Irankunda, Metcalfe steer Australia to a historic 2-0 win against Türkiye — as it happened

Speaking at half-time, Socceroos assistant coach Paul Okon said: "We know we’re playing against a quality team and at times we’re going to have to suffer."

"We made a strong point throughout the week of 'we wanna hurt them with the ball'. I think we’ve done that in moments. We probably could have scored one more. We just need to keep on going."

He said Irankunda's goal was a moment they had been "dreaming of".

"To get it tonight is special, and let’s hope we can get the job done," he said.

"They’re going to come out firing, we know that. But we're a fit side, we can match anyone. If we need to suffer, we'll do it. We need to continue to be good with the ball."

— Miles Proust

The half-time whistle is blown and Australia lead 1-0.

Here's the reaction at Melbourne's Federation Sqaure after Irankunda's 27th minute goal.

And enjoy the goal from Irankunda again, who has become the Socceroos youngest ever World Cup goal scorer at just 20 years of age.

It was a great half for Australia, with Popovic's calls to start Irankunda and Beach having paid off so far, the latter making a critical save.

Türkiye leads possession but has been unable to unpick Australia's defence.

Approaching half-time, Türkiye have been pressing in their attack.

At 42 minutes, Arda Güler has a shot from the edge of the box but is off target.

Australia has plenty of defenders denying space for Türkiye's attackers.

At 45 minutes, Irankunda comes close again, cutting inside but his shot goes straight at the keeper.

— Miles Proust

Australian goalkeeper Patrick Beach has made a fantastic save, tipping the ball into the post after a long-range strike by Abdülkerim Bardakc.

Huge save, just minutes after Irankunda's goal.

Nestory Irankunda has scored for Australia!

It was a quick counter-attack, coming just moments after Beach made his first save.

He fed the ball to Okon-Engstler, who spotted Irankunda making a run on the left, passing a perfect ball over the top and landing in front of the winger.

Irankunda then cut inside and picked his spot at the near post, in a beautiful finish.

The crowd is mostly backing Türkiye, though there is a sizeable Australian crowd behind the Socceroos' goal.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino is in the stands, seated beside Football Australia chief Anter Isaac.

Australia has stayed compact in defence despite Türkiye having more possession.

— Miles Proust

Türkiye took the first corner, cleared by Souttar, who collided with Cam Burgess.

The Socceroos are able to head out a second without too much difficulty.

Seven minutes in, Touré wins a corner, but Metcalfe's delivery is poor.

— Miles Proust

The Socceroos kick off the match with Mohamed Touré.

Australia's World Cup is underway, Touré passing back to Souttar who puts a long ball forward.

Just a reminder, you can watch the match live and free on SBS or SBS On Demand.

FIFA World Cup 2026™ | Stream Free on SBS On Demand 

It's less than five minutes before kick-off in Vancouver, with both teams on the pitch for the national anthems.

Both teams are in their traditional colours, Australia in gold jerseys, green shorts and white socks, while Türkiye are in all red.

— Miles Proust

Thousands of Socceroos fans have turned out at Melbourne's Federation Square, one of the most popular live sites for the match.

Source: SBS

Türkiye fans were also out in force, with a small group of fans from both sides throwing water and plastic bottles at each other.

Security were quick to intervene to calm the groups.

— Miles Proust

While all eyes are on the Socceroos, let's take a quick look at the other matches on day three of the World Cup.

Switzerland was left stunned after a 1-1 draw against Qatar in their Group B opener.

A stoppage-time goal from Miro Muheim saw Qatar cancel out a 17th-minute Swiss penalty by Breel Embolo.

Morocco and Brazil also walked away with a point each after 1-1 draw in their Group C match in stifling hot conditions at New York New Jersey Stadium.

In the other Group C game, Scotland currently beat Haiti 1-0, to win its first World Cup match in 36 years.

You can read more about the other results here:

READ MORE

Watch: Socceroos defeat Türkiye 2-0 in defensive masterclass, Irankunda and Metcalfe shine

— Miles Proust

Hundreds of Socceroos' fans have shut down Granville Street in the centre of Vancouver ahead of their march to nearby BC Place stadium.

Fans packed out the Dublin Calling pub, while on the street, many wore green-and-gold jerseys, held inflatable kangaroos and let off flares to chants of "Aussie".

Source: SBS / Cameron Watts

"Good to be out here, we've got a 1,000 Aussies here, the bar ran dry twice," one Australian told SBS.

"We're probably not going to outnumber [Türkiye fans] ... but we're gonna outnumber them with passion."

Source: SBS / Cameron Watts

Source: SBS / Cameron Watts

— Cameron Watts

Ahead of their World Cup campaign, the Socceroos released a video in which each player spoke about where they were born, painting a picture of an incredibly multicultural team.

"No matter where you come from, football is for everyone," each player said one by one.

The 26-man squad is incredibly diverse — coming from at least 15 cultural and ethnic backgrounds — including three players who came to Australia as refugees from Africa.

Among them are Nestory Irankunda and Mohamed Touré, among the Socceroos' most exciting next-generation talents who will be leading Australia's attack.

You can see the video below:

— Miles Proust

The Socceroos have revealed their starting 11, with goalkeeper and captain Mat Ryan benched in favour of Patrick Beach, who impressed in last week's friendly against Switzerland.

It's a massive call from coach Tony Popovic to overlook Ryan, who is one of the few players with World Cup experience.

Harry Souttar will stand in as skipper instead.

There had been debate about whether Nestory Irankunda would come off the bench as an impact player, but he's been confirmed to start.

Mohamed Touré is also fit and will be part of the starting line-up. There were concerns for his fitness after he missed a training session earlier this week.

— Miles Proust

This is the Socceroos' seventh World Cup appearance, and sixth in a row.

Australia's best-ever performance has been the Round of 16, which they've made twice, in 2006 and at the last tournament in Qatar in 2022.

The Socceroos' 26-man squad is the second youngest to ever play in a World Cup, with an average age of 26.8. Seventeen players will be making their World Cup debut.

The side is known for its defence-first approach, high physical intensity and rapid counter-attacks, most recently seen with Tete Yengi's debut goal in their 1-1 draw against Switzerland last week.

Players to watch out for include striker Mohamed Touré, winger Nestory Irankunda and defender Jordy Bos.

Tony Popovic took over as head coach in 2024 and achieved a remarkable seven-match winning streak and an 11-match undefeated run, which ended with a friendly loss to the USA in October.

You can read more about the Socceroos below:

READ MORE

Who are the Socceroos? Meet Australia's World Cup squad

— Miles Proust

The Socceroos will face Türkiye in their first Group D match at BC Place in the Canadian city of Vancouver.

This is Türkiye's third World Cup appearance and first since 2002, when they reached the semi-finals. They were knocked out by Brazil, who went on to win the tournament, but defeated South Korea in the match for third place.

While Türkiye are only ranked four places above Australia, they are considered the favourites thanks to their exciting young talent, including star midfielder Arda Güler, 21, who plays for Spanish giants Real Madrid.

Other players to watch our for are Brighton fullback Ferdi Kadıoğlu and Juventus star Kenan Yıldız.

Türkiye are entering this World Cup with high hopes, with captain Hakan Çalhanoğlu saying earlier this week that the team would be looking to "dominate" Australia.

Australia has played Türkiye twice before during a two-game friendly series in 2004, both of which they lost.

— Miles Proust

Good afternoon to all football fans — both old heads and recent bandwagoners.

It's an exciting and perhaps nerve-wracking day for the Socceroos, who will face what looks, on paper, to be a tough Türkiye squad in their opening FIFA 2026 World Cup match in Vancouver.

The Socceroos are ranked 27th globally, while their opponents sit at 23rd.

We're going to be live-blogging the whole match.

The match starts at 2pm AEST, and you can watch it live and free on SBS and SBS On Demand.

If you're new to the Socceroos or the World Cup, or just wanting to brush up, we've put together some helpful guides to get you ready for kick-off:

• How to watch the FIFA World Cup 2026 on SBS
• Socceroos' World Cup live sites across Australia
• Everything to know about the Socceroos
• Football 101 explainer
• All the FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage on our World Cup page
• Watch all 104 matches of the FIFA World Cup 2026 at our On Demand hub
• When the Socceroos matches start

Looking forward to having you with us.

— Madeleine Wedesweiler