The Socceroos completed a perfect second round of FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar qualifying with eight wins from eight games, but that was not the only impressive feat to come from the campaign.
Ahead of the draw for the third round, Socceroos.com.au uncovers the statistics and standout performances behind Australia’s long-awaited June action.
This months' Asian Qualifiers saw Australia top Group B with 24 points after brushing aside Kuwait, Chinese Taipei, Nepal and Jordan.
The only other team to equal the Socceroos points tally was Japan who finished first in Group F.
In the side’s first match since recording a 1-0 win over Jordan in November 2019, Australia cruised to a 3-0 victory over Kuwait.
It was a fifth-straight win for the Socceroos for the first time since October 2011, and a fourth-straight win away from home for the first time since 2002.
The result also meant that Kuwait have lost each of their last four meetings with Australia, conceding 14 goals and scoring just once in return.
During the match, Mathew Leckie opened the scoring after just 55 seconds with the third quickest goal of the entire AFC Asian Qualifiers so far. Leckie’s header only beaten by Mohanad Ali from Iraq who scored after 19 seconds and Syafig Ahmad from Malaysia who scored after 33 seconds.
The second match in June saw Australia extend their undefeated streak against Chinese Taipei in men’s internationals (W14, D1) – the longest Socceroos run without defeat against any country.
The match also saw the Socceroos break their highest possession ratio in a single game during the 2022 Asian World Cup Qualifiers with 78.2%.
Meanwhile, Mitchell Duke was directly involved in 11 shots in the match (seven shots, four chances created) – the most for any Australian player in a single game during the campaign.
The Socceroos' third match saw them record a 3-0 victory over Nepal courtesy of goals from Leckie, Fran Karacic and Martin Boyle.
Australia faced just one shot in the match, a joint-low for them in a single game in the qualifiers. Interestingly, they also faced just one shot in the reverse fixture.
The match also saw the Green and Gold take 34 shots – the second-most in their campaign. Coincidentally, the highest number of shots (36) also came in the reverse fixture against Nepal in 2019.
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Ajdin Hrustic was directly involved in 12 shots in the match (8 shots, 4 chances created) – the most by any Australian player in a single game during the Asian World Cup Qualifiers 2022.
Meanwhile, Jackson Irvine also set a record in the match. He recorded his 13th scoring chance of the qualifiers – the most by any Socceroos player during the campaign.
The match also brought up a milestone for Australia’s captain. Leckie scored his fourth goal in four appearances with his second consecutive headed goal in the competition.
The Socceroos final match of Group B saw them grind out a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Jordan.
The win confirmed back-to-back victories over Jordan for the first time ever.
It was also the Socceroos' eighth consecutive victory – the last time they won more in succession was a 14-game stretch from October 1996 to October 1997.
During a landmark match that marked his 50th international appearance, Trent Sainsbury made his 14th clearance of the Asian 2022 World Cup Qualifiers – the most by any Socceroos player during the campaign.
Australia will be hoping to break more records and bring up many more impressive individual milestones when they return to World Cup qualifying.
The draw for the third round is set to take place on July 1 - find out more about what lies next here.