Socceroos fans rage over TV move as bizarre pre-match scenes rock World Cup qualifier

Aussie football fans have been left frustrated when finding out the vital Socceroos' World Cup qualifying clash against Japan was behind a paywall, not shown on free to air TV, with the team also rocked with a pre-match delay. Tony Popovic would have been thrilled with the result as the Socceroos held onto a hard-fought point against Japan away from home in a 1-1 draw.

The Samurai Blue were the far superior side throughout the contest Shogo Tanaguchi had a nightmare when he turned the ball into his own net in the 58th minute to deliver the Socceroos the lead in front of 58,730 fans at Saitama Stadium.

Japan responded quickly, but it was another own goal as after Cam Burgess turned the ball into Australia's net. Regardless, Popovic's men held onto Australia's first draw in Japan since 2013.

While the Socceroos were thrilled to move onto five points in the World Cup qualifying group, many football fans at home were left perplexed to why the World Cup qualifeir wasn't available to watch on Channel 10. The Socceroos' 3-1 World Cup qualifying win over China was shown on Channel 10 and was free to fans to enjoy.

Although fans tuning in late at night on Wednesday found out they would need to subscribe to Paramount+ to watch their national team. Earlier this year, a new landmark deal was struck between Network 10 and Paramount+ to broadcast all matches involving the Socceroos and the Matildas – except for the next Men's World Cup.

Notably, the Matildas' next two major tournaments - the 2026 Women’s Asian Cup, hosted by Australia, and the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil - will be part of the new arrangement. However, the vast majority of games at both events will be shown behind the Paramount+ paywall. And fans were left frustrated they couldn't watch their national team play on free to air TV.

Football fans were also frustrated back in July when the Matildas' final tune-up match before the Olympics against Canada was behind a paywall. And Aussies vented their frustration on Wednesday, which could become a theme ahead of future national football games.

Tony Popovic praises Socceroos despite pre-game setback

Incredibly, the Socceroos were able to put behind them a pre-game debacle to snatch the 1-1 draw. However, the game nearly didn't get underway after the Socceroos only arrived to the game 45 minutes before kick-off due to traffic.

The Socceroos reportedly requested the game to be delayed so they could undergo a proper warm-up, but the Asian Federation Committee knocked back the request. Australian players could be seen running out onto the field only 30 minutes before kick-off.

And Popovic didn't want to use the delayed arrival as an excuse, but rather as fuel for the Aussies. "We had a lot of difficulties arriving here. We were told it would take 90 minutes, maximum. It took us two hours 15, so not ideal preparation," Popovic said.

"But we didn't use that as an excuse. The players and staff were fantastic. We had a very short warm-up. Players had 10 minutes to get ready, and we just dealt with the situation, and they showed a fantastic performance.

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After the game, Popovic was thrilled with the performance against a Japan outfit that had scored 14 goals without conceding across their three previous games. Australia now sit on five points in the World Cup qualifying group, behind Japan on 10. The top two teams will directly qualify for the World Cup.

"Firstly, the result, of course, is a good result for us," Popovic said after his second game in charge of the Socceroos. "In the current situation, coming to Japan, it's their first goal that they conceded. So an excellent team that's been together for a very long time. And for us, we've had four training sessions together.