The good news, if you’re ready for that, is these Socceroos will improve

July 4, 2026 — 7:39am

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Arlington: Everything is bigger in Texas. The food portions. The petrol stations. AT&T Stadium. The screen suspended over the field at AT&T Stadium. The supermarkets, like the Walmart across the road that was invaded before kick-off by a horde of hope-filled Australians – and now, the heartbreak they will share.

This one hurts. And it hurts because the Socceroos deserved better. They played well against Egypt, they gave it everything, and it wasn’t enough.

For the third time, Australia have fallen over at the first knockout hurdle of the World Cup. The next chance for redemption will be four long years away – and we can only hope these players will let this horrible feeling sink in, feel it deeply, then use it, and come back bigger and better, ready to break this hoodoo in 2030.

Australian teams have a proud record of penalty shootout success, but this was the first time the Socceroos have encountered one at the World Cup proper – and they’d love to have another go at it.

The pain is sharper not only because of the method of defeat, but because of who missed. Harry Souttar, the man who wore the captain’s armband until........

© Brisbane Times