This week, Australia and New Zealand face off for the ANZAC Soccer Ashes, a trophy steeped in history as well as mystery following its 70-year disappearance.
Read on as aleagues.com.au brings you everything you need to know ahead of the two-game international series, including an explanation of the 103-year Soccer Ashes history, as well as team news, broadcast and ticket information.
Featured image credit (left): New Zealand Football
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What are the Soccer Ashes?
The ANZAC Soccer Ashes trophy is more than 100 years old.
Built to hold the ashes of cigars smoked by the captains of both Australia and New Zealand following the first game between the two nations in Australia in 1923, the wooden casket went up for grabs upon each meeting of the two nations up until 1954, when it mysteriously disappeared.
For 70 years, the whereabouts of the Soccer Ashes was unknown. That was until, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the grandchildren of Football Australia Hall of Fame Member Sydney Storey discovered the trophy while clearing out their late grandfather’s garage.
Its rediscovery, one century after the cigars of Australia captain Alex Gibb and New Zealand captain George Campbell turned to ash, reignited Australia and New Zealand’s battle for the Soccer Ashes, with the tradition set to continue this week as the two nations face off in Canberra and Auckland.
Find out more about the Soccer Ashes below.
When are the games?
Australia host the first of two Soccer Ashes fixtures at GIO Stadium in Canberra on Friday, September 5. The game kicks off at 7.45pm AEST (9.45pm NZT) and will be broadcast LIVE on Network 10, 10 Play and Paramount+.
Then, the Socceroos and All Whites travel to New Zealand, where the second Soccer Ashes clash will take place at Go Media Stadium in Auckland on Tuesday, September 9. Kick-off is at 7.00pm NZT (5.00pm AEST), with the game broadcast LIVE on Paramount+ for Australian viewers.
CommBank Socceroos v New Zealand – Game 1
Friday, 5 September
GIO Stadium, Canberra
Kick-off:Â 7.45pm AEST
Broadcast: Network 10, 10 Play and Paramount+Â
CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR TICKETS
New Zealand v CommBank Socceroos – Game 2
Tuesday, 9 September
Go Media Stadium, Auckland
Kick-off: 7.00pm local / 5.00pm AEST
Broadcast: Paramount+
CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR TICKETS
How to watch the Soccer Ashes?
For Australian-based viewers, the Soccer Ashes will be broadcast live on Paramount+.
Network 10 will also broadcast the first game of the series in Canberra on Friday, September 5, with live and free coverage available via Channel 10 or 10 Play.
For viewers in New Zealand, the two-game series will be available to watch live and free on TVNZ, via free-to-air broadcast on TVNZ’s DUKE channel as well as TVNZ+.
Players to watch during the Soccer Ashes
The All Whites squad fighting to secure the Soccer Ashes is headlined by captain and Nottingham Forest star Chris Wood who has arrived in Australia off the back of a blistering year in the English Premier League. Wood scored 20 goals in 36 league appearances last season and has begun the 2024-25 Premier League campaign brightly with two goals in three games.
There are 10 Isuzu UTE A-League players in the All Whites squad, including 17-year-old Luke Brooke-Smith who could become the second-youngest senior New Zealand international of all-time should he debut during the Soccer Ashes series.
The 10 Isuzu UTE A-League players come from four different clubs:
Auckland FC: Francis De Vries, Callan Elliot, Jesse Randall, Logan Rogerson and Oli Sail
Brisbane Roar: James McGarry
Wellington Phoenix: Tim Payne, Alex Rufer, Luke Brooke-Smith
Western Sydney Wanderers: Kosta Barbarouses
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For the CommBank Socceroos, meanwhile, head coach Tony Popovic has selected an exciting, new-look 23-player squad which includes seven uncapped players and a handful of rising stars exploding onto the European football scene.
Former Adelaide United phenom Nestory Irankunda returns to the international fold for the first time since October after a stunning start to life at Watford in the English Championship; Irankunda has scored stunning free-kicks in back-to-back games for the Hornets.
Meanwhile, Sydney FC academy gun Adrian Segecic has earned his way into the Socceroos through a run of form at Championship club Portsmouth that made him impossible to ignore. With Croatia circling, Popovic made the call to draft the uncapped Segecic into his senior squad in the hope of securing his international allegiance.
Of the 25 players selected for duty, 20 have spent time on the books of Isuzu UTE A-League clubs, and 13 have earned five senior caps or less.
Having already secured qualification for the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup, head coach Popovic is turning to the next generation to assess the breadth and depth of talent available for selection for next year’s major tournament.
