2020–21 in Australian soccer
52nd season of national competitive soccer in Australia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2020–21 season was the 52nd season of national competitive soccer in Australia and 138th overall.
| Season | 2020–21 |
|---|---|
| Men's soccer | |
| A-League Premiership | Melbourne City |
| A-League Championship | Melbourne City |
| FFA Cup | None |
| Women's soccer | |
| W-League Premiership | Sydney FC |
| W-League Championship | Melbourne Victory |
 | |
Several events from March 2020 onwards were disrupted or postponed due to impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.[1][2]
National teams
Australia men's national soccer team
2022 FIFA World Cup qualification / 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualification
Second round
| 3 June 2021 Group B | Australia | 3–0 |  Kuwait | Kuwait City, Kuwait |
| 21:30 UTC+3 | Report | Stadium: Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium Attendance: 0[note 1] Referee: Jumpei Iida (Japan) |
| 7 June 2021 Group B | Australia | 5–1 |  Chinese Taipei | Kuwait City, Kuwait |
| 19:30 UTC+3 | Report |
|
Stadium: Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium Attendance: 0[note 1] Referee: Saoud Al-Adba (Qatar) |
| 11 June 2021 Group B | Nepal  | 0–3 | Australia | Kuwait City, Kuwait |
| 19:30 UTC+3 | Report | Stadium: Al Kuwait Sports Club Stadium Attendance: 0[note 1] Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman) |
| 15 June 2021 Group B | Australia | 1–0 |  Jordan | Kuwait City, Kuwait |
| 19:30 UTC+3 |
|
Report | Stadium: Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium Attendance: 0[note 1] Referee: Kim Woo-Sung (South Korea) |
Men's under 23
Friendlies
The following is a list of friendlies played by the men's under 23 national team in 2020–21.
| 12 November 2020 | Sydney FC | 3–0 | Australia | Sydney, Australia |
| 19:00 AEDT |
|
Report | Stadium: Jubilee Oval |
| 17 November 2020 | Macarthur FC | 1–2 | Australia | Sydney, Australia |
| 15:00 AEDT |
|
Report | Stadium: Jubilee Oval Attendance: 0 |
| 2 June 2021 | Australia | 1–2 |  Republic of Ireland U-21 | Marbella, Spain |
| 13:00 UTC+2 |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: Marbella Football Centre Referee: Parejo Nieto (Spain) |
| 5 June 2021 | Australia | Cancelled |  Saudi Arabia | Marbella, Spain |
| 14:00 UTC+2 | Cancellation | Stadium: Estadio Municipal de Marbella |
Men's under-20
Friendly
| 20 December 2020 | Central Coast Mariners | Cancelled | Australia | Gosford, Australia |
| Report | Stadium: Central Coast Stadium |
AFC U-19 Championship
The 2020 AFC U-19 Championship was cancelled after the draw for the group stage was conducted.[3]
| March 2021 Group stage | Australia | Cancelled |  Vietnam | Namangan, Uzbekistan |
| Source | Stadium: Navbahor Central Stadium |
| March 2021 Group stage | Laos  | Cancelled | Australia | Namangan, Uzbekistan |
| Source | Stadium: Navbahor Central Stadium |
| March 2021 Group stage | Saudi Arabia | Cancelled | Australia | Tashkent, Uzbekistan |
| Source | Stadium: Lokomotiv Stadium |
Men's under-17
AFC U-16 Championship
The 2020 AFC U-16 Championship was cancelled after the draw for the group stage was conducted.[3]
| 2021 Group stage | Uzbekistan  | Cancelled | Australia | Muharraq, Bahrain |
| Source | Stadium: Sheikh Ali Bin Mohammed Al Khalifa Stadium |
| 2021 Group stage | South Korea  | Cancelled | Australia | Riffa, Bahrain |
| Source | Stadium: Bahrain National Stadium |
Australia women's national soccer team
Friendlies
The following is a list of friendlies played by the women's senior national team in 2020–21.
| 10 April 2021 | Germany  | 5–2 | Australia | Wiesbaden, Germany |
| 16:10 | Report | Gielnik  82', 90+2' |
Stadium: Brita-Arena Referee: Marta Frías Acedo (Spain) |
| 13 April 2021 | Netherlands  | 5–0 | Australia | Nijmegen, Netherlands |
| 18:30 CEST |
|
Report | Stadium: Stadion de Goffert Referee: Esther Staubli (Switzerland) |
| 10 June 2021 | Denmark  | 3–2 | Australia | Horsens, Denmark |
| 18:00 CEST | Report |
|
Stadium: CASA Arena Referee: Lina Lehtovaara (Finland) |
AFC competitions
AFC Champions League
All three teams that qualified for the 2021 AFC Champions League – Sydney FC, Melbourne City and Brisbane Roar – withdrew from the competition after the draw.[4]
Men's football
A-League
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Melbourne City (C) | 26 | 15 | 4 | 7 | 57 | 32 | +25 | 49 | Qualification for 2022 AFC Champions League group stage and finals series[a] |
| 2 | Sydney FC | 26 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 39 | 23 | +16 | 47 | Qualification for 2022 AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs and finals series[a] |
| 3 | Central Coast Mariners | 26 | 12 | 6 | 8 | 35 | 31 | +4 | 42 | Qualification for finals series[a] |
| 4 | Brisbane Roar | 26 | 11 | 7 | 8 | 36 | 28 | +8 | 40 | |
| 5 | Adelaide United | 26 | 11 | 6 | 9 | 39 | 41 | −2 | 39 | |
| 6 | Macarthur FC | 26 | 11 | 6 | 9 | 33 | 36 | −3 | 39 | |
| 7 | Wellington Phoenix[b] | 26 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 44 | 34 | +10 | 38 | |
| 8 | Western Sydney Wanderers | 26 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 45 | 43 | +2 | 35 | |
| 9 | Perth Glory | 26 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 44 | 44 | 0 | 34 | Qualification for 2021 FFA Cup play-offs[c] |
| 10 | Western United | 26 | 8 | 4 | 14 | 30 | 47 | −17 | 28 | |
| 11 | Newcastle Jets | 26 | 5 | 6 | 15 | 24 | 38 | −14 | 21 | |
| 12 | Melbourne Victory | 26 | 5 | 4 | 17 | 31 | 60 | −29 | 19 | Qualification for 2022 AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs and 2021 FFA Cup play-offs[d] |
Source: A-Leagues
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Least red cards; 5) Least yellow cards; 6) Toss of a coin in an event of a tie of two clubs.
(C) Champions
Notes:
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Least red cards; 5) Least yellow cards; 6) Toss of a coin in an event of a tie of two clubs.
(C) Champions
Notes:
- The top two teams entered the finals series at the semi-finals, while the teams ranked third to sixth entered the finals series at the elimination-finals.
- Wellington Phoenix cannot qualify for Asian Football Confederation competitions as they are based in New Zealand, which is under the Oceania Football Confederation.
- Qualified as the 2021 FFA Cup winners.
- Finals
| Elimination-finals | Semi-finals | Grand Final | ||||||||
| 20 June – Sydney | ||||||||||
| Melbourne City | 2 | |||||||||
| 12 June – Gosford | ||||||||||
| Macarthur FC | 0 | |||||||||
| Central Coast Mariners | 0 | |||||||||
| 27 June – Melbourne | ||||||||||
| Macarthur FC | 2 | |||||||||
| Melbourne City | 3 | |||||||||
| Sydney FC | 1 | |||||||||
| 19 June – Sydney | ||||||||||
| Sydney FC | 2 | |||||||||
| 13 June – Brisbane | ||||||||||
| Adelaide United | 1 | |||||||||
| Brisbane Roar | 1 | |||||||||
| Adelaide United | 2 | |||||||||
National Premier Leagues
The competition in all member federations was suspended, effective from 18 March, due to the impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.[6] Apart from Victoria, competitions resumed in the various member federations between late June and late July.[7][8] It was announced on 3 July that the finals series for the 2020 competition had been cancelled.[9]
Cup competitions
FFA Cup
The competition was suspended for one month due to the impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, effective 18 March,[10] and cancelled on 3 July,[11] although the associated Lakoseljac Cup competition in Tasmania recommenced in July.[12]
Women's football
W-League
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sydney FC | 12 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 26 | 11 | +15 | 28 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 2 | Brisbane Roar | 12 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 29 | 12 | +17 | 25 | |
| 3 | Melbourne Victory (C) | 12 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 25 | 14 | +11 | 23 | |
| 4 | Canberra United | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 21 | 16 | +5 | 22 | |
| 5 | Adelaide United | 12 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 22 | 18 | +4 | 22 | |
| 6 | Western Sydney Wanderers | 12 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 13 | 21 | −8 | 13 | |
| 7 | Melbourne City | 12 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 11 | 23 | −12 | 13 | |
| 8 | Newcastle Jets | 12 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 14 | 21 | −7 | 7 | |
| 9 | Perth Glory | 12 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 7 | 32 | −25 | 1 |
Source: A-Leagues
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions
New clubs
- A-League: Macarthur FC[13]
Deaths
- 12 January 2021: Frank Arok, 88, Australian head coach from 1983 to 1989.[14]
- 26 January 2021: Jozef Vengloš, 84, Australian head coach in 1967.[15]
- January 2021: Frank Parsons, Australian striker.[16]
- 9 March 2021: Alan Marnoch, 77, Australian and Sydney Hakoah defender.[17][18]
- 29 March 2021: Bill Murphy, Australian footballer.[19]
- 23 May 2021: Alan Garside, Australian and Granville Kewpies striker.[20]
Retirements
- 12 July 2020: Mile Jedinak, 35, former Australia, Sydney United, and Central Coast Mariners midfielder.[21]
- 10 August 2020: Oriol Riera, 34, former Western Sydney Wanderers forward.[22]
- 12 August 2020: Pirmin Schwegler, 33, former Switzerland and Western Sydney Wanderers midfielder.[23]
- 26 August 2020: Daniel Bowles, 28, former Gold Coast United, Adelaide United, and Brisbane Roar defender.[24]
- 9 October 2020: Chris Harold, 28, former Gold Coast United, Perth Glory, and Central Coast Mariners forward.[25]
- 16 December 2020: Archie Thompson, 42, former Australia, Gippsland Falcons, Carlton, Marconi Stallions, and Melbourne Victory forward.[26]
- December 2020: Rashid Mahazi, 28, former Melbourne Victory and Western Sydney Wanderers midfielder.[27]
- 25 March 2021: Rhali Dobson, 28, former Australia, Newcastle Jets, and Melbourne City forward.[28]
- 5 June 2021: Andrew Durante, 39, former New Zealand, Sydney Olympic, Parramatta Power, Newcastle Jets, Wellington Phoenix, Sydney FC, and Western United defender.[29][30]
- 11 June 2021: Nigel Boogaard, 34, former Newcastle Jets, Central Coast Mariners, and Adelaide United defender.[31]
- 20 June 2021: Mark Milligan, 35, former Australia, Northern Spirit, Sydney FC, Newcastle Jets, Melbourne Victory, and Macarthur FC defender and midfielder.[32][33]
- 29 June 2021: Beñat Etxebarria, 34, former Spain and Macarthur FC midfielder.[34]
- 29 June 2021: Markel Susaeta, 33, former Spain, Melbourne City, and Macarthur FC midfielder.[34]
Notes
- Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Kuwait, the match was played behind closed doors.