The Subway Socceroos have cruised to the third phase of 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying after a comfortable 5-0 win over Palestine at HBF Park on Tuesday night.
The final game of the second phase of World Cup qualifying saw Group I leaders Australia face second-placed Palestine in the first Socceroos fixture in Perth since 2016.
Two first-half goals to Kusini Yengi on either side of a well-taken finish by local hero and Perth Glory star Adam Taggart set up the win, which was capped off by goals to Martin Boyle and Nestory Irankunda in the second half.
Irankunda’s penalty late in the game was his first in Socceroos colours, and capped off a dream international window for the 18-year-old who is set to leave Adelaide United for German giants Bayern Munich ahead of next season.
Australian football historian Andrew Howe noted Irankunda had become the second-youngest Socceroos goalscorer in the history of Australia ‘A’ internationals with his penalty in Perth.
Youngest Socceroos goalscorers in ‘A’ internationals
(Supplied by Andrew Howe)
- 17y 139d Duncan Cummings (v China) 1975
- 18y 123d Nestory Irankunda (v Palestine) 2024
- 18y 166d Ian Johnston (v Malaysia) 1965
- 18y 190d Garang Kuol (v Ecuador) 2023
- 18y 200d Ian Hunter (v PNG) 1980
- 19y 61d Harry Kewell (v Iran) 1997
Irankunda debuted for the Socceroos in Bangladesh on June 6 and scored his maiden international goal in appearance number two; up next is a club move to Bayern where his career has the potential to soar to new heights.
Socceroos head coach Graham Arnold credited Adelaide United head coach Carl Veart and his staff for getting the 18-year-old to where he is today, but challenged his freshly-capped rising star to reach his potential in Germany by looking at the next move in his career as just the beginning, not the end of his accomplishments.
“I have to say, Carl Veart, Adelaide and (Reds assistant coach) Mark Milligan have done a fantastic job with him,” Arnold said following the 5-0 win over Palestine.
“I went away with the U17’s for their Asian Cup only probably 12 months ago, maybe a bit longer, and you could see he was a little bit immature there and wasn’t as disciplined as he should be.
“He’s not been late to one meeting, he’s done everything we’ve asked, the older boys have really looked after him.
“I think he’s had a great camp – I have to say, the camp has been fantastic. Now he goes to Bayern, and now it’s up to him, really. It’s a lot of hard work to do.
“I had a good sit down chat with him the other day about going to Bayern and what that means. It’s just the start, it’s not the finish.
“It’s not just because you’ve gone to Bayern it’s all done, this is the start. It’s all about hard work, passion and drive. Of course, he’s an exciting talent but there’s a long way to go.”
Australia have progressed to the third phase of World Cup qualifying, which is set to begin in early September. The 18 teams that qualify for phase three will be split into three groups of six; the top-two nations in each group progress automatically to the 2026 World Cup, and the third and fourth-place finishers in each group will all continue their qualification campaigns in phase four.
Tuesday night’s clash in Perth saw Newcastle Jets star Apostolos Stamatelopoulos make his international debut off the bench in the second half.
Irankunda earned the second cap of his career after debuting against Bangladesh in the current window, while Glory product Alessandro Circati played his first Socceroos game in Perth.
The hosts were awarded a penalty inside three minutes and it was Aziz Behich who earned the Socceroos’ spot kick, although it was a harsh decision to penalise Mohammed Saleh for making contact with the Melbourne City fullback inside the box.
Kusini Yengi stepped up to the spot and although Rami Hamada guessed the right way, the Portsmouth striker buried his attempt into the bottom-left corner – scoring for the third consecutive game in Socceroos colours.
Perth Glory star Adam Taggart scored 20 times for the Isuzu UTE A-League club in 2023-24 and 14 of those came at HBF Park; on Tuesday night he played from the start for the Socceroos in his first international appearance in his home city, and doubled Australia’s lead with a composed finish after a slick combination with Martin Boyle.
Prior to Tuesdany night, Palestine had conceded just one goal from five fixtures in the second round of World Cup qualifying – and that goal was conceded in a 1-0 loss to the Socceroos. But by half-time at HBF Park, the Socceroos had put three goals past the visitors.
Yengi scored Australia’s third and although there were questions of offside as Boyle collected the ball on the right wing, there was no doubting the quality of the run and pass that followed. Boyle skipped past one defender with a touch off Jackson Irvine’s through ball, cut inside and poked his pass to Yengi who twisted and turned before finding the back of the net.
The first half featured a special moment after 38 match minutes to remember the legacy of Perth-born Australian youth international Dylan Tombides, who lost his life to testicular cancer at the age of 20 in 2014.
Following Tombides’ tragic passing, his family founded DT38 to raise awareness for testicular cancer; Football Australia partnered with DT38 for Tuesday night’s game at HBF Park.
The Socceroos made it 4-0 early in the second half and it was Boyle and Taggart who combined again, and this time the latter provided the assist for the former.
Calls for offside were waved away as Taggart spun free to meet Yengi’s through ball, and from there it was too easy of the Glory star to slide the ball across goal for Boyle to tap home.
With 70 minutes on the clock, Palestine created their best chance of the night and if not for an intervention from Alessandro Circati, Mustafa Zeidan’s first-time shot from the edge of the area would have challenged Joe Gauci in goal.
As the game drew toward full-time, a handball in the penalty area from Yaser Hamed led to a penalty awarded to the hosts, dispatched into the bottom-left corner by Irankunda who gave the 18,261 fans in the crowd a look at his now-iconic backflip celebration to cap off the 5-0 win at HBF Park.
