Summary
Thank you for joining me this afternoon. I will leave you with Joey Lynch’s match report from a baseball diamond in New York. Roll on the 2026 World Cup!
Anyway, here’s hoping The Socceroos (Pot 2?) draw Curacao (Pot 4?) somewhere in Mexico when the sorting hat calls out the names in a couple of weeks.
Curacao have become the smallest nation to qualify for a World Cup. Population 155,000-185,000 depending on source. A decent portion of them spill onto pitch in celebration.
— Laurie Whitwell (@lauriewhitwell) November 19, 2025
Bedlam at the end, with Jamaica, down to 10, awarded a stoppage time penalty. Only for VAR to intervene. pic.twitter.com/B6xvfio0qr
“Honestly, the approach will probably get us into the knockout stages with a kind draw. How many points will we really need? Three? That’s one win and two loses. Or three draws. It absolutely rewards negativity,” suggests Chris Paraskevas, accurately, in my opinion.
“More concerning is the fact that the Socceroos lack players with the vision, technique and self-confidence to take risks and change games. Would we really go anywhere after the group stages?
20 years on from the Aloisi penalty, everyone is happy to lap up FA’s content blitz and pretend that it was some watershed moment. But the simple fact is: in the two decades since, we simply haven’t produced players anywhere near the class of ‘06 (EPL, Serie A, title winners in European leagues).”
I concur, although I’m never of fan of saying it’s necessarily up to an FA to “produce” players. Yes, they can prime the conditions for player development, but the fruits of the 06 World Cup team were borne of the labour of the Goldilocks conditions of the NSL in the 10-15 years beforehand. That was a huge overachievement in historical analysis, we are now regressing back to the mean.
A frustrating night ultimately for Tony Popovic who set his side up to defend, and defend they did, excellently, for 75 minutes. But after conceding a soft penalty the wheels fell off and Colombia cantered to a 3-0 victory.
The 5-4-1 structure out of possession is robust but it simply does not offer any respite with only one lone striker attempting to hold the ball up when it is cleared downfield. Moreover, when there’s a need to change gears – like after falling behind – there isn’t the muscle memory to attack on the front foot and control the tempo of a game. Players are all so busy working defensively nobody has the luxury of a clear head to think creatively.
Individually, Trewin, Degenek, and Burgess all controlled the penalty area with assurance. O’Neill, Irvine, and McGree worked hard in midfield and showed occasional flashes of quality with some one-touch rondo work to break the Colombian press, but nobody demonstrated any menace in the final third. Disappointingly, Popovic only sought to win the game once his side had gone behind, but by then the substitutions made no impact and the likes of Boyle and Irankunda cut frustrated figures.
Full-time: Colombia 3-0 Australia
A third consecutive friendly defeat in a row for Australia. After a strong AFC qualification campaign the Socceroos have been reminded of their place in the global pecking order.
90+5 mins: Lots to like for 75 minutes from the Socceroos, but the peak end rule means we’ll be dwelling over the disastrous final 15.
GOAL! Colombia 3-0 Australia (Lerma, 90+3)
Eesh. James sends the corner deep to the far post. The giant Lerma wins the header easily, Izzo makes the reflex save, but Lerma is first to the rebound to poke home a third.
Updated
90+3 mins: Diaz can sense blood in the water and earns a corner after cutting in dangerously from the right and almost fashioning a route to goal.
90+2 mins: That was not Izzo’s finest hour. After defending so diligently and with great structure for 89 minutes it all went horribly wrong.
GOAL! Colombia 2-0 Australia (Diaz, 89)
Of course, committing bodies forward leaves spaces in behind. A long ball exposes a gaping hole in Australia’s defence, Paul Izzo makes an awful mess of the clearance, Diaz feasts on the scraps and taps the ball into the unguarded net.
88 mins: Australia finally have some possession, but after defending for so long there is absolutely no cohesion or energy. This is a major problem for Tony Popovic to figure out. How can he find some intent?
86 mins: Miller then does superbly defensively, finds Balard inside him, and he picks out Boyle in midfield only for the attack to be halted by a tactical foul from Lerma that earns the sub a yellow card.
85 mins: Miller, who has been furious for a while, fails to connect with Irankunda on the right. Cue plenty of arm waving and frustration.
83 mins: The Socceroos have not demonstrated a Plan B since going behind. That is a concern considering they will likely be defending for large portions in North America next year and relying on smash and grab raids late in games.
“The only thing Popovic has done in this window is make Venezuela look like Colombia, and Colombia look like Brazil,” emails James Paraskevas.
80 mins: Asprilla may be my player of the match. Very dangerous for 80 minutes.
⏱️ 81' Cambios en Colombia
— Selección Colombia (@FCFSeleccionCol) November 19, 2025
➡️ Jorge Carrascal, Jefferson Lerma
⬅️ Yáser Asprilla, Juan Portilla
🇨🇴 1-0 🇦🇺#LaSeleNosUne 🇨🇴 pic.twitter.com/eFSyAXRfks
79 mins: Colombia ignore Australia’s increased urgency and calmly control possession for a minute or so before attacking dangerously down the left. The first raid by Diaz is repelled but Asprilla comes back for more on the right and wins a corner.
78 mins: Popovic responds with a triple substitution before the restart.
78' | A triple change.
— CommBank Socceroos (@Socceroos) November 19, 2025
⬇️ Connor Metcalfe, Aiden O'Neill, Riley McGree
⬆️ Martin Boyle, Paul Okon-Engstler, Nestory Irankunda
🇨🇴 1-0 🇦🇺#COLvAUS #Socceroos #ForeverGolden
Updated
77 mins: As Andy Harper explains on commentary, this might be no bad thing for Australia’s preparations. What have they got for 10-15 minutes in attack, forced to chase a game after defending resolutely for 75 minutes?
GOAL! Colombia 1-0 Australia (James, 76)
James Rodriguez calmly sends Izzo the wrong way and clips the Trionda into the corner of the net.
PENALTY! (Colombia, 74)
Colombia manoeuvre the ball neatly through the middle with Australia’s defence retreating. The ball is dinked over the top and Elder is pinger for dragging down the chasing Arias.
FT 0-0. Curaçao become smallest nation ever to reach the World Cup Finals. Steve McClaren’s Jamaica into play-offs.
— Simon Stone (@sistoney67) November 19, 2025
72 mins: Colombia are dominating possession in the 25m between halfway and Australia’s box, but as soon as the ball gets swung into the danger zone the Socceroos are well organised, committed, and able to clear. In frustration, James smashes a shot from range miles over the bar.
70 mins: The sting has gone out of this game. Hopefully a couple of Colombian substitutions might liven things up: Gustavo Puerta, Rafael Borré > Richard Ríos, Luis Suárez.
Suarez did little to suggest he will be a major goal threat if backed in as Colombia’s No 9 in North America.
69 mins: Elder > Rowles.
67 mins: Apologies, distracted by Jamaica being awarded an injury-time penalty against Curaçao, only for it to be overturned by VAR! Dick Advocaat on his way to pipping Steve McLaren to the World Cup.
“When the World Cup eventually expands to a 150-team tournament in 2032 (at which point it will be a biannual esports league) do you think the Socceroos will still park the buss and try to progress to the knockout stages by finishing in the Top 148 teams?” asks Chris Paraskevas.
If they do, I can only hope Ange is on punditry duty.
63 mins: Asprilla, who has really caught the eye on the right, swings over another dangerous cross after being freed by James. Again though, Suarez lacks presence in the box.
61 mins: Close! Colombia cut through Australia with ease down the right and the pullback to the penalty spot is perfect but Suarez makes no connection! Eventually the shot comes in from range on the left that Izzo tips behind for a corner. Again, Australia’s set-piece defence is resolute.
60 mins: Balard > Irvine is the first substitution of the night.
59 mins: Australia’s attack, not so much. There’s no shortage of endeavour but this formation relies so heavily on bursts of transitional inspiration and set-pieces.
58 mins: Australia’s defending has been excellent tonight. Structured, disciplined, and committed, a real collective effort that reflects well on the coaching and the buy-in from the squad.
57 mins: Diaz with his first glimmer of space on transition. He stands up Trewin, shapes to go inside on his right, then cuts back onto his left, where Degenek is across smartly to block the ball out for a corner. Excellent defending from both Australians. The resulting corner is dangerous but the Socceroos smuggle clear.
56 mins: A rare couple of minutes of unstructured broken field play invites both teams to attack at pace but neither side fully commits. Australia retreat into their low block, keeping Colombia at arm’s length as they circulate the ball outside the box. When they venture inside with a cross there’s a black shirt nearby to divert it from danger.
54 mins: The referee is getting a little frustrated with Australia’s physicality, blowing again not far outside the box and allowing James another opportunity to whip in a cross. Again Australia deal with it smartly, Degenek this time, but the Socceroos don’t clear their lines well and Suarez pounces on the turnover but he lacks a decisive final ball.
52 mins: Rowles joins O’Neill in the book for a professional foul. From the resulting free-kick nobody can get any purchase on a dangerous in-swinging ball from James. Trewin gets the plaudits.
51 mins: Miller is a threat with his long throws from the right and he launches one deep into the box that is allowed to bounce before Toure tries a speculative overhead kick, without the same execution as Scott McTominay earlier this evening.
49 mins: The tempo is much slower this half and Australia have dropped from a mid to a low block. Asprilla, Colombia’s most active forward, injects some pace to jink around the outside on the right and whip a dangerous cross in that’s a fraction too high for Diaz on the edge of the six-yard box.
47 mins: Two solid minutes of Colombian possession to start the second half. They try to build slowly but profit from picking up the scraps from a long ball, after which they recycle well outside the box from right to left but when the cross is delivered Australia clear easily. Just like the first half though there is nobody to hold that clearance up and Colombia are soon back into their work.
The teams are back out for the second 45. I’ll do my best but please don’t expect me to update you on every one of the myriad substitutions inevitably heading our way.
It’s a big evening over in CONCACAF Qualification with all three groups going down to the wire. With about 25 minutes left to play it looks as though Panama, Curaçao, and Haiti are all going to the World Cup.
How exciting was that half? Colombia’s XG was 0.36, Australia’s 0.04.
What did we learn that half?
Australia’s defensive structure, discipline, and commitment are all very impressive.
Playing out from the back, Izzo, the three centre-halves, and the two sixes in midfield, all worked in sync to beat the initial press repeatedly.
Mo Toure is isolated up front and not suited to this structure. To play one out like this needs a bigger more experienced body to bring teammates into the game.
The 5-2-3 system gives plenty of defensive solidity but places too much responsibility on creativity to players not best suited to unlocking top tier defences (sorry Lewis Miller, you’re having a strong game, but you’re not Achraf Hakimi).
Half-time: Colombia 0-0 Australia
There isn’t time to take the corner that resulted from that save, so the two teams head to the interval deadlocked. And they do so with both benches exchanging a few verbals and gesticulations. It was a low tariff niggly half with plenty of tactical fouling in midfield. My guess is that Colombia began taking exception to Australia’s tactics and the Socceroos told them to suck it up.
45+2 mins: McGree goes for goal with his left boot, gets his free-kick over the wall and down sharply, forcing a diving save from Vargas away to his left. Excellent football all round.
45 mins: Miller pinches about 25m with a throw-in down the right. From the second ball Toure and McGree win possession then Irvine and O’Neill keep it alive allowing Miller to burst infield from the right and win a free-kick just on the corner of the box.
43 mins: Australia get a rare glimmer of possession and work their nice triangles again through defence and midfield, but as soon as they look up there’s only Toure to target and when the ball goes in his direction he is immediately crowded out.
41 mins: Australia continue to defend their box well, but they’re being forced to do so in such numbers and with such dedication there is no respite when they clear their lines. Toure is increasingly isolated and unable to hold the ball up and bring teammates into play.
40 mins: Australia have committed their share of fouls this half, and James is starting to get a bit frustrated by them.
39 mins: James floats the free-kick harmlessly into Izzo’s gloves from the set-piece.
37 mins: Asprilla dances into the penalty area on the right but his cross doesn’t find a teammate. James regroups and dances into the penalty area on the left but his cutback doesn’t end with a shot. Colombia come again and draw a foul 25m from goal just to the right of the D.
It's not exactly invigorating, but it's a lot better than it was against Venezuela last week. #COLvAUS
— Joey Lynch (@joeylynchy) November 19, 2025
35 mins: Diaz gets a shot away, this time with his right boot from the edge of the box after Colombia get the better of a series of second balls in their final third. The effort is wide of the lefthand upright.
33 mins: *Narrator*: they didn’t make it count. McGree massively overhits his cross to the far post and Colombia resume their possession play around halfway.
31 mins: Irvine, O’Neill, and McGree again show lovely one-touch skill to work the ball through the Colombian press, with the support of some composed football from the back three. The problem is after moving into open space the outlet is Lewis Miller, not Luis Diaz, so play judders to a halt. Nonetheless, Australia win a free-kick on the right just outside the penalty area. The Socceroos have to make these count.
29 mins: Nice spell of pressure from Colombia, started by the lively Asprilla and featuring Arias on a couple of occasions. A couple of his crosses deserved more commitment in the box before James showed quick feet to keep the move alive.
27 mins: Australia have lost all forward momentum and cohesion. Their attack now consists of however much trouble Toure can cause hunting down lost causes.
25 mins: As Colombia grow Australia are being forced to resort to hacked clearances and scrapping for second balls. Los Cafeteros continue to struggle to release Diaz though, who is flagged offside for the second time in quick succession, much to the Bayern flyer’s displeasure.
23 mins: Save Izzo! Colombia have upped the tempo in the past couple of minutes and Diaz forces Izzo into a diving save low to his right at the end of a lovely and straightforward series of veritcal passes on the half-turn. Toure is now isolated up top for the Socceroos and that composed 5-2-3 build-up structure now looks to be in quicksand.
22 mins: … quickly followed by the second with O’Neill harshly booked for catching the theatrical James in the throat with a stray arm while shielding the ball.
21 mins: … until I type that, of course. A lofted bass from back to front does pay off with Asprilla bringing it under control nicely and firing off a shot straight at Izzo. The first blow in anger.
20 mins: Colombia are unable to pierce Australia’s organised 5-4-1 defensive structure. Like a fictional bear hunt they have tried to go around it, over it, and through it, but on each occasion found the black wall impenetrable.
18 mins: A few stoppages have disrupted the flow of this match, which wasn’t high-octane to begin with. Colombia have not got out of first gear.
Mexican wave in the 16th minute. Yeeesh. #COLvAUS
— Joey Lynch (@joeylynchy) November 19, 2025
15 mins: The heat map for this match so far would be almost exclusively between the two penalty areas, aside from some touches from Izzo joining in Australia’s structured build-up. To labour an early point, that build-up has looked very promising with lots of composed one-touch passing and movement to draw the Colombian press and find the release ball down the right flank.
13 mins: Australia’s composure on the ball in defence and midfield has been an early feature. Some nice interplay almost releases Toure but he’s struggling to know when to time his runs after a couple of offside calls against him. O’Neill, Irvine, and McGree offer plenty of industry and determination in close quarters.
11 mins: Colombia have attempted to go over the top of Australia a few times already, but it seems a fruitless task against a tall back three not looking to play an offside trap.
9 mins: Colombia haven’t got into their flow yet. Australia are playing lots of short passes from the three central defenders into the feet of the two defensive midfielders, who in turn pass the ball back without looking to play forward on the half-turn. The out-ball is then a diagonal to the channel, mostly the right, for Metcalfe and Toure to chase.
7 mins: Toure has a difficult job tonight as the target man up against such a powerful defensive unit but he does well to hold up play and bring McGree into the action. It’s all very conservative though with Australia reluctant to commit bodies forward. You can see why as well because the Socceroos look vulnerable in turnover situations, as a misplaced pass on the left almost allowed Rios to pounce.
5 mins: Out of possession Australia are defending in a very structured 4-5-1 denying Colombia any room to play out from the back. James decides to drop deep on the right wing to inject some urgency, pings a lovely ball through the lines, to set his team moving. Some sharp one-touch interplay allows a crossing opportunity but the final ball is just behind Suarez who fails to connect with a hopeful flick.
3 mins: Australia are confident on the ball in their defensive third, looking to work their way out of trouble, but they succeed only inviting the Colombian press onto them and get lucky when Suarez can’t punish Degenek’s slip on the edge of his own box. Lots of possession early for the Socceroos though, who have settled well.
1 min: Australia think they’ve freed Toure in the right channel almost immediately after the kick-off, but he’s flagged offside. Vargas made a neat save at his near post regardless.
Kick-off!
We’re under way in New York…
Tori Penso is tonight’s referee. She is a NWSL and MLS regular.
Unsurprisingly the support in Queens is overwhelming in favour of Colombia. Roughly 150,000 residents of the New York borough hail from the South American nation.
The two sides make their way out onto the diamond, each group of players wearing 90s retro neon piped anthem jackets. They both line up in a very skew-whiff arrangement, in keeping with the odd dimensions of the playing arena.
It is winter chilly in New York, but dry and still under the Citi Field floodlights. Australia will be in their chic all black away strip tonight with Colombia in their traditional citrus yellow.
Inside the sheds 💚💛👕
— CommBank Socceroos (@Socceroos) November 19, 2025
🇨🇴 v 🇦🇺 - 19.11.25, 12:30pm AEDT
📱💻📺: Paramount+#Socceroos #ForeverGolden pic.twitter.com/v7dvqzqLAN
📸 ¡𝙃𝙤𝙮, 𝙙𝙚 𝙜𝙖𝙡𝙖 𝙤𝙩𝙧𝙖 𝙫𝙚𝙯! 😍
— Selección Colombia (@FCFSeleccionCol) November 19, 2025
🇨🇴🆚🇦🇺#LaSeleNosUne🇨🇴#VenConColombia 🇨🇴 pic.twitter.com/CNihMIBUnj
“Hi, I’m personal injury attorney Lionel Hutz. If you are calling because of a soft tissue injury experienced near second base, please press one. If you are calling because of a soft tissue injury experienced near third base, please press two.”
Socceroos boss Tony Popovic getting a look at the section of the pitch where turf has been laid over the dirt infield. pic.twitter.com/btXMPZITEm
— Joey Lynch (@joeylynchy) November 19, 2025
“What kind of stadium is Citi Field?” I hear you ask. Well, it’s a baseball stadium, home of the New York Mets, with a capacity of around 42,000. It’s no stranger to soccer with New York FC playing there regularly in recent years.
But I have to be honest, this looks abominable, especially the artificial turf between what is usually second and third bases that screams PFA lawsuit.
🏟️ Citi Field, NY 🗽
— CommBank Socceroos (@Socceroos) November 18, 2025
Today's venue for #COLvAUS 🍎
🇨🇴 v 🇦🇺 - 19.11.25, 12:30pm AEDT
📱💻📺: Paramount+#Socceroos #ForeverGolden pic.twitter.com/JJOQc2ufMj
Australia XI
Popovic has made five changes from the starting XI against Venezuela. Paul Izzo returns in goal, with Cam Burgess, Kye Rowles, Jackson Irvine, and Riley McGree bolstering a more familiar-looking 5-2-3 line-up.
Socceroos: Paul Izzo (gk), Lewis Miller, Milos Degenek, Kai Trewin, Cam Burgess, Kye Rowles, Aiden O’Neill, Jackson Irvine (c), Connor Metcalfe, Riley McGree, Mohamed Toure.
Colombia XI
Lorenzo has gone with an experienced defence and forward line in his favoured 4-3-3 formation, but is experimenting with his midfield combination. It’s a big night for Sporting striker Luis Suárez to cement his status as the starting targetman to complement the veteran James and blistering Diaz up front.
Colombia: Camilo Vargas (gk), Santiago Arias, Davinson Sánchez, Jhon Lucumí, Johan Mojica, Juan Portilla, Richard Ríos, Yáser Asprilla, James Rodríguez (c), Luis Díaz, Luis Suárez.
Colombia and Australia secured safe passage to North America months ago but elsewhere in the world the race to reach the World Cup finals has reached fever pitch.
This includes Scotland qualifying in the most ludicrous fashion and Graham Arnold steering Iraq to an interconfederation playoff deep into Fergie time.
Here’s Joey Lynch’s latest letter from America as the Socceroos fine tune their 2026 World Cup preparations.
With just 270 minutes of football remaining until Popovic names his 26-player squad – starting on Tuesday against Colombia in New York before two further games, likely at home, next March – every minute on the pitch isn’t just precious in seeking solutions for the Socceroos’ longstanding foibles in possession, but for those players who want to be part of his plans next June. The coach may want to leave the door open as long as possible, but he’ll likely be zeroing in on his preferred squad in the months ahead, so the clock is ticking.
Preamble
Hello everybody and welcome to live coverage of Colombia v Australia. This 2026 World Cup warm-up friendly kicks off at New York’s Citi Field Stadium at 8:30pm local time (12:30pm AEDT).
Seven months out from the start of the 2026 World Cup in North America this is a classic pre-tournament friendly: two qualified teams from different confederations at a neutral venue situated in one of the tournament’s host cities. Both camps get to experience a different footballing culture, familiarise themselves with conditions they can expect to face next summer, and play around with squad selection with minimal jeopardy.
For the Socceroos this is their fourth successive match in North America after a victory away to Canada in Montreal followed by defeats to the USA and Venezuela in Denver and Houston. That pair of losses, the first of Tony Popovic’s 14 month tenure, have given pause for thought over Australia’s World Cup preparations after seven straight victories in the calendar year.
But as much as results and momentum matter, these matches and training blocks are valuable for whittling down the longlist of potential squad members into the chosen 26 that will be handed the experience of a lifetime. This is especially the case for Popovic with so many young and lesser spotted individuals to cast his eye over.
Australia are currently 25th on FIFA’s rankings, their opponents tonight are placed 13th and haven’t ranked outside the top 20 since 2012. They qualified for the World Cup in third place in the CONMBEOL confederation (ahead of Brazil and Uruguay – and way in front of Venezuela, who beat the Socceroos a few days ago), beating both Argentina and Brazil along the way. The only player to score more goals than Colombia’s Luis Diaz during South American qualification was Lionel Messi.
Los Cafeteros are on an eight match unbeaten streak, one featuring eye-catching wins over Venezuela (6-3) and Mexico (4-0). Former Swindon Town defender (*looking at you David Squires*) Néstor Lorenzo is excelling in the dugout, making the most of a talented crop of players. The aforementioned Diaz is the standout, but 34 year old James Rodriguez continues to scheme, alongside a formidable army of stout defenders.
That will do for the time being. I’ll be back shortly with team news and plenty of updates from Joey Lynch over in New York. If you want to drop me an email at any point you can reach me at jonathan.howcroft.casual@theguardian.com.
