Australia men's national soccer team records and statistics

This article lists various soccer records in relation to the Australia men's national soccer team. The page is updated where necessary after each Australia match, and is correct as of 28 March 2023.

Individual appearances

Appearances

Most appearances: Mark Schwarzer, 109, 31 July 1993 – 7 September 2013; Tim Cahill, 108, 30 March 2004 – 20 November 2018; Lucas Neill, 96, 9 October 1996 – 19 September 2013; Brett Emerton, 95, 7 February 1998 – 9 December 2012; Alex Tobin, 87, 9 March 1988 – 6 November 1998; Marco Bresciano, 84, 1 June 2001 – 22 January 2015; Paul Wade, 84, 3 August 1986 – 1 November 1996; Mark Milligan, 80, 7 June 2006 – 19 October 2019; Mathew Ryan, 80, 5 December 2012 – 24 March 2023; Luke Wilkshire, 80, 9 October 2004 – 26 May 2014

First player to reach 100 appearances: Mark Schwarzer, 6 September 2012, 3–0 vs. Lebanon

Fastest player to reach 100 appearances: Tim Cahill, 30 March 2004 – 25 June 2017

Most consecutive appearances: Alex Tobin, 63, 4 November 1970 – 30 October 1977

Most appearances as a substitute: Archie Thompson, 34, 28 February 2001 – 7 September 2013

Most consecutive appearances as a substitute: Mark Jankovics, 6, 15 June 1980 – 2 December 1980

Most appearances as a substitute without ever starting a game: Jim Campbell, 4, 27 January 1983 – 18 December 1983

Most appearances in competitive matches (World Cup, Confederations Cup, Asian Cup, Nations Cup and qualifier): Mark Schwarzer, 61, 15 August 1993 – 18 June 2013

Longest Australia career: Mark Schwarzer, 20 years, 38 days, 31 July 1993 – 7 September 2013

Shortest Australia career: Raphael Bove, 1 minute, 6 November 1998, 0–0 vs. United States

Most consecutive appearances comprising entire Australia career: Alan Westwater, 14, 28 May 1967 – 4 April 1968

Youngest player: Duncan Cummings, 17 years, 139 days, 6 August 1975, vs. China

Oldest player: Mark Schwarzer, 40 years, 336 days, 7 September 2013, vs. Brazil

Most appearances at the World Cup finals: Mathew Leckie, 10, 13 June 2014 – 3 December 2022; Mathew Ryan, 10, 13 June 2014 – 3 December 2022

Most appearances without ever playing at the World Cup finals: Alex Tobin, 87, 9 March 1988 – 6 November 1999

Most appearances at the Asian Cup finals: Tim Cahill, 16, 8 July 2007 – 27 January 2015

Most consecutive years of appearances: Tim Cahill, 14, 2004 to 2018 inclusive

Longest gap between appearances: Ted Drain, 8 years, 74 days, 10 May 1947, 1–2 vs. South Africa – 24 September 1955, 0–6 vs. South Africa^[1]

Most appearances by a set of brothers: Aurelio and Tony Vidmar, 120, 1991 – 2006^{[note 1]}

Capped by another country: Ken Hough (New Zealand); Apostolos Giannou (Greece)

Goals

First goal: William Maunder, 17 June 1922, vs. New Zealand

Most goals: Tim Cahill, 50, 31 May 2004 – 10 October 2017

Most goals in competitive matches (World Cup, Nations Cup, Asian Cup and qualifiers): Tim Cahill, 39, 2 June 2004 – 10 October 2017

Most goals in a match: Archie Thompson, 13, 11 April 2001, vs. American Samoa

Four goals or more in a match on the greatest number of occasions: George Smith, Damian Mori, twice

Three goals or more in a match on the greatest number of occasions: Damian Mori, four times

Scoring in most consecutive appearances: George Smith, 5, 5 June 1933 – 11 July 1936; Jack Hughes, 5, 3 September 1938 – 1 October 1938; Jim Cunningham, 5, 31 May 1947 – 28 August 1948

Most goals on debut: Frank Parsons, 3, 14 August 1948, 6–0 vs. New Zealand; Ian Hunter, 3, 26 February 1980, 11–2 vs. Papua New Guinea

Most appearances, scoring in every match: Jack Hughes, 6, 17 June 1933 – 1 October 1938

Most goals in a World Cup tournament: Tim Cahill, 2, 2006 World Cup; Brett Holman, 2, 2010 World Cup; Tim Cahill 2, 2014 World Cup; Mile Jedinak, 2, 2018 World Cup

Most goals in total at World Cup tournaments: Tim Cahill, 5, 12 June 2006 – 18 June 2014

First goal in a World Cup finals match: Tim Cahill, 12 June 2006, 3–1 vs. Japan

First goal in a World Cup qualifying campaign: Les Scheinflug, 21 November 1965, 1–6 vs. North Korea
Youngest goalscorer: Duncan Cummings, 17 years, 139 days, 6 August 1975, vs. China

Oldest goalscorer: Tim Cahill, 37 years, 308 days, 10 June 2017, vs. Syria

First goal by a substitute: Ian Johnston, 8 December 1965, vs. Malaysia

First player to score a hat-trick: George Smith, 17 June 1933, 6–4 vs. New Zealand

Most appearances for an outfield player without ever scoring: Stan Lazaridis, 60, 15 April 1993 – 7 October 2006

Most different goalscorers in a match: 9, 9 April 2001, 22–0 vs. Tonga^{[note 2]}

Most goals against the same opponent: George Smith, 16 vs. New Zealand, 5 June 1933 – 18 July 1936

Highest goals to games average: George Smith, 16 goals in 6 games, average 2.66 goals per game.

Captains

First captain: Alex Gibb, 17 June 1922, vs. New Zealand

Most appearances as captain: Peter Wilson and Lucas Neill, both 61

Discipline

Most red cards: Ray Richards and Brett Emerton, 2 each

List of all Australia players sent off

Player	Date	Against	Location	Result	Type of Game
Gilbert Storey^[2]	23 June 1924	Canada	Royal Agricultural Showground, Sydney	4–1	Friendly
Ray Richards	2 December 1970	Mexico	Estadio Azteca, Mexico City	0–3	Friendly
Ray Richards	22 June 1974	Chile	Olympiastadion, Berlin	0–2	1974 World Cup
John Kosmina	19 November 1977	Hong Kong	Kuwait City, Kuwait	0–1	1978 World Cup Qualifiers
Ken Boden	5 December 1980	Hong Kong	Hong Kong	0–1	Friendly
Ken Murphy	8 October 1985	Israel	National Stadium, Ramat Gan	2–1	1986 World Cup Qualifiers
Garry McDowall	20 March 1988	Israel	Queen Elizabeth II Park, Christchurch	0–0	1988 Olympic Qualifiers
Dave Mitchell	25 September 1988	Soviet Union	Busan Gudeok Stadium, Pusan	0–3	1988 Olympic Games
Wally Savor	19 March 1989	Israel	National Stadium, Ramat Gan	1–1	1990 World Cup Qualifier
Mike Petersen	20 September 1992	Tahiti	Perry Park, Brisbane	2–0	1994 World Cup Qualifier
Robert Zabica	31 July 1993	Canada	Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton	1–2	1994 World Cup Qualifier
Milan Blagojevic	10 February 1996	Japan	Brandon Park, Wollongong	1–4	Friendly
Joe Spiteri	24 April 1996	Chile	Estadio Regional, Antofagasta	0–3	Friendly
Tony Popovic	18 September 1996	South Africa	Johannesburg Athletics Stadium, Doornfontein	0–2	Friendly
Mark Viduka	21 December 1997	Brazil	King Fahd Stadium, Riyadh	0–6	1997 Confederations Cup
Goran Lozanovski	7 February 1998	Chile	Olympic Park, Melbourne	0–1	Friendly
Fausto De Amicis	15 February 1998	Japan	Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide	0–3	Friendly
Jason van Blerk	9 February 2000	China	Estadio Playa Ancha, Valparaiso	1–2	Friendly
Craig Moore	9 June 2001	Japan	Nissan Stadium, Yokohama	0–1	2001 Confederations Cup
Danny Tiatto	20 June 2001	New Zealand	Westpac Trust Stadium, Wellington	2–0	2002 World Cup Qualifier
Patrick Kisnorbo	6 June 2004	Solomon Islands	Hindmarsh Stadium	2–2	2006 World Cup Qualifier
Luke Wilkshire	4 June 2006	Netherlands	De Kuip Stadium, Rotterdam	1–1	Friendly
Brett Emerton	22 June 2006	Croatia	Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion, Stuttgart	2–2	World Cup
Lucas Neill	13 July 2007	Iraq	Rajamangala National Stadium, Bangkok	1–3	2007 Asian Cup
Vince Grella	21 July 2007	Japan	Mỹ Đình National Stadium, Hanoi	1–1 (3–4 pen.)	2007 Asian Cup
Mile Sterjovski	23 May 2008	Ghana	Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney	1–0	Friendly
Rhys Williams	18 November 2009	Oman	Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex, Muscat	2–1	2011 Asian Cup Qualifier
Tim Cahill	13 June 2010	Germany	Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban	1–1	2010 World Cup
Harry Kewell	19 June 2010	Ghana	Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg	1–1	2010 World Cup
Brett Emerton	7 September 2010	Poland	Wisla Kraków Stadium, Kraków	2–1	Friendly
Mark Milligan	12 June 2012	Japan	Lang Park, Brisbane	1–1	2012 World Cup Qualifier
Mitchell Langerak	5 March 2014	Ecuador	The Den, London	3–4	Friendly

Team records

Biggest victory: 31–0 vs. American Samoa, 11 April 2001

Heaviest defeat: 0–8 vs. South Africa, 17 September 1955

Biggest away victory: 10–0 vs. New Zealand, 11 July 1936

Biggest away defeat: 0–7 vs. Croatia, 25 September 1998

Biggest victory at the World Cup finals: 3–1 vs. Japan, 12 June 2006

Heaviest defeat at the World Cup finals: 0–4 vs. Germany, 13 June 2010

Biggest victory at the OFC Nations Cup finals: 17–0 vs. Cook Islands, 19 June 2000

First defeat to a non-Oceania team: 0–1 vs. Canada, 14 June 1924

Most consecutive victories: 14, 26 October 1996 vs. Tahiti – 1 October 1997 vs. Tunisia

Most consecutive matches without defeat: 20, 21 September 1996 vs. Kuwait – 12 December 1997 vs. Mexico

Most consecutive matches without victory: 7, 31 May 1980 – 11 November 1980

Most consecutive defeats: 5, 3 September 1955 to 1 October 1955

Most consecutive draws: 4, Achieved on two occasions, most recently 6 October 2016 – 23 March 2017

Most consecutive matches without scoring: 4, Achieved on four occasions, most recently 25 February 1996 – 23 April 1996

Most consecutive matches without conceding a goal: 6, Achieved on two occasions, most recently 17 November 2007 – 1 June 2008

Miscellaneous

First substitute: Arthur McCartney (for Cliff Almond), 10 September 1955, 0–2 vs. South Africa

Australia players who later became manager/head coach: Les Scheinflug, 6 appearances as a player, 1965–1968, 19 matches as manager, 1974–1994; Frank Farina, 37 appearances as a player, 1984–1995, 58 matches as manager, 1999–2005; Graham Arnold, 54 appearances as a player, 1985–1997, 23 matches as manager, 2006–2019; Aurelio Vidmar, 44 appearances as a player, 1991–2001, 1 match as manager, 2013; Ange Postecoglou, 4 appearances as a player, 1986, 49 matches as manager, 2013–2017; Graham Arnold, 54 appearances as a player, 1985–1997, ongoing as manager, 2018–present

Father and son both capped: Alex Gibb (6 caps, 1922–1923) and Lex Gibb (8 caps, 1938–1948)^[3]; Percy Lennard (3 caps, 1923) and Jack Lennard (6 caps, 1954–1956)^[4]; Andy Henderson (2 caps, 1924) and Bill Henderson (6 caps, 1954–1956)^[5]; Cliff van Blerk (2 caps, 1967) and Jason van Blerk (27 caps, 1990–2000)^[3]; John Coyne (4 caps, 1979–1980) and Chris Coyne (7 caps, 2008–2009)^[6]^[7]; Vic Bozanic (1 cap, 1980) and Oliver Bozanic (7 caps, 2013–)^[8]; Alan Davidson (51 caps, 1980–1993) and Jason Davidson (22 caps, 2012–2015)^[3]^[8]; Mark Robertson (1 cap, 2001) and Alex Robertson (1 cap, 2023–)^[9]^{[note 3]}

References

General

"OzFootball - The Australian Football Site". Retrieved 9 October 2020.

Howe, Andrew. "The Australian National Men's Football Team: Caps and Captains" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-14. Retrieved 9 October 2020.

Encyclopedia of Socceroos: Every national team player. Fair Play Publishing. 25 May 2018. ISBN 978-0-648-13330-8.

Inline citations

^ Comito, Matthew (10 June 2021). "Stat attack: Records tumble in Kuwait as Socceroos notch best winning streak in decades". Socceroos.
^ Esamie, Thomas; Punshon, John; Stock, Greg. "Socceroo 1924 Matches". OzFootball. Retrieved 2021-05-06.
^ ^a ^b ^c Davutovic, David; Smithies, Tom (2014-06-21). "Like father, like son: Davidson makes mark". Herald Sun. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
^ Fairs, Syd (1953-07-28). "Soccer Round-up". Illawarra Daily Mercury. p. 11. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
^ "Family immortalised". Parramatta Advertiser. 29 October 2008.
^ Monteverde, Marco (11 October 2008). "Pim's defensive future unleashed". Daily Telegraph.
^ Cockerill, Michael (6 January 1999). "Olyroos call on foreign legion". The Sydney Morning Herald.
^ ^a ^b Lynch, Michael (2014-06-19). "Socceroos following in fathers' footsteps". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
^ Clarke, George (25 March 2023). "Man City debutant Robertson aims high with Socceroos". FTBL.com.au. Retrieved 2023-03-25.

Notes

^ Aurelio Vidmar made 44 and Tony Vidmar 76 of their collective 120 appearances.
^ The goalscorers were John Aloisi (6), Damian Mori (4), Kevin Muscat (4), Scott Chipperfield (3), David Zdrilic, Tony Popovic, Tony Vidmar, Archie Thompson and Con Boutsianis
^ Mark's father Alex also represented Australia in B international matches

[1] Comito, Matthew (10 June 2021). "Stat attack: Records tumble in Kuwait as Socceroos notch best winning streak in decades". Socceroos.

[4] Esamie, Thomas; Punshon, John; Stock, Greg. "Socceroo 1924 Matches". OzFootball. Retrieved 2021-05-06.

[hun-fatherson-5] Davutovic, David; Smithies, Tom (2014-06-21). "Like father, like son: Davidson makes mark". Herald Sun. Retrieved 2020-11-20.

[6] Fairs, Syd (1953-07-28). "Soccer Round-up". Illawarra Daily Mercury. p. 11. Retrieved 2020-11-20.

[7] "Family immortalised". Parramatta Advertiser. 29 October 2008.

[8] Monteverde, Marco (11 October 2008). "Pim's defensive future unleashed". Daily Telegraph.

[9] Cockerill, Michael (6 January 1999). "Olyroos call on foreign legion". The Sydney Morning Herald.

[smh-footsteps-10] Lynch, Michael (2014-06-19). "Socceroos following in fathers' footsteps". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2020-11-20.

[11] Clarke, George (25 March 2023). "Man City debutant Robertson aims high with Socceroos". FTBL.com.au. Retrieved 2023-03-25.

[2] Aurelio Vidmar made 44 and Tony Vidmar 76 of their collective 120 appearances.

[3] The goalscorers were John Aloisi (6), Damian Mori (4), Kevin Muscat (4), Scott Chipperfield (3), David Zdrilic, Tony Popovic, Tony Vidmar, Archie Thompson and Con Boutsianis

[12] Mark's father Alex also represented Australia in B international matches

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