2026 A-League Men finals series
Football league season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2026 A-League Men finals series was the 21st annual edition of A-League finals series, the playoffs tournament staged to determine the champions of the 2025–26 A-League Men season. The series was played over four weeks culminating in the 2026 A-League Men Grand Final.[1]
| Season | 2025–26 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 1–23 May 2026[1] |
| Champions | Auckland FC |
| Runner up | Sydney FC |
| Matches | 7 |
| Goals | 13 (1.86 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Eli Adams (2 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Auckland FC 1–0 Sydney FC (23 May 2026) |
| Biggest away win | Adelaide United 0–3 Auckland FC (15 May 2026) |
| Highest scoring | Adelaide United 0–3 Auckland FC (15 May 2026) |
| Highest attendance | 28,374 Auckland FC 1–0 Sydney FC (23 May 2026) |
| Lowest attendance | 11,351 Auckland FC 1–1 Melbourne City (2 May 2026) |
| Total attendance | 128,915 |
| Average attendance | 18,416 |
← 2025 2027 → | |
Qualification
The top two teams; Newcastle Jets and Adelaide United, qualify directly for the semi-finals. The teams placed third through to sixth play in the elimination-finals, with the third and fourth placed teams; Auckland FC and Melbourne Victory , hosting the matches. All teams qualified in round 25 with Newcastle claiming the premiership.[2] This would be the Jets first finals appearance since the 2018 A-League finals Series.[3] The rest of the teams would finalise their places in round 26 of the regular season.[4] Among the teams who made it too the finals series Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC would both qualify for their 15th Finals series appearance.[5]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Newcastle Jets | 26 | 15 | 3 | 8 | 55 | 39 | +16 | 48 | Qualification for the AFC Champions League Elite league stage and the finals series[a] |
| 2 | Adelaide United | 26 | 12 | 7 | 7 | 46 | 36 | +10 | 43 | Qualification for the AFC Champions League Elite preliminary stage and the finals series |
| 3 | Auckland FC[b] (C) | 26 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 42 | 29 | +13 | 42 | Qualification for the finals series[a] |
| 4 | Melbourne Victory | 26 | 11 | 7 | 8 | 44 | 33 | +11 | 40 | Qualification for the AFC Champions League Two group stage and the finals series[c] |
| 5 | Sydney FC | 26 | 11 | 6 | 9 | 33 | 25 | +8 | 39 | Qualification for the finals series[a] |
| 6 | Melbourne City | 26 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 38 | |
| 7 | Macarthur FC | 26 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 37 | 44 | −7 | 34 | |
| 8 | Wellington Phoenix[b] | 26 | 9 | 6 | 11 | 36 | 48 | −12 | 33 | |
| 9 | Central Coast Mariners | 26 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 35 | 42 | −7 | 32 | |
| 10 | Perth Glory | 26 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 32 | 39 | −7 | 31 | |
| 11 | Brisbane Roar | 26 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 27 | 36 | −9 | 26 | |
| 12 | Western Sydney Wanderers | 26 | 5 | 6 | 15 | 27 | 43 | −16 | 21 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) goals scored; 4) wins; 5) head-to-head results; 5a) head-to-head points; 5b) head-to-head goal difference; 6) Fair Play points; 7) away goal difference; 8) away goals per match; 9) home goal difference; 10) home goals per match; 11) toss of a coin in an event of a tie of two clubs.
(C) Champions
Notes:
- The top two teams enter the finals series at the semi-finals, while the teams ranked third to sixth enter the finals series at the elimination-finals.
- Auckland FC and Wellington Phoenix cannot qualify for Asian Football Confederation competitions as they are based in New Zealand, which is part of the Oceania Football Confederation.
- Since the 2025 Australia Cup winners, Newcastle Jets, occupy an AFC Champions League Elite position, the AFC Champions League Two spot goes to the next eligible team. The AFC ruled that the Australia Cup runner-up Heidelberg United was ineligible to compete.[6]
Venues
Newcastle Jets and Adelaide United are both guaranteed a top two finish, and have each secured a home semi-final. Auckland FC and Melbourne Victory both hosted an elimination-final.
| Auckland | Adelaide | Australia:
New Zealand: |
Sydney |
|---|---|---|---|
| Go Media Stadium | Coopers Stadium | Allianz Stadium | |
| Capacity: 25,000 | Capacity: 16,500 | Capacity: 45,500 | |
 |
 |
 | |
| Melbourne | Newcastle | ||
| AAMI Park | McDonald Jones Stadium | ||
| Capacity: 30,050 | Capacity: 33,000 | ||
 |
 | ||
.svg)
Bracket
The system used for the 2025 A-League Men finals series is the modified top-six play-offs by the A-Leagues. The top two teams entered the two-legged semi-finals receiving the bye for the elimination-finals in which the teams from third placed to sixth place enter the elimination-finals with "third against sixth" and "fourth against fifth". Losers for the elimination-finals were eliminated, and winners qualified for the two-legged semi-finals.[1]
First placed team in the semi-finals played the lowest ranked elimination-final winning team and second placed team in the semi-finals played the highest ranked elimination-final winner. Home-state advantage went to the team with the higher ladder position.[1]
| Elimination-finals | Semi-finals | Grand Final | ||||||||||||||
| 1 | Newcastle Jets | 1 | 1 | 2 (2) | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Melbourne Victory | 0 | 5 | Sydney FC (p) | 1 | 1 | 2 (4) | |||||||||
| 5 | Sydney FC | 1 | 3 | Auckland FC | 1 | |||||||||||
| 5 | Sydney FC | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | Adelaide United | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Auckland FC (p) | 1 (7) | 3 | Auckland FC | 1 | 3 | 4 | |||||||||
| 6 | Melbourne City | 1 (6) | ||||||||||||||
Elimination finals
First elimination final: Auckland FC vs Melbourne City
The first game of the A-League finals series delivered a thriller under the lights at Go Media Stadium, with both winners of silverware last season playing for a spot in next week’s semi-finals. Despite dominating possession in the opening half, it was Melbourne City that looked like the more threatening side with their chances in front of goal. With the seconds ticking away in the first half, Auckland opened the scoring with a sensational header from Guillermo May. City would continue into the second half attacking ant attempting to score an equaliser. With just seconds remaining in regulation, Medin Memeti netted one of the most memorable goals in A-Leagues Finals history.[7][8] the game would go to extra time and then penalties. In an exiting penalty shootout Nathaniel Atkinson would miss the deciding penalty to qualify Auckland for the semi final against Adelaide United.[9]
         Auckland FC
|
   Melbourne City
|
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Man of the Match:
Aziz Behich (Melbourne City) Emma Kocbek Kearney Robinson Tim Danaskos Daniel Elder |
Match rules[11]
|
Second elimination final: Melbourne Victory vs Sydney FC
This match would be the first time Victory would meet Sydney since Patrick Kisnorbo took the job of Sydney FC coach in March of 2026.[12] This was controversial for Victory Fans as he had previously coached victory before shockingly departing the club early on 17 December 2024.[13][14] In the pre-game the camera would pan to show Kisnorbo with a large negative response from the Victory fans. To begin the game Victory would start the game strong but Sydney's defence would hold strong. The half would end scoreless with most chances created by Victory while Sydney's goalkeeper Harrison Devenish-Meares kept a strong performance in goals. This pattern would continue into the second half. Then the referee, after giving a penalty to Victory, as Santos and Paul Okon-Engstler collided, was sent to the pitch-side monitor and decided to overturn his original decision. Three minutes after being substituted on Patrick Wood would capitalise on a mistake by Franco Lino in the 80th minute to put Sydney ahead and would eventually be the difference to win Sydney the game and qualify for the semi final against Newcastle Jets.[9][15]
| Melbourne Victory | 0–1 | Sydney FC |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
     Melbourne Victory
|
 Sydney FC
|
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Man of the Match:
Harrison Devenish-Meares (Sydney FC) Andrew Meimarakis Luke Gennimatas Assistant video assistant referees:[10] Sam Kelly |
Match rules[11]
|
Semi-finals
Summary
| Team 1 | Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newcastle Jets | 2–2 (2–4 p) | Sydney FC | 1–1 | 1–1 (a.e.t.) |
| Adelaide United | 1–4 | Auckland FC | 1–1 | 0–3 |
Matches
First semi-final: Newcastle Jets vs Sydney FC
First leg
| Sydney FC | 1–1 | Newcastle Jets |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Man of the Match:
Wataru Kamijo (Sydney FC) Assistant referees:[16] Ashley Beecham Daniel Ilievski Tim Danaskos |
Match rules[11]
|
Second leg
Sydney FC won 2–2 on aggregate via a 4-2 penalty shootout.
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Match rules[11]
|
Second semi-final: Adelaide United vs Auckland FC
First leg
| Auckland FC | 1–1 | Adelaide United |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Man of the Match:
Harry Crawford (Adelaide United) Anton Shchetinin Astro Sakalis Kearney Robinson Assistant video assistant referees:[16] Sam Kelly |
Match rules[11]
|
Second leg
| Adelaide United | 0–3 | Auckland FC |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
Auckland FC won 4–1 on aggregate.
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Man of the Match:
Sam Cosgrove (Auckland FC)
|
Match rules[11]
|
Grand Final
| Auckland FC | 1–0 | Sydney FC |
|---|---|---|
Howieson  60' |
Report |
Notes
- Each team was given only three opportunities to make substitutions, with a fourth opportunity in extra time, excluding substitutions made at half-time, before the start of extra time and at half-time in extra time.