- The Socceroos suffered an embarrassing defeat against Bahrain
- The home team, with 10 men, conceded a goal in the 89th minute of the match.
- Furious fans blame manager Graham Arnold for defeat
A team of 10 Socceroos suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to Bahrain in Gold Coast in a huge setback to their hopes of direct qualification for the World Cup.
Striker Kusini Yengi was shown a red card for a high foul and the Socceroos were then awarded an own goal in the 89th minute against the run of play, frustratingly handing Bahrain their first win over Australia.
The loss, in the team’s first match on the Gold Coast, is a huge setback ahead of the start of the third qualifying round, which will take place against Indonesia in Jakarta on Tuesday.
Angry Socceroos fans took to X – formerly known as Twitter – to vent their anger at the result, stressing that coach Graham Arnold’s time in charge was almost over.
“Get Arnold out of here, please,” one fan said online.
Another said: ‘The best time to fire Graham Arnold was six years ago, the second best time is now.’
‘Arnold shouldn’t be surviving this,’ said a third fan. ‘The football has been bad for a long time and now the results are starting to suffer.’
“Do Australia a favour and get rid of that bungler Arnold,” said a fourth supporter.
Australia suffered a humiliating defeat in their World Cup qualifier on Thursday
The Socceroos suffered an embarrassing 1-0 defeat to Bahrain on the Gold Coast
It was a remarkable victory for the international football minnows, who are ranked 80th in the world.
“Can we get rid of Arnold now?” another fan asked. “He has no idea.”
Only the top two teams in a pool also including China, Japan and Saudi Arabia will qualify for the 2026 highlight.
Australia had 70 percent possession and, particularly in the second half, camped in Bahrain’s half, looking to increase the tempo after the first 45 minutes produced few highlights.
They made more than twice as many passes as their rivals, but those attempts produced just four shots on target, with goalkeeper Ebrahim Lutfalla barely struggling as the frustrated Socceroos side slowly lost patience.
Things threatened to go wrong in the final 20 minutes when the wily Bahraini winger Mohamed Marhoon was brought down in the corner, earning Alessandro Circati a yellow card despite replays showing there was no contact.
Marhoon produced another theatrical performance moments later when he fell to the ground after Circati headed the ball in.
Fullback Harry Souttar was then shown a yellow card for a foul and Yengi was shown a red card after 80 minutes when his boot hit Sayed Baqer’s neck as he tried to collect a loose ball.
Yengi had a night to forget, touching the ball early in the game and finishing a beautiful cross from Craig Goodwin just before half-time.
Socceroos fans said coach Graham Arnold (left) was to blame for the defeat
Even the injection of Bayern Munich accentuator Nestory Irankunda after 57 minutes failed to have any effect.
Starting on the right, he showed how quickly he earned a free kick, only to have his shot blocked and saved as he moved to the left when substitute Awer Mabil came on.
Bahrain tried to stall and prolong the clock, but it was the visitors who scored first, with Abdulla Alkhalasi’s cross being deflected off Souttar and past Mat Ryan at the near post.
Only six minutes of injury time were allowed, but the Socceroos missed a golden opportunity to equalise, with Mitchell Duke heading the ball over the goal with an open header.
A substitute added to the chaos. Australia’s last attempt ended in a weak loss of possession. Before the final whistle, wild scenes broke out on the Bahrain bench.