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Australia’s Lewis Miller, top left, heads the ball to score his team’s first goal during the World Cup 2026 Group C qualifying soccer match between Australia and China at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia, Thursday Oct. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/James Elsby)
Australia’s Craig Goodwin, right, congratulates teammate Lewis Miller after scoring their team’s first goal during the World Cup 2026 Group C qualifying soccer match between Australia and China at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia, Thursday Oct. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/James Elsby)
Australia’s Nishan Velupillay, second left, is congratulated by teammate Riley McGree after scoring his team’s third goal during the World Cup 2026 Group C qualifying soccer match between Australia and China at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia, Thursday Oct. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/James Elsby)
Australia’s Lewis Miller, right, celebrates with teammate Australia’s Thomas Deng after scoring his team’s first goal during the World Cup 2026 Group C qualifying soccer match between Australia and China at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia, Thursday Oct. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/James Elsby)
Australia’s Craig Goodwin, left, celebrates after scoring his team’s second goal during the World Cup 2026 Group C qualifying soccer match between Australia and China at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia, Thursday Oct. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/James Elsby)
China’s coach Branko Ivankovic gestures to Australia’s Craig Goodwin during the World Cup 2026 Group C qualifying soccer match between Australia and China at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia, Thursday Oct. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/James Elsby)
Australia’s Lewis Miller, left, passes the ball past China’s Li Lei during the World Cup 2026 Group C qualifying soccer match between Australia and China at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia, Thursday Oct. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/James Elsby)
Australia’s Nishan Velupillay, left, celebrates after scoring his team’s during the World Cup 2026 Group C qualifying soccer match between Australia and China at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia, Thursday Oct. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/James Elsby)
Australia’s Lewis Miller, top left, heads the ball to score his team’s first goal during the World Cup 2026 Group C qualifying soccer match between Australia and China at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia, Thursday Oct. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/James Elsby)
Australia’s Lewis Miller, top left, heads the ball to score his team’s first goal during the World Cup 2026 Group C qualifying soccer match between Australia and China at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia, Thursday Oct. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/James Elsby)
Australia’s Craig Goodwin, right, congratulates teammate Lewis Miller after scoring their team’s first goal during the World Cup 2026 Group C qualifying soccer match between Australia and China at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia, Thursday Oct. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/James Elsby)
Australia’s Craig Goodwin, right, congratulates teammate Lewis Miller after scoring their team’s first goal during the World Cup 2026 Group C qualifying soccer match between Australia and China at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia, Thursday Oct. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/James Elsby)
Australia’s Nishan Velupillay, second left, is congratulated by teammate Riley McGree after scoring his team’s third goal during the World Cup 2026 Group C qualifying soccer match between Australia and China at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia, Thursday Oct. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/James Elsby)
Australia’s Nishan Velupillay, second left, is congratulated by teammate Riley McGree after scoring his team’s third goal during the World Cup 2026 Group C qualifying soccer match between Australia and China at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia, Thursday Oct. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/James Elsby)
Australia’s Lewis Miller, right, celebrates with teammate Australia’s Thomas Deng after scoring his team’s first goal during the World Cup 2026 Group C qualifying soccer match between Australia and China at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia, Thursday Oct. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/James Elsby)
Australia’s Lewis Miller, right, celebrates with teammate Australia’s Thomas Deng after scoring his team’s first goal during the World Cup 2026 Group C qualifying soccer match between Australia and China at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia, Thursday Oct. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/James Elsby)
Australia’s Craig Goodwin, left, celebrates after scoring his team’s second goal during the World Cup 2026 Group C qualifying soccer match between Australia and China at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia, Thursday Oct. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/James Elsby)
Australia’s Craig Goodwin, left, celebrates after scoring his team’s second goal during the World Cup 2026 Group C qualifying soccer match between Australia and China at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia, Thursday Oct. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/James Elsby)
China’s coach Branko Ivankovic gestures to Australia’s Craig Goodwin during the World Cup 2026 Group C qualifying soccer match between Australia and China at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia, Thursday Oct. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/James Elsby)
China’s coach Branko Ivankovic gestures to Australia’s Craig Goodwin during the World Cup 2026 Group C qualifying soccer match between Australia and China at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia, Thursday Oct. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/James Elsby)
Australia’s Lewis Miller, left, passes the ball past China’s Li Lei during the World Cup 2026 Group C qualifying soccer match between Australia and China at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia, Thursday Oct. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/James Elsby)
Australia’s Lewis Miller, left, passes the ball past China’s Li Lei during the World Cup 2026 Group C qualifying soccer match between Australia and China at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia, Thursday Oct. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/James Elsby)
Australia’s Nishan Velupillay, left, celebrates after scoring his team’s during the World Cup 2026 Group C qualifying soccer match between Australia and China at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia, Thursday Oct. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/James Elsby)
Australia’s Nishan Velupillay, left, celebrates after scoring his team’s during the World Cup 2026 Group C qualifying soccer match between Australia and China at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia, Thursday Oct. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/James Elsby)
ADELAIDE, Australia (AP) — Australia got its 2026 World Cup qualification campaign back on track by beating China 3-1 on Thursday in coach Tony Popovic’s first game in charge.
The Socceroos had picked up just one point from their opening two Group C games in September, and they feared the worst after 19 minutes at the Adelaide Oval.
Xie Wenneng ran onto a Zhang Yuning header to shoot powerfully into the net and silence the majority of the 46,000 crowd.
Australia, going for a sixth straight World Cup appearance, struggled to turn possession into clear chances but just before the break, Lewis Miller headed Craig Goodwin’s free kick into the net for his first international goal.
Goodwin fired home a spectacular second from outside the area eight minutes after the restart to put Australia ahead 2-1. Nishan Velupillay added a third in stoppage time in his debut international appearance to seal the win and condemn China to a third loss in three games.
Popovic was hired last month after the resignation of Graham Arnold as head coach.
Australia is second in the group above Saudi Arabia, which takes on leader Japan later Thursday in Jeddah.
The top two from each of the three six-team groups qualify directly for the World Cup while the third- and fourth-place finishers advance to a fourth stage of qualification to compete for Asia’s two remaining automatic berths.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
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