The CommBank Socceroos will look to bounce back from defeat when they take on Colombia on Wednesday lunchtime (AEDT) at Citi Field in New York.
The team is set to be rotated as they take on high-ranked opposition in preparation for the FIFA World Cup 2026.
Never a squad to shy away from a challenge, it is set to be a hard-fought fixture as players set out to prove themselves to Head Coach Tony Popovic in the final international fixture of 2025.
The Squad
Head Coach Tony Popovic has new injuries to contend with heading into the second game of the window, with Nick D’Agostino and Jason Geria joining Deni Juric – who departed camp last week – on the unavailability list.
There were four debutants against Venezuela. Patrick Beach, Paul Okon-Engstler and Kai Trewin were named as starters before Al Hassan Toure was introduced in the second half.
Popovic expressed that the team that faces Colombia will be rotated from the one that took on Venezuela.
“I’ll put a team out there that I believe can get a result against Colombia and perform better than against Venezuela,” he said.
“I’m looking at possibly a different combination again for this game and trying to get different options, different profiles and a different balance into that midfield. We should have more senior players available for this match, which might help have a better balance in the match itself.”
Last Game
The Socceroos were defeated 1-0 by Venezuela on Saturday (AEDT) thanks to a first-half Jesus Ramirez strike. While it wasn’t the result that the team wanted, it provided valuable experience for the group.
“The best part of the game was debuting the youngsters and trying to give Mo [Toure] and Nestor [Irankunda] some more international experience,” Popovic reflected.
“In this game, we probably played a lot of them at the same time. That really disrupted our structure, and that was a little bit disjointed. When you play these teams, if you’re not well organised and structured, you feel like you’re chasing the ball – and then habits come in where players retreat and say, ‘okay, well, we’re not getting the ball, so we’ll just wait’. So there was a little bit of confusion.
“It’s not the structure that we showed against the US and Canada, but I know that is partly due to a lot of the youngsters playing at the same time, and that was my choice to expose them. I don’t regret doing that. I’m happy we did that.”
Meanwhile, Colombia defeated New Zealand 2-1 in Fort Lauderdale. When Ben Old equalised for New Zealand after Gustavo Puerta scored an impressive team goal early on, the Kiwis could have been forgiven for believing that they would leave with a draw. It was not to be, with Johan Carbonero scoring the winner in the final minutes of regulation time.
The Opponent
Colombia are a team full of quality. They feature experienced Premier League players like Jefferson Lerma, as well as icons of the world game such as James Rodriguez and Luis Diaz.
They are led by former Argentina international Nestor Lorenzo. His achievements with the squad include defeating Germany for the first time in the nation’s history during a 28-game unbeaten run and reaching the 2024 Copa America final.
The team is one of the ‘dark horses’ for the World Cup next year, comfortably qualifying as the third-best team in CONMEBOL. Their most successful previous run at a World Cup was making the quarter-finals in 2014.
At their best, they can play eye-catching, liquid football – but they are not without weaknesses. The task for Australia is to remain alert to the danger while being able to capitalise on openings that will present themselves throughout the match.
FIFA World Rankings
Australia: 25
Colombia: 13
Form Guide
Australia form guide: L-L-W-W-W
Colombia form guide: W-D-W-W-W
What They Said
Tony Popovic
Colombia will be [tougher than Venezuela]. You’d expect them to be better when you look at the personnel they have, the quality and where they finished in their qualifying. They’re a really strong opponent. Venezuela was good, tough and difficult for us, but this will be a real test – one that we welcome.
Aiden O’Neill
There’s always pressure in football: the pressure to perform, to improve and to play – that doesn’t change, it’s always present. That’s something that I enjoy and something that makes me play my best football.
Match Details
Colombia v CommBank Socceroos
Date: Tuesday, November 18 (local)
Venue: Citi Field, Queens, New York
Kick-off: 8:30pm local/12:30pm AEDT (Wednesday, November 19)
Tickets: Click here for Tickets
Broadcast: Paramount+
