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The Socceroos suffered a 3-0 defeat against Colombia in a highly-anticipated international friendly in New York City on Wednesday AEDT, ahead of next year’s FIFA World Cup in North America.
Australia — ranked 25th in the world — was coming off a disappointing loss against 50th-ranked Venezuela and needed to improve greatly to overcome Colombia, who are ranked 13th.
The Socceroos have just nine wins against South American teams from 49 attempts and have never beaten Colombia, recording two draws and two defeats.
A 76th-minute penalty from Colombia’s James Rodríguez, followed by an 89th-minute tap-in from fellow star Luis Díaz and then a Davison Sánchez header from a corner in the third minute of added time meant that Colombia’s undefeated streak against Australia continued.
At the half-time whistle, the scoreline remained even, as Australia managed to hold their ground against Colombia. Despite Colombia’s dominance in possession, it was Bayern Munich’s Díaz who posed a relentless threat to the Australians.
Australia made five changes from their last starting XI against Venezuela.
Socceroos coach Tony Popovic fielded an experimental line-up in the 1-0 loss to Venezuela on Saturday, with four players debuting, including three starters.
Reflecting on the game, there was an admission that the performance against Venezuela was “disjointed.” For much of the match, particularly the middle hour, there was little to commend in terms of play, both offensively and defensively. Looking ahead, it was noted that the World Cup would be the ideal stage to secure a victory over a South American team.
Australia and Colombia have both secured their spots in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Colombia beat Bolivia 3-0 in September to secure automatic qualification from the CONMEBOL confederation headlined by Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay.
Meanwhile, the tiny Carribean island nation of Curaçao, population 156,000, qualified for the World Cup for the first time on Wednesday with a 0-0 draw against Jamaica. They become the smallest country ever to qualify for a World Cup.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico from 11 June to 19 July.