How Harry Kewell sees Socceroos v Turkey
Emma Kemp
If Harry Kewell was running the World Cup draw there would be no qualifying. “I prefer to put all the balls in a big bowl and then pick them; that’s the best way,” he says.
“Think about it: you could put England, Brazil, Argentina and Australia in one group. Wow. I get it; people want to watch the Germany-France semi-final. But you know what? Put them all in one hat and take them out.”
This is a new idea. But we live in an age of new FIFA formatting ideas.
The former Socceroos star is now laughing as he is asked his thoughts on the expanded 48-team World Cup. And the concept invites a humorous response. “Once you get every country involved,” he begins, “it’s like that’s the essence of organizing a World Cup; there’s only a limited number of slots.”
That perspective is justified, especially from a former player who has first-hand experience of being part of a team that twice tried and failed to qualify before the Socceroos’ famous comeback in 2006 (32 years after Australia’s previous appearance in the finals). This team made it to the knockout stage despite a few favors from the qualifying system that saw them draw with a group consisting of Japan, Brazil and Croatia.
Kewell talks on the phone from Vietnam about life as head coach of Hanoi FC.
“It’s been 10 months and it’s been exciting,” he says. “Opportunities are hard to come by.”
The 47-year-old was out of work for 15 months after leaving Japanese giants Yokohama F. Marinos in July 2024 and was hoping to add more experience to his coaching CV, which also includes a spell with Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic coaching staff and stints in England’s lower leagues.
Hanoi, who finished fourth in top-flight V.League 1, “seemed like a perfect fit”.
“It’s taken some getting used to since I’ve been here,” he says. “This isn’t the European style I’m used to. So you have to adapt somehow.”
From Smithfield in Western Sydney, Kewell returns home to where it all began for the Socceroos icon on the big venues of the Champions League and FA Cup final. He will be part of the SBS World Cup commentary team as a pundit.
This interview, then, contributes greatly to the Harry-Kewell-on-Socceroos-at-the-2026 World Cup genre.
Given Australia kick off their campaign against Türkiye on Sunday, this seems the obvious place to start. After all, it was this country that rekindled his love of football after difficult, injury-riddled years at Anfield. The place where Galatasaray fans call him ‘The Wizard of Oz’ and he is loved with the saying ‘Football in Türkiye is a game played against Galatasaray’.
When I ask him how closely he is following Türkiye’s progress ahead of the first World Cup in more than two decades, he laughs at my warning that playing club football in a country does not mean following its national team 15 years later.
“When I coach, I don’t think about any other team other than the one I coach,” he says. “I will just watch the football as a fan and keep an eye on things, but I won’t do a deep dive because I have enough on my plate.”
But he says: “Turkey are an excellent team. I think they are in a good position at the moment. Galatasaray are performing excellently, the competition is strong, they are doing well in Europe and looking at the way they have prepared themselves, I think it will be a difficult game for us.”
“If I could redo the draw, I would want to play the USA first. Turkey might be difficult for us as an opening game, whereas I think if they get a good result against Paraguay… I look back a little bit and think about the 2006 season with Japan, Brazil and Croatia, and I think we got the right draw the first time we played Japan.
“Now this may be a chance for us to surprise Türkiye, but it will be a very difficult match.”
Kewell said he had high hopes for Socceroos winger Nestory Irankunda after watching Australia draw 1-1 in a friendly against Switzerland last weekend and lose 1-0 to Mexico the weekend before.
“I think Popa has created a good team structure,” he says. “They have experienced players in some important areas. But when you look at the games they played against Switzerland and Mexico, it looks like we will be a counter-attacking team, so our chances will be limited…
“If we only have one or two opportunities to break teams up and bring Irankunda on – because he looks really lively – what we really want him to do is probably come in in the defensive three and go all the way, maybe score a goal or maybe add to the score. [in] a break ball. That would be a waste of a lot.”
We then discuss coach Tony Popovic as head coach and I ask Kewell if he’s talked to his former Socceroos teammate much over the years. Kewell laughs again.
“No,” he says. “I think everyone thinks that football players talk to football players all the time; after playing with them, they talk to them. If we meet, of course we will chat, have a coffee, there is no problem in that. But we have things to do.”
Currently, Kewell’s job is in Hanoi. What about in the future? Might you want to one day apply his pure and absolute focus to coaching the Socceroos? Kewell’s initial response sounds like a deliberately straight bat: “I’ll give Popa the best chance because I hope he does really well”, which fails to finish because he’s off the line.
When he calls back immediately, I tell him that the internet connection was cut off at a convenient time. “Oh no, that’s what I answered,” he explains. “I think one of the greatest things you can do is to represent your country as a manager. But first of all, I think I have to win it. I have to go and prove myself first.”
At the eBay Live broadcast event on Saturday at 19:00 (Harry Kewell’s all-time 11, Live! – eBay Live), Kewell will announce the all-time greatest 11 players he has shared the field with. Fans will be able to purchase the entire card collection, as well as other Kewell memorabilia, in a special “Penny Drop” moment at the end of the broadcast.
