‘It’s Brought Australia Together’: What We’ve Learnt from the Socceroos’ FIFA World Cup Campaign

Losing to Egypt in the Round of 32, Australia have been knocked out of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

With the score at 1-1 after 120 minutes, the loss saw Mohamed Salah’s side progress to face Argentina in the next round, following the first World Cup penalty shootout the Socceroos have ever been a part of.

A tough loss to take, the tournament will now be reflected upon in two strikingly different ways back home in Australia. 

On the surface, Tony Popovic’s side failed to score in two of their four matches, and the loss to Egypt means they are yet to win a World Cup knockout game following Round of 16 defeats in both the 2006 and 2022 editions. 

A closer look, however, reveals much more room for optimism. In 2006 and 2022, Australia’s knockout defeats were incredibly narrow ones that came at the hands of Italy and Argentina respectively, both nations who ended up winning the tournament.

This time out, the youthful team bowed out on penalties after a group stage performance to be proud of. Many predicted Australia to finish bottom of a group featuring Turkiye, a nation seen by many as a dark horse, Paraguay, who later sent Germany home with their first ever World Cup penalty shootout loss, and high-flying tournament co-hosts in the USA. Instead, the Socceroos finished second and earned automatic qualification to the next round with four points.

Australia can now be seen as a World Cup mainstay. Qualifying for the competition six times in a row, the team boasts talented young players who are increasingly signing for top European clubs, and this is one of the key takeaways of the 2026 World Cup that this article will discuss. 

Drawing on the thoughts of passionate Socceroos fans in Australia, Global Institute of Sport looks back on the tournament to find out what we can learn from the 2026 World Cup when it comes to Australian football.

Trusting the Youth

From Graham Arnold’s 2022 World Cup squad, the 10th oldest in the competition with an average age of 27.5—Tony Popovic called up only eight players to this year’s edition.

This was encouraged, in part, by Australia’s early qualification, which allowed the manager to experiment with younger players for a longer period of time. This was a decision that many Socceroos fans resonate with, and speaking to GIS from Queensland about Australia’s tournament, Socceroos fan Ryan described a “young and diverse team which Aussies like to think epitomises them.”

The extent to which Popovic has trusted young players can be seen in the numbers. Despite an average squad age only slightly lower at 26.88 this time out, the commitment to Australia’s youth talent shone in their starting lineups.

In their 2022 opener against France, Australia’s starting lineup had an average age of 28.09. Against Turkiye this time out, the number was 24, which, for the fans, is a sign of the nation’s football development in recent years.

“There’s heaps of youth to be excited about that have warranted considerably big moves in the near future,” Ryan said.

“The technical midfielders in [Paul] Okon-Engstler and Aiden O’Neill are a refreshing thing to see in Aussie football. Okon-Engstler still playing in our domestic league (not for long) is great to see because our success has been notoriously attributed to our mentality, which is true. Aussies play every sport growing up and we are insanely competitive. So when I see a player stand out for their technical quality, it’s a sign of good things.”

A display of this quality, Australia is exporting more and more talent to some of Europe’s top leagues. Watford forward Nesteroy Irankunda became Australia’s youngest-ever World Cup goalscorer at 20-years-old, and is joined by Mo Toure among the Australians playing in the Championship. 

Wingback Jordy Bos plays his football in the Eredivisie, while Alessandro Circati and Cristian Volpato have moved to the Serie A in recent years, though this is not to say that the domestic talent has gone unnoticed. 

Perhaps Australia’s finest performance this World Cup came from 22-year-old Patrick Beach, the Melbourne City goalkeeper who fellow Socceroos supporter Chester, from Melbourne, has described a “revelation.”

Ultimately, it is these young players who make the team easy to get behind, and are part of the reason why football has a bright future down under.

Cohesive, Pragmatic and Resolute: The Identity of Australian Football

“I’ve loved the tournament so far, it’s brought Australia together,” Chester reflected, adding that the World Cup has “reminded us all of the love we have for one another, no matter the background.”

Such is the power of football, which is considered the favourite sport of 152 nations worldwide. Australia, however, is not one of them, where Australian Football and rugby league remain the most popular.

The World Cup questions this, according to Ryan, who highlighted the prominence of the sport when it comes to big competitions. “We’re loving it over here. It seems all the rugby fans become football diehards for the month, and for good reason.”

Regardless of their experience in the sport, new Socceroos watchers will have been appreciative of the fight the Australian team showed. 

An extremely difficult team to break down, Popovic set his team up in a low block, compact in central areas and happy to let the opponent play the ball wide.

At the top of the 5-4-1 shape sat Irankunda, who came as part of a structure that showed its counter-attacking potential with his goal against Turkiye that caught the European side on the break.

With 28% possession and 9 shots to their opponents’ 30, the fixture showed exactly how Australia aim to play. Creating consistent attacking threats, however, is an area in which the team struggled.

This was prevalent in their games against Paraguay and Egypt, where the team remained defensively strong for the most part but, according to FotMob, created 0 big chances.

“Up top we have a lot of venom,” Chester explained, “but haven’t been able to consistently put them into good areas. Our defence has been solid, but we’re going to need to get forward more to frustrate better sides.”

As shown by Cabo Verde, Ecuador, and Paraguay, teams with less technical ability have the power to upset World Cup heavyweights should they learn to take risks at the right time. Despite this area for improvement, it is a strength that this Australian team has a clear identity. 

Overall, this Australian team will feel as though they are heading home too soon. However, positives will be taken from their performances, a sentiment echoed by Popovic in his closing World Cup interview: 

“I’ve ⁠always said that we didn’t want to limit expectations or adjust standards now, but in four years, in eight years, it should be a much better group.

“We’re proud,” he continued, “of what ​they [the players] have been able to do considering the lack of football that they have.”

“Once these players become regulars at the clubs and can do it year ​after year, that’s what excites us, that this group can get better and better.”

Article by Zakaria Anani