Match Preview: CommBank Socceroos v Curaçao | FIFA Series 2026™

The CommBank Socceroos will take on Curaçao in the second game of the FIFA Series 2026™ in Melbourne, in the team's final game on home soil before the FIFA World Cup 2026™.

Head Coach Tony Popovic has flagged that there will be a mix of continuity and rotation heading into this second game as they continue to prepare for the World Cup against quality opposition.

They will be hoping to make it two wins from two in a crucial home window.

The Squad

Head Coach Tony Popovic confirmed that he was expecting everyone to be available after Friday's 1-0 victory over Cameroon in Sydney.

"There were some knocks from the game, and a few players were a little bit modified yesterday. We'll see how they pull up today, but we're expecting everyone to be fit," he said pre-match.

He implied that there would be some changes to the starting eleven, but emphasised continuity as key in the team's final home games before the FIFA World Cup 2026.

"We obviously had some changes - as we've done in most of the games - the other night," he said.

"We had a new defender at the back. We had different combinations in midfield, different combinations in the front third. If they're all fit and healthy, it'd be nice to see whether some of those boys can get a bit of continuity and get more than one game in one position, because it's a new position for a lot of them.

"We're looking at that, and having a look at a few of the other boys that have been here in camp who have now settled and are more accustomed to the environment. Hopefully they can get some minutes tomorrow."

Last Game

A second-half goal to Jordy Bos lifted the CommBank Socceroos to a 1-0 victory over Cameroon on Friday.

After a relatively even first half, the team lifted in the second to create enough opportunities to get themselves over the line. Undeterred by an earlier saved penalty, Bos managed to find the back of the net in the 85th minute after good work from Paul Okon-Engstler and Ajdin Hrustic.

The team looked calm in possession. That was a focus of Popovic heading into the game, as well as testing out new players and combinations, including debutants Deni Juric and Lucas Herrington. It was a valuable exercise in the build up to the World Cup.

The Opponent

Curaçao became the smallest nation in World Cup history to qualify for the global finals after capturing top spot in Group B of Concacaf qualifying. Their undefeated campaign earned their place on the biggest stage under legendary Dutch coach Dick Advocaat.

Since then, Advocaat has stepped down due to personal reasons and Fred Rutten has taken over has Head Coach. They were defeated 2-0 by China PR in Rutten's first game in charge on Friday.

The World No.82 side are heavily influenced by Dutch football, with many of their players based in the Netherlands. Tahith Chong is shaping up to be a key player, with the Manchester United youth product recently switching allegiances after representing the Netherlands at youth level to help lead the line on the big stage.

Other players to watch include the Bacuna brothers, Leandro and Juninha. Additionally, Kenji Gorre started against China and scored a number of goals in qualifying to help lift them to the biggest stage.

FIFA World Rankings

Australia: 27
Curaçao: 82

Form Guide

Australia form guide: L-L-L-W-W

Curaçao form guide: L-D-W-D-W

What They Said

Tony Popovic

We've been looking closely into them. They've had a coaching change, and so we've seen some footage of them - and congratulations to them for for qualifying for the World Cup. Such a small nation, I think 150,000 odd people. It's an amazing achievement. So credit to all of them, and I'm sure they're all very proud to be on the World Cup. It's an important match for them, part of their preparation, as it is for us, two nations that are going to the World Cup up against each other. So we're, as you'd expect, taking the game very seriously.

The Dutch influence is clear there in terms of their playing style, but we did have that against Indonesia as well... so we're accustomed to that. That's what we'd be expecting more of. Cameroon was a different challenge, very physical team and strong and the defensively tough team that we played against, and it was good to experience that style. This would be another test in a different way, which is also good for us to be able to adapt. 

Aziz Behich

It's the same message as always. We're going to every game to win, but obviously at the same time to improve all the time from from the previous games, and I think evolve as a group. I think we've been doing that when you look at the past games. So it's going to be no different, it's a different test for us. Obviously, a different nation we've never played before. And we'll analyse them in the coming days and I think it'd be a good final hit out for us.

I think they've got good players. I think they're a lot of Dutch players in there as well, playing a good levels. But at the end of the day, we just have got to focus on ourselves. We know what type of team we are, how good we are, but we've just got to work on ourselves leading into this game and it'll be a good test for us as well, leading into the World Cup, playing against an opponent that, we're not quite sure about. So we need to get out of our comfort zone and adapt. That's really important leading into a World Cup.

Jordy Bos

I think we just have to play our game and get the result. Because obviously it's our last game before we head to the US. So just get the result and get some momentum leading into the World Cup.

MATCH DETAILS

CommBank Socceroos v Curaçao
Date: Tuesday, 31 March
Kick-off: 8.10pm AEDT
Venue: AAMI Park
Broadcast:  Network 10 and Paramount+
Tickets: Available on Ticketek