The Socceroos are through to the next stage of AFC (Asian Football Confederation) qualifying for the 2026 World Cup – and with two games in hand.

In the next stage, 18 nations are split into three groups of six. The teams play their group rivals twice each – home and away.

The top two teams from each group qualify directly for the World Cup in 2026.

The Socceroos will be hoping to achieve that result – but there are still spots for grabs if they miss out on the top two spots, so long as they finish in the top four teams in their group.

The six teams who finish third and fourth are then placed into two groups, with the top team from each group qualifying for the World Cup.

The second-placed teams play off against each other for the chance to compete in an inter-confederation playoff.

All this is to say that the expansion of the World Cup to 48 teams means there’s plenty of places for AFC nations to compete in the tournament.

But for the Socceroos, they’ll be hoping to get the job done at the next stage.

WHY THE NEXT MATCHES AREN’T DEAD RUBBERS

While the final two fixtures in this stage of qualifying seem to be dead rubbers, there’s a crucial reason why Arnold and the Socceroos are taking them very seriously: FIFA rankings.

The groups in the next stage are decided by seedings based on rankings – which means the top three teams in Asia are all drawn into different groups.

The Socceroos are hoping to be one of the top three highest-ranked teams in the AFC and therefore avoid being drawn in a group with heavyweights such as Japan and Iran, currently the top two ranked teams in the AFC.

As it stands, the Socceroos are ranked 23rd on the live rankings, just above South Korea – who were held to a shock draw by Thailand last Thursday but beat them on Tuesday night.

If the Socceroos win their final two matches, they’ll retain their place as the third-ranked AFC team and therefore avoid Japan and Iran in the next round.

Arnold said: “Next camp, I’m saying this openly and honestly, those FIFA ranking points are crucial at this moment, winning these games.”

Further down the track, FIFA rankings also come into play when it comes to the World Cup draw – so every match is important.

That also means we might not see too much experimentation when it comes to June’s fixtures against Bangladesh and Palestine.

Arnold said: “I’m not into giving caps away. To earn a cap, it needs to be deserved and the reward of it.

“But some of the older boys, maybe they need a break – especially after they come off the back of the (2022) World Cup and they go back to their clubs, and then they’ve had an Asian Cup in the middle of their season. So maybe they’ll need a break.”

He added: “Sometimes they come with us, it’s 10 days of their holidays gone and they got a shorter break. Some players, after a long season, they need a good holiday, clear the brain, freshen up, then we get ready to go again.”

EMOTIONAL MOMENTS SHOW SPECIAL CONNECTION

There were two especially touching moments in Tuesday night’s victory.

The first came inside two minutes, when Craig Goodwin teed up his former Adelaide United teammate Kusini Yengi for a maiden international goal. The pair celebrated by doing Goodwin’s typical goal celebration together.

The second was when debutant Patrick Yazbek assisted second-gamer John Iredale for his own maiden international goal, with Iredale in tears as he was mobbed by teammates.

Yengi said to Network 10: “To score my first goal is amazing.

“Me and Goody have a great connection. We played together at Adelaide. He assisted my first professional goal at Adelaide and now assisted my first goal at the Socceroos. It’s an amazing moment for me and to have that moment with Goody as well is even more special.”

Goodwin said of that moment: “Really, really happy for him. He’s gone across to England and put in some really good performances there (with Portsmouth) and he’s starting to get his opportunity now at national team level. I’ve spent a lot of time with him at Adelaide and I think he’s someone who has a really bright future ahead of him.

“As his game develops and he starts to play more games and gets more consistency at that level, I think he’s someone who has the potential to go really high in the game.

“With the physical attributes that he has, and if he can fine tune some of the other areas, he’s going to be very tough to handle.”

Speaking of Iredale’s emotional maiden goal, Goodwin added: “It’s brilliant. You’ll never be able to really recreate that moment – scoring your first goal for your nation. For me it was scoring against Vietnam in Melbourne. I had the same thing, the same emotions that come over you because it’s everything you dream of as a kid.

“To be able to score for your nation – and for these boys to do that – you are fulfilling a childhood dream. It’s brilliant for him.”

Goodwin continued: “We are a tight-knit group. IT’s great. Every chance we have to celebrate boys, you can see every person ran over to Kas (Kusini) when he scored, everybody ran over to Johnny when he scored. Even boys are applauding when lads are coming on to make their debut with Patty (Yazbek) and Nissy (Nisbet).

“So it’s a fantastic group that we have here and we’re really proud when we can celebrate each other.”

There certainly was plenty to celebrate.

‘PRETTY HORRIBLE TACKLE’ ADDS TO INJURY WOES

For all the positivity to come out of the big win, there was a very sad scene: Ajdin Hrustic limping off the pitch with the help of two trainers, hardly able to use his left foot at all. Hrustic had copped plenty of whacks all night with no protection from the referee, and it all culminated in a horror tackle in the 51st minute which left him in a crumpled heap on the turf.

Coach Graham Arnold was bitterly disappointed at the incident, saying afterwards: “The medical side, the medical team are looking after (Hrustic). But I will say if there was VAR that was red. It was a pretty horrible tackle, when you look at it back.”

“He’s hobbling around the dressing room,” he added.

Making just his second Socceroos appearance since June 2023 – and his first start since September 2022 – it was a nightmare outcome for Hrustic, who had showed flashes of brilliance in both matches. He assisted Craig Goodwin’s first goal with a sensational dink over the backline and should have scored himself when Goodwin teed him up with a superb cut-back in the first half.

But after a horror year and a half, where serious injury and then club exile saw him tumble out of the Socceroos’ spotlight, Hrustic seemed poised to get back to his best and make up for lost time.

“I’ve still got unfinished business with the World Cup,” he said after Thursday’s win.

“I’ve got a lot to work for and there’s a lot ahead of me. I’m taking it step by step, but I’m excited.”

Fingers crossed it’s only a minor injury, because the Socceroos can ill-afford to suffer more blows to their squad.

Riley McGree and Jordy Bos went down in Thursday’s win, while the squad is already without a host of star names including starters Aziz Behich and Martin Boyle, plus the likes of Alex Robertson, Marco Tilio, even Mat Leckie.

With the Socceroos not back in action until June, hopefully a host of players return to fitness and are available for contention.

If not, Arnold will be well-pleased with the performances of his youngsters and can be confident they’ll be ready to take another step up.