{"id":19250,"date":"2025-09-05T09:40:19","date_gmt":"2025-09-05T09:40:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/?p=19250"},"modified":"2025-09-05T09:40:19","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T09:40:19","slug":"australia-v-new-zealand-mens-international-football-friendly-live-australia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/?p=19250","title":{"rendered":"Australia v New Zealand: men\u2019s international football friendly \u2013 live | Australia"},"content":{"rendered":"

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It\u2019ll be an incredibly proud moment for Degenek tonight, who has been given the honour of wearing the armband for the Socceroos for the first time.<\/p>\n

Settling in Sydney as a refugee after escaping conflict in the Balkans as young child, Degenek often speaks for the deep love and appreciation he has for the Socceroos and what it means to him to get to represent his country on the international stage.<\/p>\n

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Amid injuries and an absence from the Crvena zvezda team sheet, he had found himself in the international wilderness in recent times \u2013 his absence from the Socceroos squad at the last Asian Cup, where he likely would have been introduced to see off South Korea in the quarterfinals, still burns \u2013 but after making the move to TSC he\u2019s been brought back into the fold by Popovic.<\/p>\n

An exceptional professional, resolute defender, dressing room tone-setter, and now international captain, he\u2019s a great asset to Australia heading towards a World Cup.<\/p>\n

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Updated at\u00a005.38 EDT<\/p>\n

It\u2019s somewhat flown underneath the radar amidst all the excitement about the youngsters but Silvera\u2019s return to the starting XI continues a remarkable few months for the former Mariner.<\/p>\n

Last picked for the national team for their 0-0 draw with Indonesia in Jakarta \u2013 back when Graham Arnold was coach \u2013 Silvera had a couple of unspectacular stints on loan at Portsmouth and Blackpool during the offseason and was expected to be shown the door at parent club Middlesbrough during the offseason.<\/p>\n

The 24-year-old, however, has reinvented himself as a wing-back for new Boro boss Rob Edwards and went from unwanted to a constant presence at the Riverside: starting every game amidst an undefeated start to the season that sees Boro sitting top of the Championship.<\/p>\n

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All Whites XI<\/h2>\n

The starting team to take on the Socceroos in Canberra \ud83c\uddf3\ud83c\uddff\u2694\ufe0f\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddfa<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfc6 Soccer Ashes 2025 – Match 1\/2
\ud83c\uddf3\ud83c\uddff All Whites v Socceroos \ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddfa
\ud83c\udfdf\ufe0f GIO Stadium, Canberra
\ud83d\udd70\ufe0f 7:45pm local \/ 9:45pm NZT
\ud83c\udfa5 Watch live and free on FIFA+ and TVNZ
\ud83d\udc55 Get your retro kit from https:\/\/t.co\/96XJC7W0Cu pic.twitter.com\/8sMEFj5NXv<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 New Zealand Football \ud83c\uddf3\ud83c\uddff (@NZ_Football) September 5, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

New Zealand secured their place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup back in March, beating New Caledonia 3-0 to claim Oceania\u2019s lone place at the newly expanded, 48-team tournament and an argument can be made that, even with a couple of notable absences tonight, Darren Bazeley will have one of the most talented Kiwi sides ever at his disposal at next year\u2019s tournament.<\/p>\n

The star of the show and leading the line tonight is Chris Wood, the Nottingham Forest striker \u2013 the lone Premier League player on the park tonight \u2013 who is poised to overtake Mark Viduka as Oceania\u2019s greatest-ever goal scorer in the top-flight.<\/p>\n

Marko Stameni\u0107 and Liberato Cacace have both been forced to withdraw from the squad due to injury but the Kiwis still have the likes of Sarpreet Singh, a teammate of Degenek at Serbian side TSC Ba\u010dka Topola and PEC Zwolle\u2019s Ryan Thomas, making his return to international football for the first time since 2019 after a horror injury run, to call upon.<\/p>\n

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Socceroos XI<\/h2>\n

For all the talk of young blood, Popovic will deploy an XI mostly filled with tried and tested players for tonight\u2019s fixture \u2013 which while not as exciting as a widely experimental lineup makes sense from a World Cup preparation standpoint.<\/p>\n

Martin Boyle looks set to lead the line, the centre forward role not something Socceroo fans are used to seeing him do but one that he has often filled for club side Hibernian. He\u2019ll be flanked by Connor Metcalfe, who scored his maiden international goal in Australia\u2019s win over Saudi Arabia back in June, and Ajdin Hrusti\u0107.<\/p>\n

Aiden O\u2019Neill and Ryan Teague will fill the double pivot at the base of the midfield while Jordy Bos and Sammy Silvera will flank a back three of Cameron Burgess, Milo\u0161 Degenek, and Alessandro Circati.<\/p>\n

We do, however, have a debut between the posts, with Paul Izzo\u2019s regular and strong performances with Danish side Randers rewarded with a first-ever international start.<\/p>\n

Lewis Miller takes a spot on the bench for the first time in the Popovic era, as do youngsters Max Balard, Sege\u010di\u0107, Irankunda, Nicolas Milanovi\u0107 and Mo Tour\u00e9.<\/p>\n

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Preamble<\/h2>\n

Joey Lynch<\/span><\/p>\n

Howdy all, Joey Lynch here, and welcome to a new chapter in the Tony Popovic era of the Socceroos: their first game following their qualification for the 2026 World Cup, with focus now well and truly shifting towards preparations for the global showpiece.<\/p>\n

Aptly, it will come against an opponent that has also already punched their ticket to North America, too, in the form of New Zealand, with tonight\u2019s fixture and the return leg in Auckland next Tuesday also marking the resumption of the Soccer Ashes rivalry between the two sides.<\/p>\n

From an Australian perspective, much of the build-up for this game has centred on the young and uncapped players that have been selected in Popovic\u2019s squad \u2013 chief amongst them star boy Nestory Irankunda and rising Portsmouth dynamo Adrian Sege\u010di\u0107.<\/p>\n

While the coach has preferred continuity and experience throughout qualifying, with World Cup qualification secured, the A-League was still in its offseason, and several key contributors either injured or just resolving their club situation, there are seven uncapped players in the 25-player squad that has been selected for this window, and a further eight possess fewer than ten international appearances.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll be back with lineups shortly.<\/p>\n

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