'That's a Wrap!' is here for another month as we look back at all the key things that happened across Australia's men's senior and junior national teams and players for December thanks to our Official Partner, Subway.
Graham Arnold names 26-player squad for AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™
Twenty-six players were given an early Christmas present after receiving news they had been named in the Subway Socceroos squad bound for Qatar.
Among the surprise inclusions of Gethin Jones, John Iredale and the return of Bruno Fornaroli and Lawrence Thomas.
Tweet: https://twitter.com/Socceroos/status/1737969988009660658
Australia faces Bahrain in friendly before Asian Cup
As part of the Subway Socceroos' preparations, the Green and Gold have arranged an international friendly against Bahrain in Abu Dhabi before flying out to Qatar for the tournament.
The match scheduled for Sunday, 7 January at 1:00am AEDT is live and exclusive on Paramount+.
Tweet: https://twitter.com/Socceroos/status/1740538124089151988
Subway Socceroos to face Lebanon at CommBank Stadium in March
It was revealed the Subway Socceroos will face Lebanon at CommBank Stadium in Sydney as their journey towards FIFA World Cup 2026™ continues, with the Second Round Qualifier scheduled for Thursday, 21 March 2024 (8.00pm AEDT).
The Aussies got their campaign off to the perfect start with 7-0 and 1-0 wins over Bangladesh and Palestine respectively in November and will be determined to maintain their 100% record following the Asian Cup.
Tickets are available at Ticketek so secure your seats now!
- READ MORE: Our Previous matches at CommBank Stadium
Subway Socceroos climb to highest FIFA Ranking since 2012
Australia jumped two places into 25th spot after FIFA World Cup 2026™ Second Round Asian Qualifying wins against Bangladesh and Palestine during the November window.
September 2012 was the last time the Socceroos were ranked 25th in the world, a testament to the squad's strong performances in the previous 18 months after closing out 2022 in 27th.
The past 12-month period included the Socceroos' highest number of games against top-10 opponents since men’s rankings began in 1992.
Read more about our latest ranking here.
Massimo Luongo announces international retirement
One Subway Socceroos midfielder integral to the side for the best part of six years decided to call time on his international career.
Massimo Luongo amassed 45 caps for Australia and scored six goals across his career, after debuting in 2014 as a second-half substitute in an international friendly against Ecuador in London. His final appearance in Green and Gold occurred against Bangladesh in November.
The 31-year-old has compiled an imposing international record, featuring in squads for both the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ and 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™, while appearing at both the AFC Asian Cup Australia™ 2015 and the AFC Asian Cup UAE™ 2019.
It was at the AFC Asian Cup Australia™ 2015 where Luongo made an indelible mark in the green and gold, named as Most Valuable Player of the tournament. In the same year, Luongo was placed on the longlist for the prestigious FIFA Ballon d’Or following both his outstanding AFC Asian Cup Australia™ 2015 campaign and his performances for Queens Park Rangers FC in the EFL Championship.
Aussies impress abroad
Several Aussies continue to be pivotal to their club sides as most leagues approached the halfway stage of the European season. Sam Silvera and Kusini Yengi have contributed for Middlesbrough and Portsmouth respectively, while in Saudi Arabia, Craig Goodwin found some goal-scoring form late in the month with Al Wehda.
Tweet: https://twitter.com/Socceroos/status/1737740184110969082
Your Subway Socceroos in 2023
Tweet: https://twitter.com/Socceroos/status/1739450957732393003
