Australia has reached the next round of qualifying with two games to spare – but with precious FIFA ranking points on offer, that is not to say they are meaningless fixtures.

Kusini Yengi and John Iredale scored their first international goals while Patrick Yazbeck claimed an assist as new faces starred in 5-0 rout of Lebanon The kids are all right, but so are the old boys. “You can’t win anything with kids” was Alan Hansen’s immortal TV line about Manchester United, back in 1995, after they lost to Aston Villa on the first day of the season. United, of course, famously went on to win the double that season and countless trophies in the years that followed in a team built around the youthful exuberance of the Neville brothers, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and one David Robert Joseph Beckham. Continue reading...

Australia defeat Cedars 5-0 in second World Cup qualifierFirst international goals for Kusini Yengi and John Iredale It was an evening in which Craig Goodwin reaffirmed his status as one of the Socceroos’ most important attacking outlets, with two goals and two “in spirit” assists in his side’s 5-0 win over Lebanon. A performance that, again, left one wondering how his pinpoint delivery or ability to pile-up goals and assists hadn’t seen him establish himself in this Socceroos outfit before he was the wrong side of 30, or how he was never to establish a sustained European career. It was a night in which Kusini Yengi and John Iredale celebrated their first international goals for their country. In just his second international game, Iredale couldn’t hold the tears back as he was enveloped in a bearhug by Jackson Irvine after turning in a cross from Patrick Yazbek at the back post, just minutes after the 21-year-old provider had stepped on to the park to become Socceroo No 641. Continue reading...

Kusini Yengi scored his first international goal during the Socceroos' second World Cup Qualifier against Lebanon.

Updates from the Socceroos’ game at GIO StadiumKick-off time in Canberra is 7.45pm AEDTAny thoughts? Feel free to get in touch on email Hussein Sharafeddine makes his debut in defence, one of two changes from the match in Sydney. Nader Matar also comes into the team, with Hasan Srour and Maher Sabra dropping out. Lebanon (possible 5-4-1) M Matar; Nassar, Khamis, Sharafeddine, Shour, Shibriko; Maatouk, Sisi, N Matar, Jradi; Bugiel. Substitutes: Khalil, Sabeh, Dhaini, Moghrabi, Haidar, Srour, Khoury, Bitar, Al Haj, Lajud, Farah, Darwiche. Continue reading...

Follow along for all the live action for the Socceroos’ World Cup qualifier against Lebanon in Canberra. A win will see the Aussie’s go through to the third round.