FIFA World Cup 2026 AFC qualifiers: Australian football team results and scores

The Australian men's football team is looking to qualify for its seventh FIFA World Cup main draw but the Socceroos will need to earn their ticket for the 2026 edition, which will be jointly hosted by the USA, Canada and Mexico.

As one of the higher-ranked teams in the Asian Football Confederation, Australia’s qualifying campaign began in the second round of the FIFA World Cup 2026 AFC qualifiers.

The second round of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Asian qualifiers featured 36 football teams divided into nine groups of four. The teams played each other in a home-away round-robin format.

The top two teams from the group qualified for the third qualifying round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America and earned a direct entry in the 2027 AFC Asian Cup to be held in Saudi Arabia.

Australia topped Group I with a perfect record of six wins. The Socceroos scored 22 goals in their campaign without conceding. Palestine finished second ahead of Lebanon and Bangladesh.

The Socceroos blanked Bangladesh 7-0 in Melbourne to open their campaign on a high and beat Palestine 1-0 in Kuwait City in their second match of the second round. The Aussies beat Palestine 5-0 in their final match of the second round on June 11.

The 18 teams which qualified for the third round of the FIFA World Cup 2026 AFC qualifiers are divided into three groups of six teams each and will play double-legged round-robin matches.

The top two teams from each of these groups directly qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2026 while the third and fourth teams from each group enter the fourth round. The remaining teams are eliminated.

The fourth round sees the six teams divided into two groups of three. The group winners qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup while the runner-ups play in a two-legged fixture in the fifth round for a place in the inter-confederation play-offs

FIFA World Cup 2026 AFC qualifiers: Australia football team results and scores

Australia second round results and scores

• Australia 7 (Harry Souttar 4', Brandon Borrello 20', Mitch Duke 37', 40', J. Maclaren 49', 70’, 84’) - 0 Bangladesh
• Palestine 0-1 Australia (Harry Souttar 18’)
• Australia 2 (Keanu Baccus 5', Kye Rowles 54') -0 Lebanon
• Lebanon 0-5 Australia (Kusini Yengi 2’, Bassel Jradi OG 47’, Craig Goodwin 48’, 81’, John Iredale 68’)
• Bangladesh 0-2 Australia (Ajdin Hrustic 29’, Kusini Yengi 62’)
• Australia 5 (Kusini Yengi 5’,41’, Adam Taggart 26’, Martin Boyle 53’, Nestory Irankunda 87’) -0 Palestine

FIFA World Cup 2026 Asian qualifiers Group I table second round

*Glossary: GF - Goals For; GA - Goals Against, GD - Goal Difference

Australia third round results and scores

• Australia 0-1 Bahrain (Harry Souttar - 89' OG)
• Indonesia 0-0 Australia
• Australia 3 (Lewis Miller 45'+2, Craig Goodwin 53', Nishan Velupillay 90'+2)-1 China (Xie Wenneng 20')
• Japan 1 (Cameron Burgess 79' OG)-1 (Shogo Taniguchi 58' OG)
• Australia 0-0 Saudi Arabia
• Bahrain 2 (Mahdi Abduljabbar 75', 77')-2 Australia (Kusini Yengi 1', 90+6')