Live: Brazil fans descend on Townsville ahead of Socceroos clash

The Socceroos kick off a two-game international friendly series against five-time world champions Brazil in Townsville.Follow all the action in our live blog.Fri 25 Sep 2026 at 7:01pmFri 25 Sep 2026 at 7:01pmSocceroos teamHere is your Socceroos team for tonight's match.(@Socceroos)Harry Souttar will captain the team, with Lucas Herrington and Alessandro Circati alongside him in the centre of defence, so a back three/five for the Socceroos tonight, with Jacob Italiano and Aziz Behich will occupying the fullback positions, Behich earning his 88th cap in the process.Tete Yengi is getting just his second Socceroos start up top.Fri 25 Sep 2026 at 6:54pmFri 25 Sep 2026 at 6:54pmWhat time is kick off?Kick off in Townsville tonight is at 8:10pm AEST.That means 8:10pm in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, and the ACT.In the Northern Territory and South Australia, kick off is 7:40pm.In Western Australia, kick off is 6:10pm.Fri 25 Sep 2026 at 6:49pmFri 25 Sep 2026 at 6:49pmFirst-time strikers?Here's the three strikers that have been called up to the squad.Eli AdamsStriker, Gamba Osaka (Japan's J1 League), 24 years old.(Getty Images)I've not seen Eli Adams play in person since he was a whipper snapper playing for South West Queensland Thunder in the state leagues.Now, that kid from Toowoomba has all grown up and is thriving in the J-League with Gamba Osaka, having played for the Brisbane Roar, Melbourne Victory and Newcastle Jets in the A-League.He scored 19 goals in 75 A-League appearances, and is yet to get off the mark in Japan for his new club through seven appearances, all but two of which were from the bench.Yaya DukulyStriker, NK Celje (Slovenian PrvaLiga), 23yo.(Getty Images)Dukuly was born in Guinea, a refugee from Liberia before settling in Australia and making his A-Leagues bow with Adelaide United.Predominantly playing on the right side of the attack, Dukuly has played nine games in the Slovenian top flight this season, scoring once in a 3-1 away win over NK Nafta 1903 in August.Marcus YounisStriker, Brøndby (Danish Superliga), 21yo.(Getty Images)Sydney born, Western Sydney Wanderers raised, Marcus Younis is a repeat player through the age-group sides for Australia.He played for WSW in the NPL NSW and the A-League, scoring once in 11 A-League games, before moving on loan to PSV Eindhoven's youth side, Jong PSV. He has since been signed for Brøndby, scoring once in 10 games last season before being sent back to Australia on loan with Melbourne City, for whom he scored 8 goals in 15 games.Fri 25 Sep 2026 at 6:45pmFri 25 Sep 2026 at 6:45pmDebutant defendersHere's a look at our young defenders.Dylan LeonardCentre back, Alemannia Aachen (German 3. Liga), 19yo(Getty Images)A 19yo footballing refugee from Western United, the Melbourne-born teen moved to Germany from the western suburbs in 2025 to sign for Schalke.He has since been sent out on loan to 3.Liga side Alemannia Aachen.Kealey AdamsonRight fullback, QPR (English Championship), 23yo(Getty Images)Adamson, a two-time Australia Cup winner with Sydney FC (2023) and Macarthur (2024), has recently forced his way into the starting line up with the Rs.Kasey BosLeft fullback, Excelsior Rotterdam (Dutch Eredivisie), 22yo(Getty Images)You probably recognise the name... Kasey is the younger brother of World Cup revelation Jordan Bos, who is currently rehabbing a knee injury he suffered against Egypt.After a shoulder injury ruled him out of the first couple of Eredivisie games, Bos the younger has come off the bench four times for Excelsior, playing leftback, rightback and left midfield.Fri 25 Sep 2026 at 6:41pmFri 25 Sep 2026 at 6:41pmJacob Chapman: From mascot to keeperGoalkeeper, St Mirren (Scottish Premiership), 25 years old.(Getty Images)If Sydney's Jacob Chapman gets on the field tonight it won't be the first time he's walked onto the pitch with the Socceroos.When Chapman was 5, he was a mascot at the Sydney Football Stadium for an Asian Cup qualification match against Kuwait."I walked out with Travis Dodd," Chapman told the BBC."We won. I can't remember who it was against, I was so young."My mum actually just sent me the video of it today."Chapman was obviously a lucky charm — Dodd scored the first goal of his international career in that game, becoming the first known Indigenous goal scorer for the Socceroos.The 25-year-old's journey to the Socceroos has seen him ply his trade for Sydney United and Marconi domestically before setting off to Europe, with spells at Huddersfield Town, Ossett United, Gateshead, Salford, Rochdale and Crawley under his belt before a move to Scotland with St Mirren.There he has played seven times in the Scottish Premiership for the Saints, keeping two clean sheets in the process.St Mirren are on a three-game losing streak at the moment though, the most recent reverse a 3-0 thumping at home by Dundee United, following narrow defeats against the Old Firm.Fri 25 Sep 2026 at 6:39pmFri 25 Sep 2026 at 6:39pmSeven debutants named in the squadThere are no fewer than seven (7) debutants that have been named in the Socceroos squad for tonight's match.Dylan Leonard (19 years old), Marcus Younis (21), Kasey Bos (22), Kealey Adamson (23), Yaya Dukuly (23), Eli Adams (24) and Jacob Chapman (25) are the new boys in the squad.Why don't we meet them?Fri 25 Sep 2026 at 6:35pmFri 25 Sep 2026 at 6:35pmWelcome to Townsville(Getty Images)Hello everyone and welcome to tonight's special international friendly clash between the Socceroos and Brazil in Townsville!My name is Simon Smale and I am looking forward to taking you through all the action as it unfolds up in the tropics today, as well as Tuesday's second clash in Brisbane.There is nothing as evocative in the beautiful game as the vibrancy and colour of the Seleção and their supporters.The history, the flamboyance, the jogo bonito, ah it's an elixir that makes it impossible not to fall in love with the sport.I have been fortunate to watch games in Brazil before and I can tell you now that it is simply intoxicating.The atmosphere looks like it's been building up in the north of the state all week for this game, so who am I to deny us the chance to get into things nice and early?