The Socceroos have made a woeful start to the crucial third round of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup after falling to a shocking 1-0 defeat to Bahrain on Thursday night on the Gold Coast.
Old problems reared their head in a new setting for the national team, who played at Cbus Super Stadium in Robina for the first time in front of a crowd of 24,644. Those fans were expecting to see a win, but they were instead confronted by one of Australia’s worst performances.
Nestory Irankunda in action for Australia.Credit: Getty
Reduced to 10 men for the final stretch of the match, the Socceroos collapsed in the final minute of regulation time, going behind as Abdulla Al-Khalasi’s attempted cross was deflected off Harry Souttar, past captain Maty Ryan and into the back of the net.
They could conjure no reply in six furious minutes of added time, with late headers by Jackson Irvine and Mitchell Duke going wide.
Australia had won all five of their previous meetings with Bahrain, who are ranked No.80 in the world. This is just the second time since 1981 that the Socceroos have lost a live World Cup qualifier on home soil.
The other was two years ago against Japan in Sydney, a defeat which almost cost Arnold his job. Once again, he will come under scrutiny for this disastrous result, which immediately imperils their hopes of direct qualification for the World Cup, at least in the third round.
Clear-cut chances were few and far between in a turgid first half, as Bahrain managed to deal with the Socceroos’ barrage of long balls and diagonal passes.
The lack of a natural right fullback also hampered Australia’s efforts to generate opportunities via wing play, with Arnold, due to a lack of fit specialists in that position, opting to deploy Parma centre-back Alessandro Circati there. It had mixed success.
Australia coach Graham Arnold has plenty to think about.Credit: Getty Images
The introduction of teenage sensation Nestory Irankunda, who was Arnold’s first substitute in the 58th minute, gave them a much-needed spark, but he couldn’t turn the tide and the momentum of the hosts soon fizzled out - and then evaporated completely when striker Kusini Yengi was shown a red card in the 77th minute.
Yengi was sent off for making contact with his foot to the chin of Sayed Baqer while attempting to play the fall, with the Bahraini defender falling to the ground in a crumpled heap and writhing around in pain.
Unlike some of his teammates, however, who resorted to diving and play-acting on several other occasions as they attempted to win fouls and frustrate the crowd, this decision was justified by the replay.
The result will turn up the heat dramatically on Arnold, who has long faced criticism for the national team’s lack of functionality in midfield and cutting edge in the final third, and does not appear to have found solutions to those issues.
They enjoyed 71 per cent of possession and had 423 passes to Bahrain’s 128, but managed just four shots on target for the match.
The Socceroos will travel on Friday to Jakarta ahead of their next qualifier against Indonesia on Tuesday night; Yengi will miss out through an automatic suspension, while Arnold has a lot to think about on the flight over.
