Australia

With Hayden Matthews one of four Australians in Portsmouth's squad, the final eight games of this Championship season could have huge ramifications for the Socceroos' 2026 World Cup hopes.

After matchday eight of Asia's World Cup qualifiers, ESPN's writers answer the burning questions, provide analysis and break down the biggest performances across the continent.

Australia's quest to secure automatic World Cup qualification is set to go down to the wire, despite the Socceroos earning a 2-0 away win over China.

New Zealand wants to reignite the "Soccer Ashes" rivalry with home-and-away fixtures against Australia in the lead up to next year's FIFA World Cup.

With Tony Popovic backing faces familiar to him, the Socceroos' win over China demonstrates how trust and process are shaping their road to 2026.

Melbourne Victory midfielder Ryan Teague has been in demand across the past few months, fielding interest from the national teams of both China and Malaysia amid a breakout A-League Men campaign.

The Socceroos have been pressed into an injury-enforced reshuffle of their striking ranks, with Adam Taggart and Kusini Yengi forced to withdraw from Tony Popovic's squad and Mitch Duke called up as reinforcement.

Who will win the 2026 World Cup? A team stacked with talent, surely. We've devised a way to rank countries by the talent in their squads.

As far as footballing analysis goes, that goals change games isn't the most cutting of insights, but sometimes the simplest of wisdom can be the most percipient.

The Socceroos have taken a giant step towards automatic World Cup qualification by hammering Indonesia 5-1 in the most emphatic victory of the Tony Popovic era.