Advertisement League of Ireland Horse Racing TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture Rugby Weekly Extra Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week The Football Family Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points Advertisement More Stories The Australian players celebrate.Alamy Stock Photo FreeAround The World Australia secure World Cup spot, Palestine's qualification hopes are ended by last-gasp penalty In Europe, Netherlands hammered Malta as Finland shocked a Poland side already reeling from Robert Lewandowski’s retirement. 10.52pm, 10 Jun 2025 Share options AUSTRALIA QUALIFIED FOR next year’s World Cup, while Oman denied Palestine from keeping alive their hopes of a first appearance at a global finals with a last-gasp draw in Jordan on Tuesday. Tony Popovic’s Socceroos, who went into the third round’s final matchday heavy favourites to progress, defeated direct rivals Saudi Arabia 2-1 in Jeddah to seal the second automatic qualification spot in Group C. Saudi Arabia must instead make do with a place in the fourth round, alongside Indonesia. Japan had already secured top place in the group. Herve Renard’s Saudi side went into the decider at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium knowing only win by a five-goal margin would be enough to usurp Australia in second. In Group B, Palestinian hearts were broken when they conceded a penalty deep into injury-time to draw 1-1 with Oman in Amman. Palestine, playing their ‘home’ fixtures at a neutral venue, took the lead on 49 minutes at King Abdullah II Stadium when Oday Kharoub headed Adam Kaied’s corner into the top corner. Oman were reduced to 10 men in the 73rd minute after Harib Al-Saadi was showed a second yellow card. Yet the visitors rallied to snatch a precious point in the 97th minute, Issam Al-Sabhi converting a spot-kick following Ahmad Taha’s foul on Muhsen Al-Ghassani. The result means Oman finish fourth in the group at Palestine’s expense and therefore advance to the next phase of qualification. Taking place in October, and comprising two groups of three, there are two places at next summer’s tournament up for grabs, with Oman, UAE, Qatar, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia also in the running. In Europe, Netherlands maintained their winning start to European 2026 World Cup qualifying by dismissing Malta 8-0 on Tuesday, while their group rivals Poland lost to Finland in a match interrupted due to a medical emergency in the crowd. The results leave Finland top of Group G on seven points, one ahead of the Dutch who have played two matches less. Poland sit third on six points after three played. In Groningen, the Dutch raced into a three-goal lead against their overawed opponents inside the opening 20 minutes. Advertisement Memphis Depay converted from the spot on nine minutes, before doubling the lead with a rifled finish from the edge of the box seven minutes later. Depay’s brace brought the 31-year-old to 50 international goals — level with former Manchester United and Arsenal striker Robin van Persie as the Netherlands’ all-time leading goalscorer. Captain Virgil van Dijk killed the match off as a tie when he stepped onto the ball and arrowed a right-footed finish into the bottom corner from 20 yards. The Oranje then turned on the afterburners inside the final half-hour as Xavi Simons, Donyell Malen, who got two, Noa Lang and Micky van de Ven all netted. Poland began life without leading goalscorer Robert Lewandowski in miserable fashion as they went down 2-1 in Helsinki. The 36-year-old played 158 times for Poland, scoring 85 goals, but announced Sunday he was no longer available for selection so long as coach Michal Probierz remained in charge. The Poles fell behind to Joel Pohjanpalo’s 31st-minute penalty, before Benjamin Kallman added a second nine minutes after the break. Jakub Kiwior pulled one back in the 69th minute, shortly before the match was interrupted when a spectator fell ill. After a lengthy stoppage, the final 10 minutes of play resumed but Poland were unable to find an equaliser despite applying relentless pressure on the hosts’ goal. Elsewhere, Serbia eased past Andorra 3-0 to move to third in Group K on four points courtesy of an Aleksandar Mitrovic hat-trick. They trail Albania in second by one point and sit level with Latvia after those sides played out a 1-1 draw in Riga. Austria beat San Marino 4-0 to go second in Group H, three points behind leaders Bosnia and Hercegovina who have played an extra match. Marko Arnautovic scored a brace inside the opening quarter-hour, as Michael Gregoritsch and Christoph Baumgartner completed the scoring in Serravalle. Romania defeated Cyprus 2-0, but dropped to third in the group after Austria’s second win from two outings. Viewcomments Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “Australia secure World Cup spot, Palestine's qualification hopes are ended by last-gasp penalty”. Recipient's Email Feedback on “Australia secure World Cup spot, Palestine's qualification hopes are ended by last-gasp penalty”. Your Feedback Your Email (optional) Report a Comment Please select the reason for reporting this comment. Please give full details of the problem with the comment... This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy before taking part. Leave a Comment Submit a report Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines. Damaging the good reputation of someone, slander, or libel. Racism or Hate speech An attack on an individual or group based on religion, race, gender, or beliefs. Trolling or Off-topic An attempt to derail the discussion. Inappropriate language Profanity, obscenity, vulgarity, or slurs. Advertising, phishing, scamming, bots, or repetitive posts. Please provide additional information Thank you for the feedback Your feedback has been sent to our team for review. Leave a commentcancel Access to the comments facility has been disabled for this user View our policy ⚠️ Duplicate comment Post Comment have your say Or create a free account to join the discussion Around The World World Cup qualifying News in 60 seconds talking point One man was conspicuous by his absence in Ireland's dour stalemate 39 mins ago Senegal stun England to put Thomas Tuchel under immediate pressure FreeReaction 'We are not happy with this performance' - Hallgrimsson concerned by Ireland's inconsistency Freetaxing spectacle Ireland round out the season with dreary draw away to Luxembourg drawing conclusions A game soon forgotten but it does pose the question: just what do we want from Ireland? David Sneyd FreeAs it happened Luxembourg v Ireland, international friendly Freearrivals Manchester City sign €36m French star as rebuild continues FreeAs it happened Luxembourg v Ireland, international friendly 'The next 4 or 5-year-old kids will be ours' - Guardiola on Gaza 'I thought Sam played a good match... he's his harshest critic' Senegal stun England to put Thomas Tuchel under immediate pressure more from us Investigates Daft.ie Property Magazine Allianz Home Magazine The 42 Sports Magazine Money Diaries The Journal TV Journal Media Advertise With Us About FactCheck Our Network FactCheck Knowledge Bank Terms & Legal Notices Terms of Use Cookies & Privacy Advertising Competition more from us TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Journal Media Advertise With Us Our Network The Journal FactCheck Knowledge Bank Terms & Legal Notices Terms of Use Cookies & Privacy Advertising Competition © 2025 Journal Media Ltd Terms of Use Cookies & Privacy Advertising Competition Switch to Desktop Switch to Mobile The 42 supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and the Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at https://www.presscouncil.ie, PH: (01) 6489130, Lo-Call 1800 208 080 or email: mailto:info@presscouncil.ie Report an error, omission or problem: Your Email (optional) Create Email Alert Create an email alert based on the current article Email Address One email every morning As soon as new articles come online Sign in or create a free account To continue reading create a free account Or sign into an existing account