significant advantage in their quest to advance to the 48-team competition in North America the following year.

With three games to go, including a crucial away game against China on Tuesday, Australia now leads Indonesia by 10 points.

Indonesias head coach Patrick Kluivert (L) reacts as he watches the game with Australias head coach Tony Popovic during the 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian qualification football match between Indonesia and Australia at Allianz Stadium in Sydney on March 20, 2025. (Photo by DAVID GRAY / AFP) / -- IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE -- — [David Gray/AFP] Both Australia’s and Indonesia’s head coaches have only recently taken over their respective sides.

Saudi Arabia and China meet in Riyadh later, and Bahrain and Japan clash in Saitama both have six points. If Japan wins, they will be guaranteed a spot in the World Cup.

Only the top two automatically advance, with the third and fourth forced to enter Asian qualifying round three later.

The magnitude of Kluivert’s position, which he took over in January after Shin Tae-yong was fired, was reinforced by defeat.

In a bid to win the World Cup for the first time since 1945, his team travels home for a must-win showdown against Bahrain the following week.

Harry Souttar, a Leicester defender, and Riley McGree, a Middlesbrough midfielder, were the only injured regulars for Australia.

But they did it in a matchup of 10 players who were born in the Netherlands and were given Indonesian citizenship.

Soccer Football - World Cup - AFC Qualifiers - Third Round - Group C - Australia v Indonesia - Allianz Stadium, Sydney, Australia - March 20, 2025 Indonesia's Jay Idzes heads the ball away from the goal REUTERS/Hollie Adams — [Hollie Adams/Reuters] Indonesia’s Jay Idzes strands his keeper and heads the ball away from the goal.

After Jay Idzes’ glancing header, Ryan made a spectacular save in a breathless start, and shortly after that, Indonesia won a penalty with the dismissal of Rafael Struick.

However, Kevin Diks’ spot kick struck the post.

After a VAR intervention, the Socceroos were awarded a penalty and Hibernian striker Boyle made no mistakes ten minutes later.

The hosts doubled their lead two minutes later when Adam Taggart found Velupillay, who sat up and pounced on Maarten Paes as he calmly chipped in.

In the 34th minute, Irvine made it 3-0 with a fine save from Paes before turning the rebound.