Key events
Brazil’s Bruno Guimaraes is unsurprisingly chipper as he steps up to the microphone post-game. He compliments the Socceroos for giving them yet another tough outing, noting the home team’s energy and pressing, as well as their compact defence.
What made the difference for them in Brisbane compared to their Townsville draw? As Carlo Ancelotti flagged before kick-off: a change in structure. Guimaraes agrees.
I think today we tried a new strategy with three in the midfield, like a 4-3-3, and we had more combinations inside.
Last game, we played a lot of long balls, today we could keep the ball a bit more, and for me that was the key for us to score more goals. We played very well today.
They sure did.
What a window for Australia, hey? On paper, a 1-1 draw and a 4-2 loss don’t look like much, but the manner in which the Socceroos came at this Brazil side over both legs was exactly the kind of football fans wanted to see evolve after the World Cup.
Goal-scorer Connor Metcalfe spoke on the broadcast afterwards, summarising the window pretty aptly:
A disappointing result but I feel like, just off the back of the World Cup, we’ve continued to play the football we’re trying to play. I just hope we ve put on two big games for our fans here.
[On his goal]: The game in Townsville, there were a couple opportunities where I could’ve been a bit more selfish, and the coaching staff spoke to me and said ‘mate, just go for it.’ I didn’t think about it; I just looked down and hit it. Looked up, and it was in the goal.
We’ve had these two brilliant games against Brazil, a top side. We’ve proved we can play against these teams. We’re going to continue the way we are and I think we’ve got a pretty good shot [at the Asian Cup].
Full-time: Australia 2-4 Brazil
It’s all over in Brisbane as the five-time world champions come from behind to win the second leg, thanks in part to two penalties. But the Socceroos have plenty to be proud of, with some glittering individual performances and a solid team effort that will give fans plenty to look forward to come the Asian Cup in January.
90+4 mins: One last burst forward for Brazil, their new-look midfield trying to find some combinations as the yellow shirts close down around them. They work the ball a bit wider to Lino, who reaches the by-line but fires his cross out for a goal-kick.
90+2 mins: A sell-out crowd of 52,000 people have crammed into Lang Park for what has become the biggest crowd for a football match at this stadium ever. And they’ve sure got their money’s worth!
90 mins: The game is petering out slightly with all these new players. McGree seems to be leading the line for Australia now. There are four minutes of added time.
88 mins: Brazil made four substitutions a moment ago, while Irvine came off to be replaced by Nishan Vellupillay.
87 mins: So close! The Socceroos come within an inch of pulling a goal back after a long corner from Aiden O’Neill, who came on at some point that I missed, was poorly punched away. McGree bicycle-kicks it back into the fray, with Yengi getting a hopeful toe onto it, but the ball trickles just wide of the far post.
86 mins: A great switch of play by Irvine finds Behich on the left, who slides a lucky pass into Younis in the centre-left channel. He bodies his defender off the ball and takes off down the left wing, receiving a one-two pass from Tete Yengi. He could open his body up near the top corner of the area and try to curl one to the far corner, but he hesitates and cuts back, the ball clattering off a Brazilian defender and out for a corner.
83 mins: Marcus Younis, on for his second Australian cap, is the older brother of Talia Younis, a rising star in the women’s national youth teams. Their father, Ray, played in the NSL back in the day. Football runs in the family, it seems!
82 mins: Brazil wind down the clock with two substitutions. Vinicius is off to a standing ovation, replaced by Lino. The captain Guimaraes is off, too, with Martinelli making his debut.
81 mins: Australia make a substitution, with Nestory Irankunda coming off for Marcus Younis.
The sideline scuffle from 15 minutes ago has seemingly fired up the Brazilians. They’ve played with much more energy and directness since that moment, while the Socceroos have wilted and scattered. A shame.
GOAL! Australia 2-4 Brazil (Vinicius Jr, 80)
A stutter-step run-up almost sabotages him, but Vinicius Jr rolls the ball neatly beneath the diving Patrick Beach to make it four.
Penalty Brazil!
The persistence of Vinicius Jr. finally pays off as the winger tries to dink his way through a sandwich of Irankunda and Italiano, with one of them sticking out a foot to take the Real Madrid man down.
76 mins: Brazil’s dark blue wave comes again, with Vinicius finding new life down the left wing. He finds plenty of space behind Italiano, takes a few ranging steps towards the box and arrows a low, hard pass across the white paint for his opposite winger Estevao, whose left-footed strike whizzes over the crossbar.
75 mins: Two consecutive corners for Brazil are handled by the Socceroos, but not before a nervous moment where Irvine appeared to clip the heel of a Brazilian in the area, who tumbles into the grass. The replay showed it definitely could’ve been a penalty for a more pedantic referee, but this guy has been letting a lot go tonight, as he does once more this time.
73 mins: Brazil have the wind at their backs now. Vinicius Jr. picks up the ball near the half-way line and dances past one, two, three yellow shirts. He’s pursued by Jackson Irvine, who rips him down from behind. But the Brazilian isn’t deterred: he takes a quick free kick to Endrick on the left and sprints in behind the line, hooking a cross off a Socceroo for a corner.
GOAL! Australia 2-3 Brazil (Guimaraes, 69)
The Socceroos’ back-line is torn apart by a brilliant pass from midfield, finding Endrick down the left. The substitute sprints into the open green space down the left side of the box and fizzes the ball through two sliding Australian defenders, right onto the foot of his captain Bruno Guimaraes, who turns the ball into the roof of the net from the penalty spot.
69 mins: Australia with their first substitution of the match as Connor Metcalfe is replaced by Riley McGree, who’s back in the fold after missing the World Cup through injury.
65 mins: Uh oh. The tension of the last 15 minutes has boiled over, triggered by yet another clattering challenge by Harry Souttar on Endrick. The substitute Brazilian shoves Souttar in the back as the Socceroo walks away, with Aziz Behich coming to his teammate’s side. A Brazilian flies in and it’s on for young and old. The referees try to stand in between them all and Endrick appears to trip backwards over one of them, rolling around in the grass holding his neck for some reason. Everyone takes a breather and a moment to get some fluids as Endrick is tended to on the sideline. Told you to watch it, ref!
64 mins: It’s Australia’s turn for a penalty shout now as Irvine, who touches around a Brazilian defender in the box, slams into a navy shirt and falls to the turf as the ball trickles out over the goal line. The crowd roars as multiple Socceroos hold their arms wide, but the referee waves it away.
61 mins: Brazil with some more substitutions. The opening goal-scorer Vanderson is off, replaced by Matheuzinho. Estevao is also on for Rayan, while Santos takes the place of Bontempo.
60 mins: A brilliant piece of build-up from the Socceroos, with some sharp, quick passes zooming around the top of the penalty area. Okon-Engstler finds Irankunda all alone down the left, who clips a sensational cross towards the back post where Jackson Irvine is sprinting, almost in slow-motion, to try and volley it into the net. But he’s just beaten to it by a Brazilian defender, who hoofs it out for a corner.
The ball is floated in by Metcalfe and almost connects with an Aussie head, but it’s just an inch over and headed clear instead.
57 mins: Second yellow of the match, this time for a frustrated Irankunda who blatantly trips Danilo as he tries to sprint away. The Australian winger knows exactly what he’s done even before the Brazilian hits the grass and walks gingerly away. Silly decision.
56 mins: The corner falls straight to Gabriel, who thumps his header down into the grass. The ball bounces up, heading for the roof of the net, but Beach launches a big glove to tip it over the crossbar. The following corner comes to nothing.
55 mins: Brazil come close to taking the lead! Endrick wrestles the ball away from Aziz Behich, throwing a hand towards the full-back’s face in the process, before taking off through the centre-circle. He’s charging towards Australia’s centre-backs and slides a pass out left for Vinicius, who dances near the top corner of the box. Instead of shooting, he cleverly clips a ball behind him for an onrushing team-mate, who shoots low and hard across goal. It clips off Patrick Beach on the way and out for a corner.
52 mins: Endrick and Souttar are in a tangle, and the substitute’s right boot is suddenly flung off into the air. The Brazilian striker seems to kick out at Australia’s captain, which is shown on replay on the big screen, but nothing is done. A moment later, Souttar returns the kick while grappling with Endrick for an aerial ball. Keep an eye on those two, ref.
50 mins: Jacob Italiano has been brilliant this game, and his anticipation once again sees him sprinting up-field with the ball at his feet after intercepting a slow Brazilian pass. He’s stretching and pumping every limb down the right wing to try and edge around Brazil’s own full-back, but he’s muscled off the ball and pushes his opponent into the grass.
48 mins: Endrick is in the thick of the action mere minutes after coming on, receiving the ball with his back to goal and pinging a switched pass out to Vinicius on the left. The Real Madrid winger cuts inside and tries to curl a shot towards the back post, but it’s too strong and flings wide.
46 mins: It’s already end-to-end, with the Socceroos letting off a shot before the referee toots his whistle for a free kick in the opposite direction. Brazil go down the other end and win a corner after a shot cracks off an Australian back.
Second-half kick-off!
Hold onto your butts!
Half-time substitution: The captain and goal-scorer Raphinha is off, which might be a concern. Endrick comes on to replace him, with the armband transferring to Bruno Guimaraes.
Sam Lewis
Brazil came screaming out of the gates in the first half, playing like they had a point to prove after that underwhelming first leg in Townsville. Vanderson’s goal in the third minute was classic Brazil: a series of one-touch, zippy passes that scythed through Australia’s panicked defenders, finished off with a gorgeous dipping shot into the far corner.
But the Socceroos didn’t let the chaos of the first 10 minutes faze them. They slowly warmed into the half as they began connecting their passes and gaining some midfield territory, with Brazil seemingly taking their foot off the gas as the half wore on. Australia’s width was particularly effective, with Nestory Irankunda a constant threat down the left, while Connor Metcalfe and Jacob Italiano poking and prodding down the right.
Circati’s equaliser from a curling Metcalfe corner on the half-hour was well-earned, with the Socceroos looking threatening at every set piece in their attacking box. Metcalfe’s goal in the 34th minute to put Australia ahead was the result of a neat series of passes that exposed Brazil’s lack of a serious defensive midfielder, and a deserved moment in the sun for one of the team’s hardest-working players.
Brazil clawed a goal back in stoppage time through a clear penalty after Harry Souttar took out Danilo in the area, with Raphinha – who’d floated in and out of the game at points – burying it in the bottom corner.
This has been a brilliant, entertaining first half. What could the second half bring?
Half-time: Australia 2-2 Brazil
Golly. What a half. Anyone else need a few minutes to catch their own breath?
45+3 mins: Irankunda almost puts Australia back in the lead! Brazil’s goalkeeper Otavio makes a similar diabolical error to Beach only minutes ago, passing directly to the Socceroos winger near the top corner of the box. Irankunda dances across the white paint to try and create an angle around a Brazilian centre-back, but his shot flies over the crossbar in the rush.
GOAL! Australia 2-2 Brazil (Raphinha, 45)
Brazil’s captain rockets a low shot into the bottom corner. Patrick Beach dived the right way, but it was hit with too much power.
Penalty Brazil!
The referee points to the spot after a brief moment at the VAR screen. Danilo’s standing leg was taken out by Souttar in the area, who admittedly did fly in pretty recklessly.
42 mins: Penalty shout for Brazil!? Some chaos in the box following that corner sees Danilo seemingly tripped over by a sliding Souttar. The replay shows the Brazilian had clipped the ball away from the Australian defender. The referee has headed to the VAR screen.
41 mins: A shocking pass from Patrick Beach is almost punished! The Socceroos goalkeeper lingers on the ball before passing straight to Vinicius, who’s floating just inside the box. He tries to take it first time, but mercifully Harry Souttar throws a leg in the way to send the ball out for a corner.
39 mins: The first yellow card of the match goes to Brazil’s centre-back Gabriel, who buried his studs into the ankle of Tete Yengi right near the sideline. He tries to argue with the referee, but when the replay shows on the big screen and the crowd groans, he walks sheepishly away.
38 mins: The more that Jacob Italiano has got into this game, the better the Socceroos have become. The right full-back is charging up the field once again, feinting a pass in behind for the overlapping Paul Okon-Engstler before shimmying in-field and sending a pass into the box. Metcalfe tries a tricky back-heel towards the penalty spot, but a navy leg clangs it away.
36 mins: Credit to Tete Yengi in the build-up to that goal. The mountainous striker has been picking up loose balls, pressing quickly, and eating up space whenever he can. It was his decision-making on the ball and his movement off it that opened up the space near the D for Metcalfe to step into and shoot. Really smart play.
GOAL! Australia 2-1 Brazil (Metcalfe, 33)
The Socceroos are ahead! A slick, quick series of passes across the top of the box zips back to Connor Metcalfe, who receives a pass in the central channel. He takes a single touch on his in-step before opening up his body and leathering a strike into the top corner.
Connor Metcalfe after his goal. Photograph: Albert Perez/Getty Images
32 mins: Australia have all the momentum now, finding more and more space through the middle of the park. Irankunda ghosts in and out of two Brazilian players to send a long pass down the wing for a sprinting Aziz Behich, who’s covered 3/4 of the field in just a few seconds. The veteran turns backwards though and brings the tempo back down, giving the Socceroos some more time on the ball.
