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Berth secured, Socceroos to kick on for World Cup
The Straits Times
|June 12, 2025
Tony Popovic was already thinking about the improvements Australia needed to make for the 2026 World Cup soon after they sealed automatic qualification with a gritty 2-1 win in Saudi Arabia on June 10.
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JEDDAH - Tony Popovic was already thinking about the improvements Australia needed to make for the 2026 World Cup soon after they sealed automatic qualification with a gritty 2-1 win in Saudi Arabia on June 10.
He took over as coach last September after the Socceroos made a poor start to the third round of Asian qualifying and has overseen five wins and three draws to book a ticket to North America.
"Very, very satisfying right now, I'm sure it'll sink in as the days go by," he said shortly after the final whistle at Jeddah's King Abdullah Sports City.
"It's been a very intense period since I've joined and I've loved it so far. We've done the first part, qualifying automatically, and now the next part is to be bigger and better for the World Cup."
This story is from the June 12, 2025 edition of The Straits Times.
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