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Australia Cup News

All Whites thrashed 4-0 by Haiti in concerning World Cup warm-up

Ian Ransom · 20 hours ago

Haiti crushed a shambolic New Zealand 4-0 in a steamy World Cup warmup in Fort Lauderdale, ⁠Florida on Tuesday, delighting a buzzing crowd of Haitian fans and spoiling a milestone match for All Whites captain Chris Wood.

'Let's shock the world': Arnold urges Iraq to be 'excited' rather than 'scared'

Michael Church · 20 hours ago

Iraq return to the World Cup for the first time since making their ⁠debut 40 years ago, having taken a lengthy route to the finals under a coach who is no stranger to the ‌tournament.

'We can go further than any Socceroos team ever before': Irvine

Ian Ransom · 2 days ago

Short on star power but always up for a fight, Australia head to the World ⁠Cup eyeing another trip to the knockout rounds but dogged by the usual questions about whether they have the attacking quality to trouble the top ‌teams.

New Zealand pair racing against the clock to be fit for World Cup

Ian Ransom · 2 days ago

New Zealand midfielders Ryan Thomas and Joe Bell ⁠will head into the World Cup short of match practice while nursing ‌leg injuries.

Popovic says Socceroos squad is 'fearless' and 'much better' than 2022

Ian Ransom · 2 days ago

Australia coach Tony Popovic said his young World Cup squad is better than the ⁠Socceroos' 2022 line-up and should have high expectations heading into the tournament in North America.

Who made the final 26-man Socceroos World Cup squad?

Ian Ransom · 2 days ago

Former Italy under-20 international Cristian Volpato's last-minute decision to switch allegiance to Australia has ⁠paid off with inclusion in Tony Popovic's World Cup squad.

Socceroos out to 'spoil' home World Cup of Group D combatants USA

AFP · 3 days ago

Efforts to boost soccer in the United States rest heavily on the national team's success at the World Cup -- but their Group D opponents Australia have every intention of crashing the co-hosts' party.

About Australia Cup

History, Format, Organization, Media Coverage

The Australia Cup, formerly known as the FFA Cup, is Australia’s premier national football knockout cup competition. Founded in 2014, this tournament is administered by Football Australia, previously known as Football Federation Australia.

The Australia Cup follows a summer-to-spring schedule, with the competition kicking off in February before concluding in September or November. The tournament begins with a preliminary round featuring over 700 clubs from Australia’s football pyramid. However, the competition proper kicks off with the round of 32.

In previous editions, A-League Men clubs automatically qualified for the round of 32. Currently, only 10 first-division clubs participate: the top eight from the previous A-League season directly qualify, while the bottom four compete in playoffs for two remaining spots (9th vs. 12th and 10th vs. 11th). The remaining 22 participants are made up of Member Federation Clubs, teams from the second tier or below.

The tournament follows a single-elimination format, with matches played as single-leg encounters (the winner advances, and the loser is eliminated). Draws determine match-ups from the round of 32 to the semifinals.

From 2024-25 onwards, the Australia Cup champion qualifies for the AFC Champions League Two. However, New Zealand-based clubs Wellington Phoenix and Auckland FC are ineligible to participate in AFC club competitions and are thus the exceptions.

A-League Men sides have largely dominated the competition, with Adelaide United winning the inaugural title in 2014 against Perth Glory. Perth Glory reached the final again the following year but lost to Melbourne Victory. Sydney FC and Macarthur FC have also found notable success, with Macarthur winning the cup twice within four years of its A-League debut in 2020-21.

The Australia Cup awards two individual honors. The first is the Mark Viduka Medal, named after the former Australian national team captain, awarded to the player of the match in the final. Additionally, the Michael Cockerill Medal goes out to the best-performing Australia Cup player from a Member Federation Club.