New Zealand
Australia
 
International Friendlies (Men)
Eden Park
2022-09-25T03:00:00+00:00
Attendance
34,985
tv

WATCH: Impressive second-half sees Subway Socceroos down New Zealand 2-0

An inspired second-half performance has helped Australia to a 2-0 friendly win over New Zealand at Eden Park on Sunday.

Mitch Duke scored his eighth goal for the Subway Socceroos before Jason Cummings marked his debut with a finish from the penalty spot.

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After a disjointed first-half, the visitors clicked into gear in the second stanza as five substitutes featured for the national team for the first time.

Graham Arnold made 11 changes to the starting eleven that beat New Zealand 1-0 in Brisbane, opting for an experimental side which included a debut to centre-back Harrison Delbridge.

Marco Tilio received his first senior start on the wing while Thomas Deng featured for the first time since October 2018.

Riley McGree was influential throughout the first-half and despite being on the backfoot, Tilio had the best chance of the match to open the scoring but squandered his attempt from close range.

Australia came out all guns blazing after the restart, demonstrating a lot more intent and urgency going forward.

In the 54th minute, their endeavour would be rewarded with Connor Metcalfe’s excellent cross met by a forceful Duke header.

Jason Cummings


Arnold then turned to his bench as Ryan Strain, Cameron Devlin and Jason Cummings all entered the fray for the maiden time as Subway Socceroos.

Ten minutes later, exciting youngster Garang Kuol was summoned becoming the sixth-youngest Australian to represent the Subway Socceroos in an international ‘A’ match.

And the Central Coast Mariners winger was lively too, involved in the build up to the second goal as his marauding run ended in a cut-back to McGree. His shot was saved by Oliver Sail and rebounded to Cummings, whose shot was illegally blocked by a stray Liberato Cacace arm.

The Scottish-born striker stepped up and confidently converted the ensuing penalty register his inaugural Australia appearance with a goal.

Keanu Baccus was the final fresh face introduced to the action by Arnold as Australia made it two wins from two against the All Whites, while keeping two clean sheets in the process.

Opta Insights

  • Australia have gone on to win each of their last three men's internationals following a drawn first-half on the day; the last time the Socceroos enjoyed a longer winning run in such fixtures was a four-match span from May to November in 2008.
  • Garang Kuol (18y 10d) is the youngest player to debut for the Socceroos since Harry Kewell (17y 214d) on 24 April 1996 against Chile.
  • Riley McGree (Australia) has had 36 touches in the opposition box in the 2022/23 EFL Championship season, the most of any player for Middlesbrough.
  • Harrison Delbridge (Australia) has made 67 interceptions in the 2022 K-League 1 season for Incheon United, the second most by any player overall (Choi Young-Jun - 77 for Jeju United).
     

Match Details
International Friendly
Sunday, 25 September 2022
New Zealand 0
Australia 2 (Duke 54', Cummings (p) 80')
Venue: Eden Park
Crowd: 34,985

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