The new Socceroos kit is here. What do you think?

So… what do you think?

If you’re not sure yet, here’s another angle:

What’s that? It looks a bit familiar? Maybe this is why…

That’s right, the Socceroos will pay homage to the class of 2005-2006 by sporting a jersey at the upcoming World Cup that “is driven by a celebration of two decades on the world stage and a signal toward the future”.

The home kit revealed yesterday is sure to please the traditionalists, given its similarities with the one sported above by Harry Kewell at the 2006 World Cup, and avoids the (pretty minor) controversy that greeted the fluorescent zig zag design that’s been worn by the Socceroos and Matildas for the past year.

The away jersey, on the other hand… let’s just say it’s less traditional.

Featuring, as Nike and FA describe it in their press release, “a coral and dark green gradient”, with “a lenticular federation crest introduces dimensional movement”, the jersey is sure to turn a few heads.

What do you think of the new kits? Join the conversation on our Instagram, Facebook and X pages or simply hit reply on this email to tell us your thoughts (we can’t promise we’ll pass them on to Nike or FA, but it might be cathartic for you).

One of those players sent out to model the new kit yesterday was Awer Mabil, a familiar face for Socceroos fans but one who hasn’t been spotted in the national team setup since September 2024.

Some might have assumed his time with the Socceroos was over, but at 30 years old and with promotion to La Liga with his Spanish club Castellon very much on the cards, there is plenty more time for Mabil to leave his mark on the global stage.

He got chatting to the media at yesterday’s event, including our own David Weiner, about his “older brother” relationship with the other players of African heritage in the Socceroos setup, including Nestory Irankunda and Mo Toure.

Although he hasn’t crossed over with them much with the national team, he still keeps a close watch over both, and has a particularly special relationship with Irankunda.

“Watching their growth over the last few years, yeah, that’s beautiful,” Mabil said.

“That’s what it’s about, in my opinion, it’s about laying the foundations.

“Coming up as a young player, as a young African player, I would say, there was not really a blueprint to see… we’re all Australians, but with different backgrounds.

“But seeing an African there, playing for Socceroos, maybe playing a role in the team, was not something that was normal back when I was coming up.

“So my biggest goal was to push through no matter what and if there was any kind of blueprint that I laid for these young players, that’s it. I have done my job.”

His comments about Irankunda are well worth having a read of in the full article here.

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Just two weeks ago we ran the story of Graham Arnold pleading with FIFA to delay Iraq’s date with World Cup destiny, owing to the war in Iran that had spilled over into other countries in the Middle East.

At the time, Arnold was stuck in the United Arab Emirates, while most of his players were in Iraq with little hope of getting out, and there was a genuine concern they wouldn’t make it to Mexico in time for their World Cup qualification playoff against either Suriname or Bolivia on April 1 (AEDT).

Well, Arnie’s wishes were only partly granted - while the game is going ahead as scheduled, it looks like Iraq did receive some assistance to get to Mexico, with the players and coaching staff all arriving in the last couple of days.

There were brilliant scenes at Iraq’s team hotel as Arnold personally greeted each player as they got off the team bus. You can watch the video above.

It’s a timely reminder of what some teams have to go through just to have a shot at qualifying for the World Cup.

It’s also a timely reminder that the upcoming week contains an absolutely massive jamboree of World Cup qualification games!

On Friday morning (AEDT) we’ve got the first round of UEFA qualification games, as well as the first stage of matches at the intercontinental playoff tournament in Mexico. The games that will then confirm the last few spots available at the 2026 World Cup will be held on Wednesday next week (April 1 AEDT).

We’ll have a stack of coverage of all the World Cup qualification playoffs on football360.com.au.

The comments have been flooding in since we posted the picture above on our social media channels yesterday.

The point we were making was fairly simple: despite the general narrative being that the Asian Cup was the last chance for this generation of Matildas players to win a major trophy, the truth is a little more complicated.

As you can see, only one of the starting lineup from Saturday’s final is above 32 years old, and with a World Cup next year and another Asian Cup just three years away, there’s a good chance most of the players pictured above will actually still be playing then.

It doesn’t necessarily negate the need to continue giving opportunities to the younger members of the squad, but it does add some interesting context to the conversation - and judging by the comments on Facebook and Instagram, it seems many of you agree.

Meanwhile if you’re still feeling a bit down after the Matildas’ defeat in the Asian Cup final, it’s worth having a watch of this video we pulled together, with the help of our colleagues at The Women’s Game, which showcases what some of the fans outside Stadium Australia had to say about the team they love so much.

It’s proper heart-warming stuff.

We briefly touched on the two goals scored by former Adelaide United striker Archie Goodwin in the MLS yesterday.

Well, the Aussie young gun gave a cracking interview after that match for his American club, Charlotte FC, against New York Red Bulls.

Riding high after his two goals helped Charlotte to a 6-1 win, Goodwin was, in his words, “absolutely buzzing” about not just the result, but his role in it.

“It was unreal, I think you could see by my celebration that I was over the moon,” Goodwin said. “I had my veins popping out of my neck. I was absolutely buzzing.”

Having won the A-League Golden Boot last season (he was a joint winner with Adrian Segecic), Goodwin has had to bide his time since moving to the US, having been used exclusively off the bench.

“Definitely worth the wait. I think for me, I’m someone who just wants to be out there as much as I can,” he said.

“So there’s a lot of patience for myself, but yeah, grateful for the wait and now hopefully more opportunities and more goals to come.”

Read the full report on Goodwin’s goal-scoring heroics, and his post-match interview, here.