Australia

How the Socceroos’ 2003 upset win over England shaped Australian football | John Davidson

11-Oct-2023 14:00:42 | Guardian

Two decades on from the historic friendly at Upton Park the rivals meet at Wembley to test how far the two teams have come

In the history of the Anglo-Australian sporting rivalry, 2003 was a big year. The Wallabies and England clashed in the Rugby World Cup final in Sydney, the Kangaroos and Great Britain locked horns in rugby league’s Ashes, while in cricket Australia romped to an Ashes triumph on home soil.

But it was a round-ball international friendly in mid-February, on a cold night in east London, that perhaps lives longest in the memory, especially for those with antipodean minds. That was when the Socceroos’ motley crew of underdogs took on Sven-Goran Erickson’s England at Upton Park and sprung a stunning 3-1 upset.