How did the Socceroos' 2026 World Cup performance rate historically?
- Ben Horvath
- Jul 24
- 9 min read
Updated: Jul 25
Now that the dust has settled on the 2026 World Cup, FPF contributor Ben Horvath shares his assessment on how the Socceroos' campaign rated historically.
Horvath is a generational Socceroos super-fan who has experienced the highs and lows of watching every single Australian World Cup match from 1974 to 2026.
His journey includes enduring 32 years of pain before the pleasure of witnessing Australia’s recent streak of six successive World Cup qualifications.
Stunning. Disappointing. Satisfying. Heartbreak.
These four single-word descriptions perfectly summarise the rollercoaster of emotions Socceroos fans experienced across the four matches Australia played at the 2026 World Cup.
Game 1: Stunning (Australia 2–0 Türkiye)
In short, it is safe to say everyone agreed that the Socceroos' performance in game one against group favourites Türkiye was stunning.
Tony Popovic, his coaching staff, and—most importantly—the players, got absolutely everything right.
The starting XI found their rhythm from the get-go, striking the perfect balance between defence and attack.
Australia’s back five of Jordan Bos, Cameron Burgess, Harry Souttar, Alessandro Circati, and Jacob Italiano were focused, aggressive, structurally sound, and highly organised.
In attack, Nestory Irankunda and Connor Metcalfe scored two brilliant goals via quick, direct transitions, while World Cup debutant Patrick Beach turned in a superb performance in goal.
Game 2: Disappointing (USA 2–0 Australia)
Game two delivered a sharp reality check.
The Socceroos looked overawed in the first half, often sitting deep in a low block and showing far too much respect to USA from the outset.
Many fans, pundits, and most ex-Socceroos were critical of 'Popa’s' team selection and tactics.
No one could comprehend why Popovic opted to bench both standout goal-scorers from the opening match: Irankunda and Metcalfe.
Starting the match on the back foot, Australia's collective mindset seemed the opposite of game one.
After conceding two goals in the first half, Irankunda, Metcalfe, and Jason Geria were introduced at half-time for Mohamed Touré, Nishan Velupillay, and Cameron Burgess.
These personnel changes sparked a much-improved second-half performance, featuring sustained periods of positive attacking possession and sharp combination play.
Bos and Cristian Volpato were incredibly positive on the right flank, frequently linking up with Metcalfe and Irankunda.
Skipper Jackson Irvine also came on as a substitute in the 78th minute to add physical presence, replacing midfielder Paul Okon-Engstler.
Patrick Beach had little to do in goal during the second half, which was a surefire symbol of Australia’s dominance.
Socceroos fans were left disappointed, wondering what might have been had the team pressed higher in the first half.
The overriding question was how the USA defence would have coped with balls played over the top for Irankunda on the left flank, rather than passing to his feet while his back was to goal in a central role.
The only positive takeaways were that Behich, Souttar, Circati, and Bos all played well, despite the early own goal by Burgess.
Popovic's highly pragmatic approach did, however, ensure progression out of a very tough group.
Despite a poor first half, the USA only managed two shots on target against Australia—matching the total number of shots Australia produced during the entire Group D fixture.
In the end, goal difference proved a decisive factor.
Game 3: Satisfying (Australia 0–0 Paraguay)
Game three was an absolute nail-biter.
Following a 2–0 win and a 2–0 loss, the Socceroos sat on three points with a neutral goal difference.
Requiring at least a draw to progress, the criticism Popovic received for his pragmatic team selection in game two was somewhat vindicated in the grand scheme of achieving consecutive knockout-round progressions for the first time in Australian football history.
For this match, Popovic reverted to a more attacking lineup featuring Metcalfe, Irankunda, and Volpato.
The Socceroos played beautifully in patches and defended brilliantly, rarely looking threatened outside of a late scare from Mauricio.
The Paraguayan half-time substitute tested Patrick Beach with a low shot in stoppage time, but Beach stood firm.
While the match ended scoreless, Australia controlled the tempo of the first half, dominating possession (over 51%) and outshooting Paraguay six to one before the break.
Volpato and Bos created several dangerous early chances down the right flank, though Paraguay's defence held strong.
In the second half, Paraguay pushed more players into the Australian half, but the Socceroos limited the South Americans to just two shots on target.
The draw secured Australia four points to finish second in Group D, while Paraguay advanced in third place with the same points total but inferior goal difference.
Reflecting on the tactical battle, Paraguayan coach Gustavo Alfaro praised Australia’s "complex" attacking threats, specifically singling out the raw pace of Bos and Irankunda.
This respect forced Alfaro to switch to a defensive five-man backline during the match, despite his pre-game insistence that his team would play to win.
Most Australian fans were highly satisfied with the performance, as the team controlled the game and ensured qualification for the knockout stages for just the third time in history.
Footnote: Paraguay's quality was validated later in the round of 32 when they eliminated four-time World Cup champion Germany.
Game 4: Heartbreak (Egypt 1–1 Australia, 4–2 on penalties)
Socceroos fans were brimming with optimism heading into the round of 32 knockout clash against Egypt.
The Pharaohs were ranked two places behind Australia in the FIFA world rankings (Egypt at 26, Australia at 24).
However, Egypt boasted world-class Premier League pedigree in Liverpool legend Mohamed Salah and Manchester City forward Omar Marmoush.
Popovic’s starting lineup offered initial hope, although deployment of Irankunda as a central number nine once again restricted his ability to get in behind or isolate defenders in 1v1 situations—something he excelled at from the wide-left position in game one.
Nonetheless, having Volpato and Metcalfe in the starting eleven was a positive statement.
Egypt's Emam Ashour broke the deadlock in the 13th minute, allowing the North Africans to dictate the tempo and starve Australia of the ball, maintaining 58.3% possession.
The Socceroos fought back valiantly in the second half, equalising in the 55th minute when Egyptian defender Mohamed Hany accidentally headed the ball into his own net under pressure.
While Australia's set-piece delivery was poor across all four tournament matches, a solitary pinpoint delivery from Aiden O'Neill yielded the critical breakthrough.
For the next 15 minutes, Australia held the momentum.
In extra time, both teams pushed for a winning goal; Egypt looked the more likely, but in the end, both defences held stout.
Tony Popovic replaced starting goalkeeper Patrick Beach with veteran Mat Ryan late in extra time before the shootout, in the hope that Ryan's experience would give Australia an edge.
Most questioned the move, arguing it disrupted the team's rhythm and placed extra pressure on Ryan, who had not played during the match or tournament.
Egypt won the shootout 4–2; criticism then focusing on several points.
Popovic's late goalkeeper switch was widely criticised, with former Socceroos goalkeeper Mark Bosnich saying the decision by the coach was "absolutely senseless".
Some fans felt Australia had the momentum after equalising and were disappointed the team could not capitalise in extra time, and were shocked that two central defenders, Harry Souttar and 18-year-old Lucas Herrington, were chosen to take penalties ahead of the likes of Mohamed Touré or Ajdin Hrustic.
At the end of the day, we went toe-to-toe and could not be separated against the seven-time African champions.
Egypt is a country boasting a population of 128 million and two high-quality English Premier League-level forwards in their starting lineup.
This was also our youngest ever team at a World Cup.
We started our qualifying campaign with a disastrous home loss on the Gold Coast against Bahrain, and an unconvincing, nervy 0-0 draw in Indonesia under previous coach Graham Arnold. Qualification was at risk.
Popovic then took the reins and got the absolute most out of the squad, refreshing the team, adding depth, and organising our structures (particularly defensively).
He qualified us directly, complete with our first win over Japan in 20 years, and an impressive away win against Saudi Arabia to boot.
The historical verdict
Australia’s 2026 World Cup campaign resulted in a 22nd-place finish out of the newly expanded 48-team field.
Historically, this represents a solid, middle-of-the-pack result for the Socceroos.
The tournament featured several historic milestones for the Australian game:
Consecutive group stage progressions: The Socceroos made it out of the group stage for the second consecutive tournament (and the third time overall, matching the iconic 2006 and 2022 campaigns).
An opening day masterclass: The 2–0 win over Türkiye will stand as one of Australia’s finest modern World Cup victories.
Penalty shootout agony: The campaign ended in the newly introduced round of 32, losing 4–2 on penalty kicks to Egypt following a gruelling 1–1 draw.
When stacked against previous generations, the 2026 tournament sits comfortably as an above-average Socceroos campaign.
The 2006 and 2022 tournaments remain the historical benchmarks, as those squads reached the elite round of 16.
However, the 2026 team proved that Australia remains a highly competitive nation on the global stage.
I have watched every single game of every single campaign, including our first-ever World Cup appearance in 1974, which featured six St George Budapest players, including Johnny Warren and Atilla Abonyi.
While our part-time state league players performed brilliantly back then to qualify for what was a 16-nation tournament, we did not manage to score a single goal against East Germany, West Germany, or Chile.
We lost 2–0 to East Germany, 3–0 to Franz Beckenbauer’s West Germany, and recorded a gallant 0–0 draw against the Chileans.
What followed was 32 years of well-documented pain.
This era included infamous near misses, such as going undefeated in qualifying only to go out with the agonising 2–2 draw at the MCG against Iran in 1997, the narrow 2–1 aggregate defeat to Diego Maradona's Argentina in 1993, and the painful final-leg loss to Uruguay in 2001 after Kevin Muscat's penalty in Melbourne gave us immense hope ahead of the return fixture in Montevideo.
Of course, the much-lauded Golden Generation of 2006, featuring Kewell, Viduka, Cahill, Aloisi, Bresciano, Grella, Emerton, Neil, Moore, Chipperfield, Schwarzer, and more, remains the historical benchmark to date.
In Germany, we attacked fearlessly, scoring three quality, decisive goals against Japan and two in the draw against Croatia.
We held our own against Brazil and only succumbed to a controversial last-minute Francesco Totti penalty against eventual champions Italy in the round of 16.
Our points tally under Gus Hiddink in 2006 was four, and our points tally in South Africa under Pim Verbeek in 2010 was also four.
However, we failed to progress in 2010 due to a heavy 4–0 hammering by Germany in our opening game.
The subsequent 2–1 victory over Serbia—led by Brett Holman’s magnificent dribble and long-range strike (not too dissimilar to Metcalfe’s modern brilliance)—and the brave 10-man draw against Ghana after Harry Kewell was sent off, were also comparable to the standard of our 2026 displays.
However, the 2026 effort ultimately offered far more hope for the future than the 2010 squad, which was ageing.
Bert van Marwijk’s Russia 2018 campaign drew criticism for its overly defensive demeanour.
Conversely, Ange Postecoglou's 2014 side produced many moments of attacking brilliance but suffered from defensive naivety, yet the points tally under Van Marwijk was just one from a draw with Denmark.
In my view, we were more competitive under Van Marwijk than under Ange—a controversial statement, I know.
Don't get me wrong; I was excited and incredibly proud of the way Ange's 2014 Socceroos took the lead against the Netherlands, and how they won the 2015 Asian Cup with a "Roarcelona" style of fluid, possession-based football.
But at the end of the day, Van Marwijk's Australia, featuring Aaron Mooy and Mile Jedinak in midfield, only lost 2–1 to eventual champions France in 2018, whereas in 2022 under Graham Arnold, we fell 4–1 to the French.
Furthermore, I would argue that Arnold's 2022 Socceroos progressed through an easier group than our 2026 matrix.
Obviously, France are world-class, but Denmark and Tunisia were not as dynamically challenging as Türkiye, the USA, or Paraguay were in 2026.
Because of this, the 2026 tournament leaves us with massive cause for optimism, offering a robust foundation upon which we can build.
Australia's seven World Cup finishes:
1974 - 14th
2006 - 16th
2010 - 21st
2014 - 30th
2018 - 30th
2022 - 11th
2026 - 22nd
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Terrific thesis Ben.
I agree with everything you’ve written.
At the time I thought the decision to change keepers in the last minute of the round of 32 match against Egypt was an interesting switch.
I welcomed the late move at the time.
Although it didn’t work, I feel the result would have been the same.
Australia’s penalty takers were shocking.
Nervous.
As for Poppa? I feel he has learned plenty from the experience.
The young team will gain plenty heading to the 2028 Asian Cup.
Thanks for sharing Ben.