Duke happy with ‘special’ first-half brace in Bangladesh win

Mitchell Duke only needed the first half to leave his mark on the game, firing home a double in the Subway Socceroos 7-0 win against Bangladesh.

The recently crowned J2 League champion scored twice in three minutes in the back end of the half to send Australia into the sheds with a 4-0 lead.

The target forward flicked in a well-executed looping header for his first before reacting first to a Brandon Borrello shot that came off the post.

Duke sported a celebration on both occasions for his son Bodie, who flew up to see his dad play live.

“The celebration is the letter ‘B’ for my son, Bodie,” he said.

“I flew him up from Newcastle. It was the first time I was able to share in a celebration with him, which was nice and special.

“It was his idea to have the celebration ‘B’, and I was happy to be able to do that twice tonight.”

Duke said he was also happy to help put the team in a commanding position by the break, when he was taken off by Graham Arnold ahead of the Palestine match next Wednesday.

“It was nice to assist the boys with a couple of goals for me firstly and collectively for the team,” Duke said. 

“Arnie spoke before the game - he wanted ruthlessness, and I was happy to contribute two goals.

“Seven goals, seven nil. You can’t complain about that result to start us off with the campaign.”

Duke says the big win at AAMI Park on Thursday night does not indicate how the Socceroos’ next match will play out.

The side will travel to Kuwait to face Palestine, hoping to make it two-from-two in their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign.

“That’s going to be a whole different ball game I think,” he said. 

“It’s going to be a whole different challenge for us, and we’ve got to make sure we’re mentally ready.

“It’s an away game as well.

“It’s going to be a great atmosphere.”

Tweet: https://twitter.com/Socceroos/status/1725090488297164959

FIFA WORLD CUP 2026™️  SECOND ROUND ASIAN QUALIFIERS: 

Palestine v Subway Socceroos
Tuesday, 21 November
Jaber Al-Ahmed International Stadium, Kuwait
Kick-off: 5.00pm (local) / 1am AEDT (Wednesday, 22 November)
Broadcast: Network 10 and Paramount+