The Socceroos’ road to the 2026 FIFA World Cup has been made a fraction easier after Lebanon agreed to shift their home qualifier later this month to Canberra, meaning Graham Arnold’s men will play on Australian soil twice in six days.
Lebanon were forced to move their last World Cup qualifier to a neutral location due to the ongoing instability in the region caused by the Israel-Hamas conflict, and have been directed to do so again by the Asian Football Confederation, electing to play at GIO Stadium after discussions with the ACT government and Football Australia, who are assisting the Lebanese Football Association with the delivery of the fixture.
The match will be played on a Tuesday night, five days after Australia hosts Lebanon at CommBank Stadium in Parramatta on Thursday, March 21.
If the Socceroos win both games, as they are heavily favoured to do, they will lock in their spot in the third round of World Cup qualification with two games to spare.
“I think it’s fantastic we’ve been able to assist a member of our confederation who is facing challenging times,” Arnold said. “Throughout my time as head coach, we’ve had limited opportunities to play in front of home crowds, so to have two matches in this window in Australia is extremely pleasing.”
The Socceroos haven’t played since their shattering exit in the Asian Cup quarter-finals against South Korea in early February, when a 96th-minute penalty and then a stroke of genius by Son Heung-min in extra time knocked them out of the tournament in a 2-1 defeat.
Graham Arnold’s Socceroos are coming home.Credit: Getty
Not since October 2019, in one of Arnold’s first games in his second stint as coach, have the Socceroos travelled to Canberra – and not since the 1986 World Cup qualifying campaign, when they took on Chinese Taipei in Adelaide, have they been the designated ‘away’ team in a match played in Australia.
While tickets are selling strongly for the clash at CommBank Stadium, the late announcement of the second clash and FA’s limited involvement will make it difficult to attract a strong crowd in Canberra, despite the capital being starved of international football in recent years.