Australia beat Qatar 3-0 as four players make international debuts

Australia defeated Qatar 3-0 in Doha on Friday, with Riley McGree, Tete Yengi and Nestory Irankunda scoring before half-time. Football Australia's match report confirmed that Tony Popovic also gave four players their senior international debuts during the second half of the friendly.

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McGree opened the scoring after five minutes following a mistake by goalkeeper Mahmud Abunada. Connor Metcalfe then intercepted a clearance and supplied Yengi for the second goal in the 32nd minute. Metcalfe also helped create Irankunda's goal, which completed the scoring in the 40th minute.

Eli Adams, Sam Klein, Kasey Bos and Diesel Herrington were the four newcomers introduced after the interval. Kusini Yengi replaced his brother Tete at half-time, while Gianni Stensness also returned to the team. Qatar did not register their first shot until the 72nd minute, and Australia preserved their clean sheet through the closing stages.

The Socceroos will stay in Qatar for the second match of the international window after a separate agreement moved their fixture against Jordan from Amman to Doha. In its announcement, Football Australia said the Jordan Football Association accepted its relocation request following a meeting in Amman between chief executive Martin Kugeler and the JFA's acting general secretary, Farah Badarneh.

That match is scheduled for Tuesday, 17 November. The announcement listed Doha as the location but left the specific venue and kick-off time unconfirmed. Football Australia said it would be the ninth meeting between the teams. Jordan were runners-up at the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, while Qatar won that edition, meaning Australia's two opponents in this window are the finalists from that tournament.

Popovic said in the relocation announcement that securing two fixtures had been the team's priority. He also stressed the limited time available to work with his players following the rescheduling of the Asian Cup, noting that this would be their last camp for four months. Kugeler thanked the Jordan federation for agreeing to the move and acknowledged assistance from the Australian embassies in Jordan and Qatar and the Qatar Football Association.