Australia v Saudi Arabia: World Cup 2026 qualifier – live

The Socceroos will be without the suspended Craig Goodwin and have not included teen sensation Nestory Irankunda in the squad to face Saudi Arabia tonight and Bahrain next week, as coach Tony Popovic continues to introduce fresh blood (hello Max Balard) and bring A-League stalwarts in from the cold (welcome back Rhyan Grant and Anthony Caceres).

Irankunda's omission supposedly wasn't about his Socceroos performance so far, but instead about allowing him time to settle in Germany while trying to break into the first team at Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich.

We know he's a young man with a lot of potential who finds himself at one of the biggest clubs in the world," Popovic said last week. "We just feel it's an opportunity for him to settle in at Bayern, get the development that he needs there and the growth and just settle into a new culture, new country, new language.

Share Updated at 09.30 CET Preamble Martin PeganHello andwelcome to live coverage of the2026 World Cup qualifier between Australia and Saudi Arabia at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium (also known to some as AAMI Park). This is the third World Cup qualification campaign in a row that the familiar foes have faced each other at this point and once again the stakes are sky high. The Socceroos and Green Falcons have edged in front of up to five teams competing for what looks likely to be just one remaining automatic qualification spot, and are currently separated in second and third place in their group only by goal difference.

After a horror start to the third round, the Socceroos have handed the reins to Tony Popovic and then taken tentative steps towards turning around their form with a come-from-behind 3-1 victory over China followed by a backs-to-the-wall 1-1 draw in Japan. The four points taken from that window were enough to lift Australia to second place in group C, equal on five points with this evening's opponents as well as Bahrain, though they are all five points behind runaway leaders Japan.

While the Green Falcons are equal on points with the Socceroos they are perhaps a few strides further back in their hopes of a revival after ending Roberto Mancini's 14-month reign just three weeks ago. Hervé Renard is back in charge after leading the side to the 2022 World Cup, where they stunned eventual champions Argentina before exiting at the group stage, and was coach when Saudi Arabia frustrated the Socceroos with a 0-0 stalemate in Parramatta in 2021. The Frenchman returned to the same shores when coach of his home nation's women's team at the 2023 Women's World Cup, where they were knocked out in a last-eight shootout against the Matildas.

All that sets the scene for a cagey battle where the winner will end the evening sitting in the critical second spot in the group at the halfway mark of the third round.

Kick-off is at 8.10pm AEDT. I'll be back shortly with the line-ups and team news.

Remember to get in touch with any comments, questions, thoughts and predictions. You can shoot me an email , or find me on X and Bluesky . Let's get into it!

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