Subway Socceroos Head Coach Tony Popovic and Player of the Match Jackson Irvine said that their 5-1 victory over Indonesia was a positive step in the right direction after picking up all three points in their latest FIFA World Cup 2026™ Third Round Asian Qualifier.
Speaking to the media at the post-match press conference, both Irvine and Popovic admitted that it was not always a perfect performance by the home side, but were confident they would take positives from their clinical display into the upcoming match against China PR.
They also took the time to praise the Sydney Football Stadium crowd of over 35,000, and spoke about the emotion of the occasion.
Scoring five goals and breaking the shackles
Popovic: Any time you can score five goals is pleasing and when you do it at home under - we can say pressure, there's pressure in World Cup qualifying - it's what you want to be part of. You want to be part of something special. So from this game, can we now handle the next challenge of China better after this experience, knowing that we can score five goals when some areas of our game weren't great? It was solid, it wasn’t great, but then we always looked dangerous.
Irvine: Of course, there's a lot to improve on. But overall, in a big game at home, five goals and the reaction after a poor start to the game - really pleased. We showed a lot of different elements to our game. Always good to score from set pieces as well. It's a big part of football, and great when you've got delivery like we had tonight, that's always a positive as well, because it's not chance. We work on these things, and it's pleasing to see those things pay off as well.
Indonesia’s fast start and pressing game
Popovic: It was obviously not a good start. I think the goal they scored probably summarised how we defended today. They didn’t create, we gave them chances, we gave them the penalty, we gave them the goal as well. So I think defensively, we weren't great today. We were a little bit on edge, a little bit sloppy in our defending. So that's how we started. And gave away a silly wide free kick. And then obviously the penalty happened. They missed, and then I think getting the goal settled everyone down, and I thought we were okay after that.
Irvine: It was arguably one of the hardest I've been pressed in a home game in a long time. They were absolutely flying through. There was absolutely no time on the ball in the middle of the park. We had to control the second ball probably a little bit better in the early phase of the game, I think we started to get a little bit more hold of that as the game went on. And then it was just about breaking that first line.
Once we broke that pressure, it looked like we were going to score every time we went through, and it led to the second goal as well. I think we just took a bit to settle in, to find where the spaces were, and then once we did that, I felt like we were much improved in the second half of the first half.
Building Squad Depth
Popovic: [Scoring] five goals is difficult against anyone. We played a good opponent. It's a World Cup qualifier. We all want to always get better and try and improve the game style.
Unfortunately, with a lot of injuries, a lot of changes, it's hard to build that continuity. But what we are building is squad depth. That's something that we are building. I felt that this camp, or this window or the first game, is the first time I felt in training - and just around the hotel - that this group is now starting to build into something that we're trying to build going forward, and that's with a lot of changes as well. So, that's positive and we're very excited about the next game, I'm honoured and proud of what I saw tonight.
Irvine: [This game] is a big step forward in a lot of ways. Obviously a lot to improve on, as always, but from the mentality perspective - especially for a lot of guys who haven't seen this kind of situation before - I think it's a big step forward for them.
Playing at home in Sydney
Popovic: To be Head Coach in Sydney, my hometown, it's just special. You stand there, you listen to the national anthem and say, okay, I want to play my part in helping these players do something special. I'm honoured to be part of this group.
Irvine: I thought our fans were equally brilliant and pushed us in the key moments of the game, and gave us that extra leg up probably when we needed it. Great energy, great atmosphere from both sets of fans. It was an enjoyable occasion.
From a personal point of view, a special night. I never take it for granted being here. I haven't played in the stadium since that night, almost eight years ago to the day [when he scored his first international goal], so it's obviously very special. But this is a new time, new shirt, new everything. And I had a good feeling when I put it on the first time that it might have been a good night for me today.
Looking ahead to China
Popovic: We are happy tonight, but once we get a feed tonight and rest when we wake up tomorrow, it's full focus on China. They haven't changed too much in how they've been playing, whether it's home or away. They sit in their block. They're very dangerous on the break. And we saw that with Indonesia. So we got a little taste of what could come against China.
Maybe when we see the game in the morning against Saudi Arabia, we might see something different. But I'm not sure, away from home, whether it'll change. And we just have to be prepared. If they do press us that we can deal with that a bit better, and if they sit off, we understand that we have to build up our play and be connected better than what we were tonight.
NEXT GAME
China PR v Subway Socceroos
Tuesday 25 March 2025
Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium, Hangzhou
Kick-off: 7.00pm local / 10.00pm AEDT
Broadcast: Paramount+