afc world cup qualifiers - 5-1 Win

 Socceroos move closer to World Cup with 5-1 win over Indonesia in Sydney

The Socceroos have edged closer to World Cup qualification after a lively 5-1 win over Indonesia in Sydney. 

The Australians remain second in their qualification group, but now have some breathing space from the chasing pack, with the top two teams directly advancing to next year's World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. 

They next face China on Tuesday. 

"I aim quite high, so I'd say they're not where we want to be," Socceroos coach Tony Popovic said.

"But that's not a negative, that's a positive. They've taken strides forward.

"We all want to get better, to try to improve the game style. How do we identify what is happening on the field quicker?

"That will happen with more games together, and unfortunately with a lot of injuries it's hard to build that continuity.

"But what we are building is squad depth. I felt that this camp is the first time I felt in training and around the hotel that this group is now starting to build into what we're trying to build."

Indonesia started with plenty of intent and earned a penalty, but Kevin Diks hit the woodwork, giving the Socceroos a huge reprieve. 

Lewis Miller was then brought down at the other end, and after VAR intervention a penalty was awarded, allowing Martin Boyle to cooly convert.

Nishan Velupillay found himself one on one with the goalkeeper and calmly chipped it over to find the back of the next, and Jackson Irvine slotted the third giving the Socceroos a 3-0 lead at half-time.

Craig Goodwin's superb corner delivery found an unmarked Miller who headed in the Socceroos' fourth, while the Indonesians scored a deserved goal through Ole Romeny. 

Irvine capped off the dominant win with his second goal, a commanding header from another sublime Goodwin inswinger.