CommBank All Access: Switzerland in San Diego for final
Cam Burgess on pass that sparked Tete Yengi’s debut goa
Tete Yengi watches back his debut CommBank Socceroos go
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Nestory Irankunda reacts to Switzerland draw & looks ah
Tony Popovic on Switzerland draw, squad depth & FIFA Wo
Tony Popovic reacts to Switzerland draw, Tete Yengi deb
Switzerland 1-1 Australia | Extended Highlights | Inte
You work hard for moments like this' Tete Yengi reacts
Switzerland vs Australia | Match Highlights | Internat
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Tony Popovic on final friendly | Pre-Match Press Confer
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Tete Yengi: It's a great feeling to be here with the Co
FULL PRESS CONFERENCE: Tony Popovic explains CommBank S
Tete Yengi scores on debut as CommBank Socceroos draw 1-1 with Switzerland
The CommBank Socceroos have drawn 1-1 with World No.19 Switzerland in the final match before the FIFA World Cup 2026™.
A heavily changed Socceroos side showed promising signs against a strong Switzerland outfit and the minutes provided to different players will likely prove invaluable ahead of the global finals. Tete Yengi scored Australia’s goal on international debut.
Head Coach Tony Popovic made seven changes to the starting eleven that took on Mexico last week. Patrick Beach came in between the sticks, and Nestory Irankunda, Paul Okon-Engstler, Kai Trewin and Aziz Behich returned to the side.
The two other additions, Cristian Volpato and Tete Yengi, became CommBank Socceroos #660 and #661 respectively after being named in the starting eleven for the very first time.
Harry Souttar wore the captain's armband for the match, the 66th player to do so in our history.
Australia looked to challenge Switzerland early on through a high press. Nestory Irankunda was particularly successful and the team earned themselves a corner early in proceedings as a result.
However, it was Switzerland who struck first. A testing through ball from Granit Xhaka found the run of Dan Ndoye. The striker made no mistake from close range to give Switzerland the lead.
Both sides had further chances in the half. Harry Souttar was not far away at the back post from a set piece, before Patrick Beach made a fantastic save deep in first-half stoppage time to keep the score at 1-0 at the break.
There were four changes for the Socceroos at half-time. Connor Metcalfe, Jason Geria, Cameron Burgess and Jacob Italiano were introduced, in place of Cristian Volpato, Alessandro Circati, Lucas Herrington and Aiden O’Neill respectively.
Australia started the second half brightly. Irankunda rattled the crossbar after a high turnover, forcing a fantastic fingertip save from Swiss keeper Gregor Kobel in the process.
They found the breakthrough shortly after. A wonderful ball from Cameron Burgess found the run of Connor Metcalfe. He squared it to Tete Yengi who tucked it away from close range to score his first international goal on his debut.
Four more changes followed with 20 minutes or so remaining. Jackson Irvine, Mathew Leckie, Jordan Bos and Mohamed Toure entered the field of play, replacing Paul Okon-Engstler, Nestory Irankunda, Aziz Behich and the goalscorer Yengi.
The match was evenly poised in the final stages. While possession was dominated by Switzerland in the first half, things were much more even in the second, and both sides were creating chances.
The final two substitutions for Australia came in the 82nd minute, with Milos Degenek replacing Harry Souttar and Cameron Devlin replacing Kai Trewin. It was Devlin’s first appearance for the national team since June 2024.
Those rotations meant that every member of the Socceroos 26-player squad had taken the pitch over the course of the two friendlies against Mexico and Switzerland.
In the end, neither side could find the goal that would be decisive, and shook hands on an important hit out for both teams ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026™.
Match Summary
Australia: 1 (Yengi 56')
Switzerland: 1 (Ndoye 14')
Australia: 18. Patrick Beach (GK), 3. Alessandro Circati (6. Jason Geria 46'), 13. Aiden O’Neill (4. Jacob Italiano 46'), 15. Kai Trewin (14. Cameron Devlin 81'), 16. Aziz Behich (5. Jordan Bos 71'), 17. Nestory Irankunda (7. Mathew Leckie 71'), 19. Harry Souttar (2. Milos Degenek 82'), 20. Cristian Volpato (8. Connor Metcalfe 46'), 24. Paul Okon-Engstler (22. Jackson Irvine 71'), 25. Lucas Herrington (21. Cameron Burgess 46'), 26. Tete Yengi (9. Mohamed Toure 71')
Unused substitutes: 1. Mathew Ryan, 12. Paul Izzo, 10. Ajdin Hrustic, 11. Awer Mabil, 23. Nishan Velupillay
Yellow Cards: 26. Tete Yengi 33', 17. Nestory Irankunda 68'
Switzerland: 1. Gregor Kobel, 3. Silvan Widmer (6. Denis Zakaria 71'), 4. Nico Elvedi (24. Aurele Amenda 71'), 5. Manuel Akanji (18. Eray Comert 79'), 8. Remo Freuler (19. Noah Okafor 79'), 9. Johan Manzambi (14. Ardon Jashari 71'), 10. Granit Xhaka (16. Christian Fassnacht 79'), 11. Dan Ndoye (15. Djibril Sow 46'), 13. Ricardo Rodriguez (2. Miro Muheim 71'), 20. Michel Aebischer (22. Fabien Rieder 46'), 23. Zeki Amdouni (26. Cedric Itten 71')
Unused substitutes: 21. Marvin Keller, 12. Yvon Mvogo, 25. Luca Jaquez
Yellow Cards: 5. Manuel Akanji 32', 10. Granit Xhaka 45+2', 19. Noah Okafor 82'
FIFA World Cup Canada, Mexico, United States 2026™ - Australia's Group D Matches
Australia v Türkiye
Date: Saturday, 13 June
Venue: BC Place, Vancouver, Canada
Kick-off: 9:00pm local / 2:00pm AEST (Sunday, 14 June)
Broadcast: SBS and SBS On Demand
USA v Australia
Date: Friday, 19 June
Venue: Seattle Stadium, Seattle, USA
Kick-off: 12:00pm local / 5:00am AEST (Saturday, 20 June)
Broadcast: SBS and SBS On Demand
Paraguay v Australia
Date: Thursday, 25 June
Venue: San Francisco Bay Area Stadium, Santa Clara, USA
Kick-off: 7:00pm local / 12:00pm AEST (Friday, 26 June)
Broadcast: SBS and SBS On Demand
Match Preview: CommBank Socceroos v Switzerland | International Friendly
The CommBank Socceroos will take on Switzerland in their final friendly before the FIFA World Cup 2026™.
Players will have the opportunity to embed their principles and have one last hit-out ahead of the tournament.
The game will be held in Vancouver, Canada. It is the second time that Australia and Switzerland have met, the first since a scoreless draw in 2010.
The Squad
Head Coach Tony Popovic selected the final 26-player squad that will go to the World Cup at the beginning of the week and now these players have one last chance to impress and push for minutes at the global finals.
Experience ranges all the way from Maty Ryan, who could become the record appearance holder for the national side during the tournament, to the uncapped Cristian Volpato and Tete Yengi.
"We'll try and get more players minutes, because there are some players that haven't played since early May, and some even earlier," Popovic said pre-match.
"You need to try and give them some minutes to have the confidence in themselves that, if required next week, that they're ready to go. We're trying to balance continuity with giving minutes to players, so if we get that - and hopefully you know everyone's healthy after the game - then we'll be very happy."
Last Game
The CommBank Socceroos fell 1-0 to Mexico last week in what was a positive learning experience with competitive games ahead.
Mexico scored from a set piece in the first half. Despite a much-improved second 45, and creating a number of chances, Australia were not quite able to secure the equalising goal.
Popovic said that they would be taking the lessons from the game against Mexico into this one.
"How can we start a bit better? When I say start a bit better, how do we match that level of physicality that we came up against Mexico? Because I think you'll find that in most games the first, let's say, 15 minutes, there'll be a lot of duels and a lot of physicality. If we can match that better, then we can start the game better, and then we showed that we could do really well in the second half, so that's real positive for us."
The Opponent
Switzerland are another strong opponent who will test the CommBank Socceroos ahead of the World Cup.
The World No. 19 have advanced from their group in four of the previous five World Cups and have the calibre of player to challenge the world's best. They qualified for the global finals by finishing on top of their qualifying group of Sweden, Slovenia and Kosovo. They were undefeated during the campaign, only conceding two goals.
Former Swiss international Murat Yakin has been at the helm since 2021. The team are likely to line up - at least initially - in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with a largely settled side and a solid structure.
33-year-old Granit Xhaka remains an essential part of the Switzerland side. The former Arsenal player has shown little sign of letting up on the international stage, and closing him down in midfield will be key for the Socceroos.
Up top, Breel Embolo was their top scorer in qualifying and will hope to continue that form in North America.
"They'll be different to Mexico. It's a more measured approach," Popovic said.
"They obviously know what they want to do. When they qualified, they scored lots of goals, they concede very little. They're a really strong nation with a lot of experience."
FIFA World Rankings
Australia: 27
Switzerland: 19
Head-to-head
Played: 1
Wins: 0
Draws: 1
Losses: 0
Form Guide
Australia form guide: L-W-W-L-L
Switzerland form guide: W-D-L-D-W
What They Said
Tony Popovic
It'll be different to the the intensity of what Mexico produced over that whole first half, but when they go, they go quick, you know? If they win the ball in a dangerous area, before you know it, they've had a shot on goal. They know how to contain, they know how to take pressure, and they know how to switch into another gear, and that comes from a lot of experience and a lot of big games that they've all played together. There are different parts of the game that we have to deal with, and again, it will be a great experience for us. We've gained a lot from the Mexico game, and I anticipate we'll gain a lot from this game as well tomorrow.
Connor Metcalfe
It's going to be a really good test. We know a lot of their players have amazing quality and they play at huge clubs. It's going to be a different game to the Mexican one, but it's an awesome opportunity for us to get that top European challenge for before we play Turkey.
Match Details
Australia vs Switzerland
Date: Saturday, 6 June 2026
Venue: Snapdragon Stadium, San Diego, California
Kick-off: 12:00pm local / 5:00am AEST (Sunday, 7 June)
Tickets: Available Here
Broadcast: Paramount+
