{"id":293776,"date":"2025-11-19T01:07:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T01:07:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/293776\/"},"modified":"2025-11-19T01:07:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T01:07:09","slug":"colombia-v-australia-mens-international-football-friendly-live-australia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/293776\/","title":{"rendered":"Colombia v Australia: men\u2019s international football friendly \u2013 live | Australia"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Here\u2019s Joey Lynch\u2019s latest letter from America as the Socceroos fine tune their 2026 World Cup preparations.<\/p>\n

With just 270 minutes of football remaining until Popovic names his 26-player squad \u2013 starting on Tuesday against Colombia in New York before two further games, likely at home, next March \u2013 every minute on the pitch isn\u2019t just precious in seeking solutions for the Socceroos\u2019 longstanding foibles in possession, but for those players who want to be part of his plans next June. The coach may want to leave the door open as long as possible, but he\u2019ll likely be zeroing in on his preferred squad in the months ahead, so the clock is ticking.<\/p>\n

Share<\/a>Preamble\"JonathanJonathan Howcroft<\/p>\n

Hello everybody and welcome to live coverage of Colombia v Australia<\/a>. This 2026 World Cup warm-up friendly kicks off at New York\u2019s Citi Field Stadium at 8:30pm local time (12:30pm AEDT).<\/p>\n

Seven months out from the start of the 2026 World Cup in North America this is a classic pre-tournament friendly: two qualified teams from different confederations at a neutral venue situated in one of the tournament\u2019s host cities. Both camps get to experience a different footballing culture, familiarise themselves with conditions they can expect to face next summer, and play around with squad selection with minimal jeopardy.<\/p>\n

For the Socceroos this is their fourth successive match in North America after a victory away to Canada in Montreal followed by defeats to the USA and Venezuela in Denver and Houston. That pair of losses, the first of Tony Popovic\u2019s 14 month tenure, have given pause for thought over Australia\u2019s World Cup preparations after seven straight victories in the calendar year.<\/p>\n

But as much as results and momentum matter, these matches and training blocks are valuable for whittling down the longlist of potential squad members into the chosen 26 that will be handed the experience of a lifetime. This is especially the case for Popovic with so many young and lesser spotted individuals to cast his eye over.<\/p>\n

Australia are currently 25th on FIFA\u2019s rankings, their opponents tonight are placed 13th and haven\u2019t ranked outside the top 20 since 2012. They qualified for the World Cup in third place in the CONMBEOL confederation (ahead of Brazil and Uruguay \u2013 and way in front of Venezuela, who beat the Socceroos a few days ago), beating both Argentina and Brazil along the way. The only player to score more goals than Colombia\u2019s Luis Diaz during South American qualification was Lionel Messi.<\/p>\n

Los Cafeteros are on an eight match unbeaten streak, one featuring eye-catching wins over Venezuela (6-3) and Mexico (4-0). Former Swindon Town defender (*looking at you David Squires*) N\u00e9stor Lorenzo is excelling in the dugout, making the most of a talented crop of players. The aforementioned Diaz is the standout, but 34 year old James Rodriguez continues to scheme, alongside a formidable army of stout defenders.<\/p>\n

That will do for the time being. I\u2019ll be back shortly with team news and plenty of updates from Joey Lynch over in New York. If you want to drop me an email at any point you can reach me at jonathan.howcroft.casual@theguardian.com.<\/p>\n

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