India's head-to-head record against AFC Asian Cup Group B opponents Australia

India have a decent past record against Australia.

India have been drawn in Group B with Australia, Uzbekistan and Syria in the recently concluded AFC Asian Cup 2023 draw. Graham Arnold’s Australia - who made the pre-quarterfinals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup - is by far their strongest opponent in Group B. The Socceroos will be captained by goalkeeper Mathew Ryan who also featured in the side when they won the 2015 edition of the AFC Asian Cup.

In this piece, we will take a look at the India’s previous encounters against the Socceroos.

India 0-4 Australia (January 10, 2011)

In the most recent encounter between the two sides, the Socceroos recorded a convincing 4-0 victory with Harry Kewell, Brett Holman, and Tim Cahill (with a brace) featuring on the scorecard. The scoreline could have been worse if not for goalkeeper Subrata Paul's brilliant performance. Sunil Chhetri was part of the Blue Tigers' XI and forced the only serious save Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer had to make, six minutes from full-time.

This was India’s first match in Group C following the national team’s return to the AFC Asian Cup after a 27-year hiatus. Following losses to Bahrain (2-5) and South Korea (1-4), India’s run in the 2011 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar came to an end.

India 7-1 Australia (December 12, 1956)

This match was the result of the Australian football team's belief that their 4-2 defeat to India at home in the recently concluded 1956 Summer Olympics was a fluke. So they demanded a rematch and Rahim saab’s Indian side proved why they are still considered the ‘golden generation’ of Indian football.

In the 1950s, India under Syed Abul Rahim, widely considered the architect of modern Indian football, was a force to reckon with. This rematch, held at the Sydney Sports Ground, saw Pradip Kumar Banerjee, Neville D’Souza and J Krishnaswamy (better known as Kittu) score braces and captain Samar Banerjee netting a goal. This is India’s biggest victory against Australia in men’s football.

India 4-2 Australia (December 1, 1956)

India’s most memorable match against Australia was undoubtedly in the 1956 Summer Olympics when the two teams went head to head in the quarter-finals. Interestingly, the venue of the QF clash was the Melbourne Cricket Ground, where Indians and Australians had seen their cricket teams face each other several times. 

While India were somewhat lucky to get a walkover against Hungary who withdrew due to internal political upheaval, Australia had progressed after defeating Japan 2-0. But it only took the Blue Tigers nine minutes to open the scoring when Neville D’Souza scored a rebound from Samar Banerjee’s strong effort that crashed off the post.

D’Souza went on to score a hat-trick which ultimately helped him finish joint top-scorer with four goals at the 1956 Summer Olympics. His other goal came in the 4-1 semi-final loss against Yugoslavia, where he scored a goal for the ages. Kittu capped off the scoring in the 80th minute with a lob over goalkeeper Lord after a 25-yard sprint.

This encounter was India’s last victory in what is widely considered the men’s football team’s best-ever campaign.

1938 tour of Australia

The only time the two sides faced each other before the 1956 Summer Olympics was during India’s tour of Australia where the Blue Tigers played several matches against Australian clubs and the national side. This was the first time an Indian football team travelled internationally to face another national team.

The five matches between the Indian national team and the Australian national team saw 34 goals being scored. Although there is very little data on match details and scorers, it is known that India lost the first match 3-5, drew 4-4 in the second, won the third match 4-1, lost the fourth match 5-4 and lost 3-1 in the last.

The Blue Tigers had little cause for the shame though, as they had only just entered the international football stage. In fact, the players had to play an eighty-minute game which was the result of a compromise because they usually played 30 minute halves back in India.

The Indian and Australian sides going head-to-head on January 13th, 2024 in Group B of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup have nothing in common with the teams they had in their previous meetings. The Blue Tigers will have a tough time facing the Socceroos who appeared in the 2022 FIFA World Cup Round of 16 in Qatar, an achievement very few Asian teams can boast of.