We rebuilt every Australian World Cup match from the match records, with the score, extra time, the shootout and every goal, and every qualifying play-off the team has played since 1973. A match decided on penalties counts as a draw, as FIFA records it.
Socceroos World Cup record by tournament
The best group stage came in Qatar in 2022: six points from wins over Tunisia and Denmark, the only time Australia has won two matches at one World Cup, and the only back-to-back wins. The worst was Brazil 2014, three losses and no points, although the team scored in two of them. The 1974 side, mostly amateurs, did not score at all.
| World Cup | Host | Stage reached | W-D-L | Goals | Group points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Canada, Mexico and United States | Round of 32 | 1-2-1 | 3-3 | 4 |
| 2022 | Qatar | Round of 16 | 2-0-2 | 4-6 | 6 |
| 2018 | Russia | Group stage | 0-1-2 | 2-5 | 1 |
| 2014 | Brazil | Group stage | 0-0-3 | 3-9 | 0 |
| 2010 | South Africa | Group stage | 1-1-1 | 3-6 | 4 |
| 2006 | Germany | Round of 16 | 1-1-2 | 5-6 | 4 |
| 1974 | West Germany | Group stage | 0-1-2 | 0-5 | 1 |
| Total | 5-6-13 | 20-40 |
Four points was enough to go through in 2006 and 2026 but not in South Africa in 2010, where a 4-0 opening loss to Germany left Australia behind on goal difference. The five wins are the whole list:
- 3-1 against Japan, 2006, with all three goals in the last seven minutes.
- 2-1 against Serbia, 2010.
- 1-0 against Tunisia and 1-0 against Denmark, 2022.
- 2-0 against Turkey, 2026, the team's first win in an opening match since 2006.
Australia has kept five clean sheets, against Chile in 1974, Tunisia and Denmark in 2022, and Turkey and Paraguay in 2026. Its biggest win is by two goals, and it has happened twice; its heaviest defeat is the 4-0 against Germany.
Every Australian World Cup match
| Date | Stage | Opponent | Score | Australia's goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 14, 1974 | Group | East Germany | 0-2 | - |
| Jun 18, 1974 | Group | West Germany | 0-3 | - |
| Jun 22, 1974 | Group | Chile | 0-0 | - |
| Jun 12, 2006 | Group | Japan | 3-1 | Tim Cahill 2, John Aloisi |
| Jun 18, 2006 | Group | Brazil | 0-2 | - |
| Jun 22, 2006 | Group | Croatia | 2-2 | Craig Moore, Harry Kewell |
| Jun 26, 2006 | Round of 16 | Italy | 0-1 | - |
| Jun 13, 2010 | Group | Germany | 0-4 | - |
| Jun 19, 2010 | Group | Ghana | 1-1 | Brett Holman |
| Jun 23, 2010 | Group | Serbia | 2-1 | Tim Cahill, Brett Holman |
| Jun 13, 2014 | Group | Chile | 1-3 | Tim Cahill |
| Jun 18, 2014 | Group | Netherlands | 2-3 | Tim Cahill, Mile Jedinak |
| Jun 23, 2014 | Group | Spain | 0-3 | - |
| Jun 16, 2018 | Group | France | 1-2 | Mile Jedinak |
| Jun 21, 2018 | Group | Denmark | 1-1 | Mile Jedinak |
| Jun 26, 2018 | Group | Peru | 0-2 | - |
| Nov 22, 2022 | Group | France | 1-4 | Craig Goodwin |
| Nov 26, 2022 | Group | Tunisia | 1-0 | Mitch Duke |
| Nov 30, 2022 | Group | Denmark | 1-0 | Mathew Leckie |
| Dec 3, 2022 | Round of 16 | Argentina | 1-2 | Enzo Fernández (own goal) |
| Jun 13, 2026 | Group | Turkey | 2-0 | Nestory Irankunda, Connor Metcalfe |
| Jun 19, 2026 | Group | United States | 0-2 | - |
| Jun 25, 2026 | Group | Paraguay | 0-0 | - |
| Jul 3, 2026 | Round of 32 | Egypt | 1-1 (extra time, 2-4 on penalties) | Mohamed Hany (own goal) |
The knockout runs: 2006, 2022 and 2026
In 2006 Guus Hiddink's team lost its round-of-16 match to Italy in Kaiserslautern to a Francesco Totti penalty in the fifth minute of stoppage time, after Marco Materazzi had been sent off. In 2022 it lost 2-1 to Argentina in Al Rayyan; Lionel Messi and Julián Álvarez scored, and Australia's goal was an Enzo Fernández own goal. Italy and Argentina both went on to win those tournaments.
In 2026 the knockout stage started with a round of 32 for the first time, and Australia reached it as runner-up in Group D. Against Egypt in Arlington, Texas, Emam Ashour scored in the 13th minute and Mohamed Hany turned the ball into his own net in the 55th. After extra time Egypt won the shootout 4-2. Australia has scored two goals in its three knockout matches, and both were own goals.
Australia's top World Cup goalscorers
Tim Cahill is the Socceroos' leading World Cup scorer with five goals, and the only Australian to score at three World Cups, 2006, 2010 and 2014. He scored the team's first World Cup goals, in the 84th and 89th minutes against Japan in 2006, after Australia had gone its first three matches, all in 1974, without one. Mile Jedinak is second with three, all penalties, and Brett Holman scored twice in 2010.
Eleven Australians have scored at a World Cup, eight of them once each: John Aloisi, Craig Moore and Harry Kewell in 2006; Craig Goodwin, Mitch Duke and Mathew Leckie in 2022; and Nestory Irankunda and Connor Metcalfe in 2026. Two more goals were own goals by opponents.
How Australia qualified: play-offs and the move to Asia
For three decades the problem was getting there. Australia qualified for 1974 by beating South Korea in a deciding match in Hong Kong, 1-0 with a goal from Jimmy Mackay, after two draws. It then lost four straight play-offs: to Scotland for 1986, Argentina for 1994, Iran for 1998 and Uruguay for 2002. Against Iran it led 2-0 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and went out on away goals after a 2-2 draw.
The run ended on November 16, 2005, in Sydney: Mark Bresciano's goal levelled the tie with Uruguay and Australia won the shootout 4-2. On January 1, 2006, Australia moved from the Oceania confederation to the Asian Football Confederation, trading the single Oceania play-off for a place in Asia's qualifying groups.
Since then Australia has qualified for every World Cup. It went through directly in 2010, unbeaten in its last qualifying group with six wins, two draws and one goal conceded; in 2014, second in its group; and in 2026, second in its group behind Japan, clinched with a 2-1 win in Saudi Arabia on June 10, 2025. In 2018 and 2022 it needed two play-off rounds each time, and won all four ties, the last of them against Peru on penalties in Al Rayyan, Qatar.
| World Cup | Round | Opponent | Australia's results | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Final round, Asia-Oceania zone | South Korea | 0-0, 2-2, 1-0 (deciding match in Hong Kong) | Qualified |
| 1986 | UEFA-OFC play-off | Scotland | 0-2, 0-0 | Eliminated |
| 1994 | OFC-CONMEBOL play-off | Argentina | 1-1, 0-1 | Eliminated |
| 1998 | AFC-OFC play-off | Iran | 1-1, 2-2, out on away goals | Eliminated |
| 2002 | OFC-CONMEBOL play-off | Uruguay | 1-0, 0-3 | Eliminated |
| 2006 | CONMEBOL-OFC play-off | Uruguay | 0-1, 1-0, 4-2 on penalties | Qualified |
| 2018 | AFC fourth round | Syria | 1-1, 2-1 a.e.t. | Advanced |
| 2018 | CONCACAF-AFC play-off | Honduras | 0-0, 3-1 | Qualified |
| 2022 | AFC fourth round | United Arab Emirates | 2-1 | Advanced |
| 2022 | AFC-CONMEBOL play-off | Peru | 0-0, 5-4 on penalties | Qualified |
The 2026 World Cup: Australia's first round of 32
Tony Popovic's team opened by beating Turkey 2-0 in Vancouver with goals from Nestory Irankunda and Connor Metcalfe, at 2 p.m. AEST on June 14. It lost 2-0 to the United States in Seattle, where the first goal was a Cameron Burgess own goal, and then drew 0-0 with Paraguay in Santa Clara, enough for second place in Group D. The round-of-32 loss to Egypt kicked off at 4 a.m. AEST on July 4.
That made 2026 the third tournament in which Australia got out of its group, and the second in a row. Its four group points matched 2006 and 2010.
What comes next for the Socceroos
The next tournament is the AFC Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia, from January 7 to February 5, 2027, where Australia is in Group D with Singapore, Iraq and Tajikistan and opens against Singapore on January 9. The 2030 World Cup will be hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with three centenary matches in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. Asia's qualifying format and dates for 2030 had not been confirmed in the sources we checked on October 4, 2026.
Closer to home, the A-League Men's 2026-27 season starts on Friday, October 16. The A-League ladder, the A-League fixtures and results and the A-League ladder simulator follow the race, and our study of how often the A-League premiers win the Grand Final covers the finals.
Socceroos at the World Cup: frequently asked questions
How many times has Australia qualified for the World Cup? Seven times: 1974, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022 and 2026, including six in a row since 2006.
What is the Socceroos' World Cup record? 24 matches, 5 wins, 6 draws and 13 losses, with 20 goals scored and 40 conceded, from 1974 to 2026.
What is Australia's best World Cup result? The knockout stage, reached in 2006, 2022 and 2026. Australia has not won a knockout match; the 2022 group stage, with six points, is its best.
Who is Australia's top scorer at the World Cup? Tim Cahill, with five goals across 2006, 2010 and 2014.
How did Australia do at the 2026 World Cup? It beat Turkey 2-0, lost 2-0 to the United States, drew 0-0 with Paraguay to finish second in Group D, and lost to Egypt on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the round of 32.
How this was built: every Australian World Cup match from 1974 to 2026 and every qualifying play-off tie from the campaign for 1974 to that for 2022, plus the final qualifying groups for 2010, 2014 and 2026, taken from the match records in the Wikipedia articles on Australia at the FIFA World Cup, the tournament groups and the qualifying rounds. Our totals match the record and scorer tables of that article; the 2026 results were checked against FIFA, Football Australia and ABC reports linked above, read on October 4, 2026. Penalty shootouts count as draws.