Hat-trick hero Maclaren eager to not rest on laurels after Bangladesh smashing

Tim Gibson \\ Photo Credit: Aleksandar Jason/Socceroos 1700189402,1700205724

Jamie Maclaren may have been celebrating his second hat-trick in the green and gold on Thursday night, but he said the Subway Socceroos' focus has already shifted.

The Melbourne City icon provided a poaching clinic under the lights of his native AAMI Park, firing home three sharp finishes against Bangladesh in the second half.

After coming on at halftime, Maclaren scored three minutes into the second half before adding a further two in the final 20 minutes to round out a 7-0 victory.


The three points see Australia sit atop their 2026 World Cup qualifying group as they head to Kuwait next Wednesday, which Maclaren says the team are already focused on.

He explained while it could be seen as the perfect start to the campaign, there was still room for improvement.

“It’s seven goals but it could’ve been more, for myself as well, but we move on. It’s three points. We head to Kuwait now,” he said. 

“You always strive for better and we know we could’ve scored a lot more. The boys in the back were solid; not even sure Maty [Ryan] had a save to make.

“Proud of the team but we know the next game is going to be a lot harder.” 

 

Maclaren congratulated Kusini Yengi on his Socceroos’ debut, the forward coming on just after the hour mark.

He said it was the mark of a new generation of talent coming through in the Australian ranks with the World Cup less than three years away.

Coach Graham Arnold has been blooding plenty of new talent into the team over the past year, including fullback duo Lewis Miller and Jordan Bos who put in strong performances on Thursday.

“It’s a new group, and it’s a new chapter as well,” Maclaren said.

“There’s some young boys coming through keeping us older boys on our toes.”

Australia travel to Kuwait to face Palestine in their second World Cup qualifying group match on Wednesday morning. 

Australia v Bangladesh | Highlights | World Cup 2026 Qualifiers

 

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+