{"id":224342,"date":"2026-01-21T02:15:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T02:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/21\/what-we-need-socceroos-cup-farewell-plans-locked-in-as-fairytale-team-among-warm-up-opponents\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T02:15:00","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T02:15:00","slug":"what-we-need-socceroos-cup-farewell-plans-locked-in-as-fairytale-team-among-warm-up-opponents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/21\/what-we-need-socceroos-cup-farewell-plans-locked-in-as-fairytale-team-among-warm-up-opponents\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018What we need\u2019: Socceroos\u2019 Cup farewell plans locked in as fairytale team among warm-up opponents"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The Socceroos will farewell their Australian fans ahead of their FIFA World Cup campaign with games against Cameroon and Curacao in March.<\/p>\n

As part of the FIFA Series, Australia will host five-time African Cup of Nations champions Cameroon at Sydney\u2019s Accor Stadium on March 27, and Curacao \u2014 a Dutch Caribbean island which became the smallest ever nation to qualify for the World Cup <\/a>\u2014 on March 31 at Melbourne\u2019s AAMI Park.<\/p>\n

\u201cFacing opponents from different confederations is exactly the type of preparation we need at this stage of our campaign,\u201d Socceroos coach Tony Popovic said.<\/p>\n

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Watch the biggest Aussie sports & the best from overseas LIVE on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

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Socceroos coach Tony Popovic says the FIFA Series in March will provide a \u2018special moment\u2019 for Australian football. Picture: James Worsfold\/Getty Images<\/span>Source: Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cCameroon and Curacao each bring their own style and strengths, which will challenge us in different ways.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese matches will give us valuable insights and help sharpen our performances ahead of the World Cup.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is also a fantastic occasion for our fans. To have two international matches back\u2011to\u2011back, including our final home game before the World Cup, makes this a special moment for Australian football.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The Socceroos will line up against Cameroon and Curacao before heading off to North America for the FIFA World Cup. Picture: Mark Nolan\/Getty Images<\/span>Source: Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

China will also play against Cameroon (Melbourne) and Curacao (Sydney) as part of double-headers on both dates.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe tournament represents a significant moment for Australian football, providing the Socceroos with invaluable preparation ahead of their FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign,\u201d Football Australia\u2019s deputy chief executive officer Heather Garriock said.<\/p>\n

The World Cup \u2013 to be hosted by the USA, Canada and Mexico \u2013 starts on June 11.<\/p>\n

The Socceroos\u2019 Group D opponents will include the USA, as well as Paraguay and either Slovakia, Kosovo, Turkey or Romania, who are involved in playoffs in March.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Socceroos will farewell their Australian fans ahead of their FIFA World Cup campaign with games against Cameroon and Curacao in March. As part of the FIFA Series, Australia will host five-time African Cup of Nations champions Cameroon at Sydney\u2019s Accor Stadium on March 27, and Curacao \u2014 a Dutch Caribbean island which became the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":224343,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6807],"tags":[2228,1800,1641,68861,7531,7632,2064,9030,4249,2892,1429,68860,68857,68858,68859,1425,22410,60540,68862,4143,49306,320,2895,1533,1809,11004,2457,5015,12783,2023,1792,1847,2674,68856],"class_list":{"0":"post-224342","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-leagues-cups","8":"tag-agence-france-presse","9":"tag-america","10":"tag-asia","11":"tag-association-football-manager","12":"tag-australian-fans","13":"tag-australian-football","14":"tag-canada","15":"tag-central-america","16":"tag-chief-executive-officer","17":"tag-eastern-europe","18":"tag-europe","19":"tag-fifa-series","20":"tag-final-home","21":"tag-final-home-games","22":"tag-final-home-matches","23":"tag-getty-images-inc","24":"tag-group-d-sa","25":"tag-heather-garriock","26":"tag-island-country","27":"tag-james-worsfold","28":"tag-kosovo","29":"tag-mexico","30":"tag-newswire-sport","31":"tag-north-america","32":"tag-northern-america","33":"tag-slovakia","34":"tag-southern-europe","35":"tag-special-moment","36":"tag-tony-popovic","37":"tag-turkey","38":"tag-united-states-of-america","39":"tag-western-asia","40":"tag-william-west","41":"tag-world-cupaustralian-association"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224342","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=224342"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224342\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/224343"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=224342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=224342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=224342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}