Graham Arnold sent on two debutants in the second half, midfielders Patrick Yazbek and Josh Nisbet, with the former providing the pass for Iredale, who earned his first cap in Sydney five days before, to extend Australia’s lead to four goals in the 68th minute.

The only sour note for Australia was another injury to Hrustic, who was scythed down by Lebanese midfielder Ali Tneich just moments after assisting Goodwin’s goal with a delightful chip over the top. Hrustic waved away a stretcher that was brought onto the field for him before hobbling off with the assistance of two trainers, unable to put pressure on his left foot.

Arnold will be desperately hoping it is not as serious as it looked, having also lost Riley McGree and Jordan Bos to injuries in Sydney, which ruled them out of this fixture.

“If there was VAR, that was red. It was a pretty horrible tackle,” Arnold said. “He’s hobbling around in the dressing room, so that’s a good sign.”

The win was a precious one for the Socceroos, who have now booked their spot in the third round of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup - to be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico - with two matches left to spare, to be played in the June international window.

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While they were clearly the dominant team, Australia’s performance in the first half left plenty to be desired, with Goodwin seemingly the only player capable of making anything happen in attack; in fact, across the opening 45 minutes, he was the only Socceroo to have completed a successful pass into their own attacking box.

“When I knew Craig Goodwin younger, he doesn’t believe in himself like he does these days,” Arnold said. “Obviously, he’s a top quality player, but he’s a fantastic person and a great leader. His delivery, set pieces, is fantastic, and his finishing, it’s just got better and better as he gets older.”

The floodgates eventually opened after Goodwin’s double-salvo at the start of the second half, but there is work to do for Arnold to iron out the creases in Australia’s game ahead of the commencement of the next round of qualification in September, when the bigger teams in Asia will await.

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The crowd of 25,023 was a record for a football match in Canberra - an impressive turnout, given the relatively low-stakes nature of the match and the late organisation of it, with it being a nominal home match for the Cedars, who were unable to stage the match in Lebanon due to the ongoing conflict in the region.

Vince Rugari travelled to Canberra as a guest of Football Australia.

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