Photograph: Dave Hunt/AAP
Five days after Pope Francis filled the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta, Australia will arrive in the same arena seeking redemption as they look to get back on the path to North America and the 2026 World Cup. The Socceroos got the third round of Asian qualifying off to a horror start last week when, on the same day that 100,000 massed to see the head of the Catholic Church in Indonesia’s capital, they fell to defeat to Bahrain at home.
Graham Arnold will be able to seek a degree of comfort in his team’s 4-0 win over Indonesia at the Asian Cup just seven months ago, but this is a very different Merah Putih. Many in the world’s most populous country think the current team is their best ever and there are genuine ambitions of getting into the top four in Group C.
