Australia defeated Peru 5-4 on penalties in the AFC/​CONMEBOL playoff on MON 13 JUN 2022 to qualify for the 2022 Men’s World Cup. The match ended goalless after extra time.

A tense affair in Al Rayyan, Qatar was marked by superb goalkeeping from the Socceroos’ Mat RYAN and the Incas’ Pedro GALLESE. Nonetheless, Australia manager Graham ARNOLD replaced Ryan with Andrew REDMAYNE as extra time drew to a close. The gamble paid off, with Redmayne making the decisive save of Alex VALERA’s penalty in the sixth round of the shootout.

The result places six AFC teams into the Men’s World Cup for the first time in history, with host nation Qatar joined by Australia, Iran, Japan, Korea Rep, and Saudi Arabia.

The Socceroos will compete in Group D at the Men’s World Cup. They open against title holders France on TUE 22 NOV 2022, followed by matches against Tunisia on SAT 26 NOV 2022 and Denmark on WED 30 NOV 2022.