'That's a Wrap!' is here for another month as we look back at all the main happenings across Australia's men's senior and junior national teams for February thanks to our Official Partner, Subway.
Subway Socceroos AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ campaign ends in heartbreaking extra-time defeat
A gallant Subway Socceroos outfit fell at the Quarter Final stage of the tournament after a dramatic 2-1 loss to Korea Republic.
Craig Goodwin opened the scoring volleying home Nathaniel Atkinson's cross to give the Aussies the lead just before half-time.
But in the dying stages of the match Son Heung-Min was fouled allowing Hwang Hee-chan the chance to convert the penalty and force extra time.
Deep into first-half extra time, Tottenham Hostpur's Son Heung-min converted his free-kick from just outside the box, giving Korea Republic the lead 2-1.
Subway Socceroos continue to climb in latest FIFA Rankings
Following a strong showing at the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™, Australia has risen to their highest FIFA World ranking in twelve years.
Australia jumped to 23rd in the latest FIFA World Rankings from their 2024 starting rank of 25th. The position follows a steady upward trend in the rankings, having climbed 19 positions in less than 4 years, under current manager Graham Arnold.
Tweet: https://twitter.com/Socceroos/status/1758355527334064328
The change comes due to a run to the Quarter Finals at the Asian Cup over the month of January, which saw the green and gold defeat the likes of Bahrain (82nd), India (117th), Syria (89th), and Indonesia (142nd), while also securing a result against Uzbekistan (66th).
FIFA World Rankings will grow in importance at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with the tournament group draw sorted by rankings.
Joe Gauci secures Premier League move to Aston Villa
At the start of the month, Joe Gauci completed a deadline day move to English Premier League side Aston Villa from Adelaide United for an undisclosed fee.
According to reports, the deal was rumoured to be worth €1.5m ($2.4m AUD) fee plus add ons, with Gauci reportedly signing until June 2028 following the conclusion of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™.
The 23-year-old joined the Birmingham-based club after reportedly agreeing to four-and-a-half year contract and continues his development under the stewardship of respected boss Unai Emery.
“It's the perfect time for me in my career to accept this new challenge and I'm looking forward to just getting my head down and working hard,” he told Aston Villa's media team.
“I’ll be asking lots of questions, listening to all the staff on and off the field and learning from the other boys as well, it's going to be an exciting few years.”
Tweet: https://twitter.com/JoeGauci46/status/1759132590974324842
Aussies making impact Abroad
As international duty concluded, many of our Subway Socceroos hit the ground running as they returned to club football.
Tweet: https://twitter.com/Socceroos/status/1761646229522681958
Martin Boyle, Sammy Silvera, Jackson Irvine, Connor Metcalfe and Maty Ryan headlined the last couple of weeks with impressive performances. As always for the latest Socceroos Abroad news follow our social channels.
