Kusini Yengi salvages draw for woeful Socceroos in World Cup qualifier in Bahrain

Two-goal Yengi adds to first-minute opener with injury-time equaliser
2-2 draw sees Australia stay in second place in Group C

Sometimes, the best way to describe a game of football is to compare it to the twists and turns of a rollercoaster. But even that doesn’t quite feel like it captures the insanity that was Australia’s 2-2 draw with Bahrain. In Riffa, the Socceroos lurched from a position of relative comfort to one of cataclysmic collapse and then to a miraculous escape across the course of 90 bizarre minutes. And perhaps most remarkably of all, they now sit outright second in Group C of Asian qualifying with their hopes of reaching the 2026 World Cup in their own hands.

It all appeared to be going straightforwardly. Holding onto a 1-0 lead delivered just 38 seconds into the game when Kusini Yengi pounced on a disastrous attempted backpass by Sayed Baqer, the Socceroos weren’t fully comfortable as the game wore on but they at least looked well-placed to take away a second win of this phase of qualification. Defending has long been this side’s consistent strength, and they had looked mostly at ease in repelling the hosts’ attempts to find a leveller at the Bahrain National Stadium.