And there it is!
Two wins in a row for Australia and the first clean sheet of the Tony Popovic era.
The Socceroos, with this 2-0 win, have taken a big step towards automatic qualification for the 2026 World Cup, thanks to those first-half goals from Jackson Irvine and Nishan Velupillay.
You can only beat what’s in front of you, and let’s be honest, China weren’t much chop. For a match they had to win, and with a capacity crowd of nearly 80,000 fans present at Hangzhou, they offered almost nothing. From the outset, Australia looked very comfortable and more than equal to the task.
Tony Popovic.Credit: AP
Irvine’s 16th-minute strike franked their early performance with a reward on the scoreboard, as well as his own growth as a midfield leader for the Socceroos, with his season in the Bundesliga clearly helping to sharpen all of his instincts.
Velupillay made it 2-0 in the 29th minute but, frankly, should thank Chinese goalkeeper Wang Dalei, whose limp effort at saving an otherwise elementary shot summed up their night.
Team Dragon finally fired a few shots of note in the second half but Popovic’s men saw out the match professionally, preserving what is a three-point lead they now boast over third-placed Saudi Arabia in Group C.
The other major takeaway was the sterling debut of Ryan Teague, who was handed his first international start by the manager who signed him at Melbourne Victory two years ago. He did not look out of place for a moment.
