Watch Craig Goodwin’s Socceroos screamer as Australia come from behind to beat China… despite fans criticizing Tony Popovic’s side for their ‘CATASTROPHIC defence’

Socceroos fans breathed a sigh of relief on Thursday night after Australia came from behind to beat China 3-1 in their 2028 World Cup qualifier.

The home side marked a new era for Australian men’s football under new coach Tony Popovic, showing their resilience to come back from conceding in the second half.

It was hometown hero Craig Goodwin who was the star of the show, netting Lewis Miller the Socceroos’ equalizer before half-time before producing a stunning strike from more than 25 yards out.

Substitute Nishan Velupillay would come on in stoppage time to seal the third goal and end Australia’s two-match run without a win, having failed to beat both Bahrain and Indonesia in the previous two games.

But the Socceroos looked shell-shocked early on China’s Weneng Xie put the visitors ahead inside 20 minutes, prompting some fans to lash out at Popovic’s side on social media.

Australia’s defense appeared to fall asleep, allowing Xie to drive into the penalty area before placing the ball into the bottom right corner of the net.

Craig Goodwin produced a stunning goal and set up another goal to help Australia beat China

Goodwin fired the ball in from 25 yards out to give the hosts a 2-1 lead in the second half

And Socceroos fans took to X to criticize the team for conceding first.

‘Absolutely catastrophic defending. “There were a few moments of indecision where the Socceroos players didn’t know who was going to get a pass, and that kind of hesitation destroyed them before the goal.”

‘The Socceroos realize that they have to score goals to win, don’t they?’ Another said.

“Embarrassment,” another responded to the goal.

Despite this, full-time fans were impressed with the result, with many stating that there were still things they needed to work on, but that the team had improved.

‘Great result to be honest, football fans have been struggling to recover from a nosebleed for a while, so it’s great to win convincingly on the scoreboard after going behind.’

But the Socceroos looked shocked early on as China’s Weneng Xie put the visitors ahead inside 20 minutes.

Some fans hit out at the Socceroos on X after the team conceded a goal in the first half

‘Eventually I ended up there. I think subs have made the difference and Goodwin is just a talisman. When he is singing, so is the rest of the team.”

‘I really needed the three points, but let’s be honest: we are being slaughtered by Japan. They have effortlessly put 7 past this Chinese team and I will be very surprised if we don’t get rinsed as well if we keep playing like this. Playing with Duke up front is playing without a striker…’ someone wrote.

The victory moves Australia to third place in the group of six countries, with four points. There are still five matches to go in this qualifying phase for the 2026 Cup in North America.

Popovic’s attackers will meet undefeated group leader Japan on Tuesday evening in Saitama, who have collected six points from two games.

The top two countries will secure direct access to the ’26 football showpiece and the third-placed country will be placed into a new qualifying phase.

Popovic was appointed when Graham Arnold quit as coach following a goalless draw in Indonesia and a shock 1-0 defeat to Bahrain on the Gold Coast in last month’s qualifying period.

Popovic made a pre-game impact by benching Ryan, who has been captain since October 2019, in favor of Gauci.

The new boss also called up Miller, who has been on the outside since giving away a penalty and a free-kick that resulted in South Korean goals in Australia’s 2-1 quarter-final defeat at the Asian Cup last February.

Popovic’s show of confidence was rewarded in the 47th minute when Miller, despite being hemmed in by Chinese defenders, collected a free-kick from Goodwin and headed the equalizer.

Lewis Miller (right) scored the opener for Australia just before half-time, putting the team on level terms

It was the perfect start for new Socceroos coach Tony Popovic after the side’s poor run of form

But at full-time, the Socceroos fans were happy with their team’s performance in the second half, despite looking a little ‘rough around the edges’.

After the break, South Australian Goodwin thrilled the parochial 46,291-strong Adelaide Oval crowd – the largest attendance at a Socceroos match in the state – with his sublime strike.

And substitute Velupillay secured the victory in the 92nd minute with a coolly taken right foot from six yards out.