Australia brushes past Honduras to secure World Cup spot
Australia will compete in its fourth straight World Cup after beating Honduras 3-1 on Wednesday to secure a place in next summer's competition in Russia.
Captain Mile Jedinak was the hero as Australia snatched the penultimate spot in the 2018 World Cup away from Honduras. His brace, along with a free-kick that took a wicked deflection to open the scoring but was ruled an own goal, sent the home supporters at the ANZ Stadium into a frenzy.
It was a nervous wait for the opener as the two sides went into the break with the same goalless scoreline they produced during the first leg in Honduras.
The stalemate didn't last long in the second frame, as Jedinak uncorked a free-kick into the Honduran wall that somehow found its way through to the back of the net after taking a massive deflection.
Mile Jedinak. 1-0 to Australia.
— Caltex Socceroos (@Socceroos) November 15, 2017
Watch the rest of the game on @FoxFootball 501 and Channel 9.#AUSvHON #GoSocceroos pic.twitter.com/GqIqzSyiUg
Jedinak officially got his name on the scoresheet almost 20 minutes later when he converted a penalty. He scored another from the spot to all but secure Australia's place, deeming Honduras' goal in stoppage time inconsequential.
Peru and New Zealand will compete for the 32nd and final place in the 2018 World Cup when they meet Wednesday night in Lima.