Match Report
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.
