CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia crushed Lebanon 5-0 to become the first team to advance to the final Asian round of 2026 World Cup qualifiers on Tuesday.
An early goal from Kusini Yengi in Canberra set the Socceroos on their way to a fourth straight win in Group I and secured progress to the next stage with two games to spare.
Palestine remained second in the group after beating Bangladesh 1-0 and are on course for a first appearance in the final round of qualifying.
With less than two minutes on the clock, the impressive Craig Goodwin crossed from the left for Genghis to score his first goal for Australia from close range.
Australia put the game beyond Lebanon in the first three minutes of the second half. Bassel Jradi hit an own goal from a corner and Goodwin added a third.
John Iredale came off the bench to make it 4-0 midway through the second half with his first international goal and Goodwin added his second and Australia’s fifth with nine minutes remaining thanks to an Iredale assist.
“It means the world to me personally and to the boys,” Iredale said. “We aimed to score more goals tonight and we’re happy we did.
“Craig Goodwin has an incredible left foot and having him in the squad really boosts our quality. I was very happy to help him score his second goal.”
Michel Termanini scored Palestine’s winner in Dhaka four minutes into stoppage time.
Palestine has seven points, five more than Lebanon and six more than Bangladesh.
The North Korea-Japan qualifier in Pyongyang has been canceled by FIFA after Korea said it could not host the match.
The top two teams from each of the nine second-round groups advance to the final round where the increased automatic allocation of eight World Cup places from Asia will be offered.
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