Socceroos fans breathed a sigh of relief on Thursday night, after Australia came from behind to beat China 3-1 during their 2028 World Cup qualifying clash. 

The home side marked a new era for Australian men’s football under new coach Tony Popovic, showing their resilience to come back in the second half after going a goal down.

It was hometown hero Craig Goodwin who was the star of the show, setting up Lewis Miller for the Socceroos’ equalising goal before half-time, before producing a stunning strike from over 25 yards out. 

But the Socceroos had looked shaken early on after China’s Wenneng Xie put the visitors ahead inside 20 minutes, prompting some fans to lash out at Popovic’s side on social media.  

Australia’s defence seemed to go to sleep, allowing Xie to drive into their penalty area, before placing the ball into the bottom right corner of the net. 

And some took to X to lambast the team for conceding first. 

‘Absolutely catastrophic defending. There have been a few moments of indecision where Socceroos players didn’t know who was going to receive a pass, and that sort of hesitation destroyed them for the goal,’ reporter Vince Rugari said.

‘The Socceroos realise they have to score goals to win, right?’ Another said. 

‘Embarrassment,’ another said reacting to the goal. 

Despite that, fans were buoyed by the result at full-time, with many claiming there were still things to work on but the team had improved. 

‘Big result honestly, socceroos have struggled for a while now to recover from a bloody nose, so going on to win convincingly on the scoreboard after going behind is big.’ 

‘Got there in the end. Subs made all the difference I believe and Goodwin is just talismanic. When he’s on song, so’s the rest of the team.’ 

‘Badly needed the 3 points, but lets be honest we are going to be slaughtered by Japan. They effortlessly put 7 past this China team and I’ll be very surprised if we don’t get rinsed as well if we continue to play like that. Playing with Duke up front is playing with NO striker…’ one wrote. 

The win lifts Australia to third in the group of six nations, with four points – five games remain in this phase of qualifying for the 2026 cup in North America.

Popovic’s charges next meet unbeaten group leaders Japan, who have banked six points from two games, in Saitama on Tuesday night.

The top two nations secure direct passage to the ’26 soccer showpiece and the third-placed nation is pitched into another qualifying phase.

Popovic was appointed when Graham Arnold quit as coach after a scoreless draw in Indonesia and a shock 1-0 loss to Bahrain on the Gold Coast in last month’s qualifying window.

Popovic made a pre-game impact by benching Ryan, who has been captain since October 2019, in favour of Gauci.

The new boss also summoned Miller, who had been on the outer since giving away a penalty and a free kick which resulted in South Korean goals in Australia’s 2-1 quarter-final loss at the Asian Cup last February.

Popovic’s show of faith was rewarded in the 47th minute when Miller, despite being sandwiched by Chinese defenders, latched onto a Goodwin free kick and headed the equaliser.

After halftime, South Australian Goodwin sent the parochial 46,291-strong Adelaide Oval crowd – the largest attendance at a Socceroos game in the state – into raptures with his sublime strike.

And substitute Velupillay iced the win in the 92nd minute with a coolly-taken right-footer from six metres out.