Nestory Irankunda scored a second-half double as Australia thrashed Curacao 5-1 in a friendly in Melbourne on Tuesday, giving fans a sweet farewell in their final home match before heading overseas to continue their World Cup buildup.
Livewire forward Irankunda struck twice in a five-minute burst from 80 minutes as the Socceroos ran riot with four goals after the break against the smallest country to qualify for the World Cup finals.
Jordy Bos and Alessandro Circati also grabbed second-half goals at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium after Curacao’s Arjany Martha scored for the visitors on 50 minutes, cancelling out Awer Mabil’s 23rd-minute strike.
It was a more reassuring performance for the Socceroos, who won struggled in a stodgy 1-0 win over Cameroon in a friendly on Friday.
They were also disjointed for much of the first half, struggling with forward transition and needing keeper Mat Ryan to save them twice.
But they settled after 23 minutes with a touch of fortune.
Kai Trewin pressed forward and swooped on a loose pass from Curacao captain Leandro Bacuna, sending a cross in to Deni Juric, whose back-heel took a kind deflection off a defender, allowing Mabil to poke the ball into the right corner.
