Australia v Japan: World Cup 2026 qualifying – live

Updates from the crunch Socceroos game at Optus Stadium

Kick-off time in Perth is 7.10pm local/9.10pm AEST

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Craig Goodwin, Nishan Velupillay, Mathew Leckie, Jackson Irvine and Kusini Yengi were all left out of the squad due to injury and fitness concerns. In their place are some long-awaited returning players and a couple of fresh faces.

As John Duerden writes, Samurai Blue have earned the right to bring a squad containing just seven players with more than 10 caps to Australia for this match. They have dominated the group, booked their World Cup tickets and now have some freedom to experiment. It certainly seems to work in the Socceroos’ favour that many of Japan’s stars have been given the OK to head off on holiday.