Cameron Burgess, an Ipswich Town defender, got his 13th cap for Australia in a late tie against Bahrain in Riffa.
Following Jacob Greaves’ injury, the defender has been a regular for the Blues in recent weeks, starting in Tony Popovic’s side’s 0-0 draw with Saudi Arabia on Thursday.
He kept his place after a strong defensive effort, and the Socceroos got off to a fast start due to Kusini Yengi, who scored in the first minute.
Although the visitors controlled the most of the ball, Bahrain appeared the most dangerous. Substitute Mahdi Abduljabbar Hassan equalised in the 75th minute after Burgess’s bad touch allowed him to gather up the ball and shoot from long range. He beat goalkeeper Mathew Ryan off his line to make it 1-1.
Hassan subsequently scored twice in the 77th minute, capitalizing on Sydney FC youngster Hayden Matthews’ poor backwards header.
Yengi was the man to save the Socceroos, scoring a 96th-minute equaliser to keep his side second in their World Cup qualifying group with seven points from six games – one victory, one defeat, and four draws.
Only a top-two finish would secure qualification for the 2026 tournament, and they have four games left to accomplish so, beginning with a home game against Elkan Baggott’s Indonesia, who are now third, in March 2025.
Ali Al-Hamadi was an unused replacement for Iraq, who won 1-0 in Oman thanks to Youssef Amyn’s first-half goal. Jesus Casas’ men are second in their World Cup qualification group, three points behind leaders South Korea and two points clear of third-place Jordan.
On December 22nd, the Lions of Mesopotamia will meet Yemen in the Gulf Cup.
These two games conclude Ipswich’s international break, with all attention on Sunday’s showdown against Manchester United.
Aside from Omari Hutchinson, who suffered a small knock in the 2-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur and was ruled out of international duty for England Under-21s as a result, everyone has reported being fully fit.
