Be part of an amazing atmosphere on Thursday night as our Socceroos meet in-form China in the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup at Brisbane Stadium.
The Socceroos have played some huge games at this venue, and this will be right up there as one of the biggest and most important.
Ahead of this highly-anticipated encounter, we re-live three cracking contests Australia have been a part of at Suncorp, Lang Park, Brisbane Stadium or whatever you want to call it.
Australia 1-1 Paraguay – October 7, 2006
It may have been a friendly but it was an emotional night in Brisbane as the Socceroos said farewell to four greats of the national team. Following a superb performance at the World Cup in Germany just a few months earlier, this friendly on home soil was the perfect chance for Australia fans to say thanks to Zeljko Kalac, Stan Lazaridis, Tony Vidmar and Tony Popovic in their last match before international retirement. And it looked like being a dream swansong for Popovic, who scored to put the Socceroos 1-0 up with just two minutes left, prompting mayhem on the bench as the whole squad celebrated with ‘Popa’. He was substituted to a standing ovation from the 47,609 fans just a minute later but it was substitute Michael Beauchamp who scored an unfortunate own goal in stoppage time to put a slight dampener on an incredible evening.
Australia 1-0 Iraq – June 1, 2008
Almost 49,000 fans were on hand in a crucial World Cup qualifier against the side that humbled the Socceroos at the previous year’s AFC Asian Cup. Harry Kewell – who was without a club at the time after leaving Liverpool – was captain for the night and produced a superb performance to inspire the hosts to a hard-fought victory. The decisive moment of the match came just after half-time, as Kewell timed his run to perfection to head home Brett Emerton’s right-wing cross. Goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer also had an impressive night, pulling off a couple of brilliant saves late-on to ensure the three points and a vital win on the way to qualifying for South Africa 2010.
Australia 1-1 Japan – June 12, 2012
The Socceroos produced one of their most courageous performances to come-from-behind with just 10-men to snatch a draw with Japan. After dominating the first half, Holger Osieck’s side were dealt a blow just after the break when Mark Milligan – an early substitute for the injured Mark Bresciano – was harshly sent off for a second yellow card. Japan, the previous year’s Asian Cup winners, took control with Keisuke Honda and Shinji Kagawa enjoying the greater freedom and they took the lead soon after through Yuzo Kurihara. But roared on by more than 40,000 supporters, the Socceroos regrouped and won – a contentious – penalty 20 minutes from time which Luke Wilkshire converted to snatch an impressive point when all looked lost.
The Socceroos will face China PR in the Quarter-Finals of the AFC Asian Cup at Brisbane Stadium on Thursday 22 January (8.30pm local kick off). Click here to purchase tickets.
