{"id":235246,"date":"2026-03-26T02:01:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T02:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/26\/how-ex-socceroos-boss-can-make-wc-history-in-last-gasp-qualifier-as-aussies-wait-to-learn-rival\/"},"modified":"2026-03-26T02:01:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T02:01:00","slug":"how-ex-socceroos-boss-can-make-wc-history-in-last-gasp-qualifier-as-aussies-wait-to-learn-rival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/26\/how-ex-socceroos-boss-can-make-wc-history-in-last-gasp-qualifier-as-aussies-wait-to-learn-rival\/","title":{"rendered":"How ex-Socceroos boss can make WC history in last-gasp qualifier as Aussies wait to learn rival"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The Socceroos\u2019 first World Cup opponent will be confirmed next week as 22 nations vie for the final six places in this year\u2019s tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.<\/p>\n

Australia\u2019s World Cup campaign will begin against one of T\u00fcrkiye, Romania, Slovakia and Kosovo in Vancouver on June 13 with their European opponent to be locked in on the morning of Wednesday 1 April AEDT.<\/p>\n

\ufeffGet all the latest football news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports Sportmail. Sign up now!!!<\/a><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

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Sixteen European nations have been split into four groups of four with semi-finals to be played before a final determines the four countries who will go to the World Cup.<\/p>\n

All semi-finals will be played on Friday morning AEDT with Socceroos boss Tony Popovic set to keep a close eye on T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s clash with Romania in Istanbul and Slovakia\u2019s meeting with Kosovo in Bratislava.<\/p>\n

T\u00fcrkiye are the top ranked team in that quartet at 25th in the world, two places higher than the Socceroos.<\/p>\n

Slovakia are ranked 44th, Romania are 49th in the FIFA standings, while Kosovo are the outsiders at 79th.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, New Caledonia, Jamaica, DR Congo, Bolivia, Suriname, and former Socceroos manager Graham Arnold\u2019s Iraq compete in Mexico for two places in the global showpiece event.<\/p>\n

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Iraq’s head coach Graham Arnold attends a training session prior to the FIFA World Cup qualifier Group C third-round match between Jordan and Iraq at Amman International Stadium on June 9, 2025, in Amman, Jordan. (Photo by Ameen Ahmed\/NurPhoto via Getty Images)<\/span>Source: Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As the two highest ranked countries DR Congo and Iraq have automatically progressed to their respective finals.<\/p>\n

It gives Arnold the best possible chance of becoming the first ever Australian manager to take another nation to the World Cup.<\/p>\n

All finals will be played on the morning of Wednesday 1 April AEDT.<\/p>\n

Scroll down for every group of the World Cup playoffs.<\/i><\/p>\n

<\/amp-ima-video><\/p>\n

Awer Mabil relishing Socceroos recall | 02:40<\/p>\n

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UEFA Playoffs Path A<\/b><\/p>\n

Semi-finals:<\/p>\n

Italy v Northern Ireland<\/p>\n

Wales v Bosnia and Herzegovina<\/p>\n

Final:<\/p>\n

Winner of Italy\/Northern Ireland v winner of Wales\/Bosnia and Herzegovina<\/p>\n

The winner of this section will join Canada, Qatar and Switzerland in Group B.<\/p>\n

UEFA Playoffs Path B<\/b><\/p>\n

Semi-finals:<\/p>\n

Ukraine v Sweden<\/p>\n

Poland v Albania<\/p>\n

Final:<\/p>\n

Winner of Ukraine\/Sweden v Poland\/Albania<\/p>\n

The winner of this section will join the Netherlands, Japan and Tunisia in Group F.<\/p>\n

UEFA Playoffs Path C<\/b><\/p>\n

Semi-finals:<\/p>\n

T\u00fcrkiye v Romania<\/p>\n

Slovakia v Kosovo<\/p>\n

Final:<\/p>\n

T\u00fcrkiye\/Romania v Slovakia\/Kosovo<\/p>\n

The winner of this section will join the United States, Paraguay and Australia in Group D.<\/p>\n

UEFA Playoffs Path D<\/b><\/p>\n

Semi-finals:<\/p>\n

Denmark v North Macedonia<\/p>\n

Czechia v Ireland<\/p>\n

Final:<\/p>\n

Denmark\/North Macedonia v Czechia\/Ireland<\/p>\n

The winner of this section will join Mexico, South Africa and South Korea in Group A.<\/p>\n

Inter-Confederation Playoffs Pathway 1<\/b><\/p>\n

Semi-final:<\/p>\n

New Caledonia v Jamaica <\/p>\n

Final:<\/p>\n

DR Congo v winner of New Caledonia v Jamaica <\/p>\n

The winner of this section will join Colombia, Portugal and Uzbekistan in Group K.<\/p>\n

Inter-Confederation Playoffs Pathway 2<\/b><\/p>\n

Semi-final:<\/p>\n

Bolivia v Suriname <\/p>\n

Final:<\/p>\n

Iraq v winner of Bolivia v Suriname <\/p>\n

The winner of this section will join France, Senegal and Norway in Group I.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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

The Socceroos\u2019 first World Cup opponent will be confirmed next week as 22 nations vie for the final six places in this year\u2019s tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Australia\u2019s World Cup campaign will begin against one of T\u00fcrkiye, Romania, Slovakia and Kosovo in Vancouver on June 13 with their European opponent to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":235247,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6807],"tags":[151,71366,1800,1641,83,1736,8313,13528,10742,71361,37519,2064,9030,5106,5449,34814,23722,1567,2892,1429,71364,3147,149,1425,71359,7062,41490,2011,5035,9596,71362,36663,320,5448,71358,6012,1533,2449,1809,1427,10749,70,1728,32159,71360,71363,493,2874,36595,889,11004,239,5429,472,240,2457,11007,71357,12783,2474,11891,2023,1792,17342,22387,37514,71365,13309,1847,3150],"class_list":{"0":"post-235246","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-leagues-cups","8":"tag-africa","9":"tag-ameen-ahmed","10":"tag-america","11":"tag-asia","12":"tag-australia","13":"tag-australia-and-new-zealand","14":"tag-australian-manager","15":"tag-australian-soil","16":"tag-bosnia-and-herzegovina","17":"tag-bratislava","18":"tag-british-columbia","19":"tag-canada","20":"tag-central-america","21":"tag-central-asia","22":"tag-congo-kinshasa","23":"tag-crunch-time","24":"tag-denmark-v","25":"tag-eastern-asia","26":"tag-eastern-europe","27":"tag-europe","28":"tag-ex-socceroos-boss","29":"tag-fifa","30":"tag-football-news","31":"tag-getty-images-inc","32":"tag-global-showpiece-event","33":"tag-graham-arnold","34":"tag-iraq","35":"tag-istanbul","36":"tag-japan","37":"tag-jordan","38":"tag-last-gasp-qualifier","39":"tag-macedonia","40":"tag-mexico","41":"tag-middle-africa-sub-saharan-africa","42":"tag-nations-vie","43":"tag-netherlands","44":"tag-north-america","45":"tag-northern-africa","46":"tag-northern-america","47":"tag-northern-europe","48":"tag-northern-ireland","49":"tag-norway","50":"tag-oceania","51":"tag-paraguay","52":"tag-playoffs-path","53":"tag-playoffs-pathway","54":"tag-portugal","55":"tag-qatar","56":"tag-romania","57":"tag-senegal","58":"tag-slovakia","59":"tag-south-africa","60":"tag-south-america","61":"tag-south-korea","62":"tag-southern-africa","63":"tag-southern-europe","64":"tag-switzerland","65":"tag-third-round-match","66":"tag-tony-popovic","67":"tag-training-session","68":"tag-tunisia","69":"tag-turkey","70":"tag-united-states-of-america","71":"tag-uzbekistan","72":"tag-v-winner","73":"tag-vancouver","74":"tag-wales-v-bosnia","75":"tag-western-africa-sub-saharan-africa","76":"tag-western-asia","77":"tag-western-europe"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235246","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=235246"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235246\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/235247"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=235246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=235246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=235246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}