Jedinak does trick as Socceroos make it to Russia

AUSTRALIA captain Mile Jedinak praised the commitment of the squad after his hattrick helped defeat Honduras 3-1 in a play-off in Sydney to secure a place at the 2018 World Cup.

The Socceroos had missed out on automatic qualification after finishing behind Asian Football Confederation rivals Japan and Saudi Arabia, and they therefore went into a regional play-off where they ended Syria’s hopes of advancing further towards Russia.

Ange Postecoglou’s men then returned from Honduras following a scoreless draw in the first leg.

In the end Australia had too much for the Central Americans following an impressive secondhalf display which sparked great celebrations at the ANZ Stadium.

Aston Villa midfielder Jedinak (above) broke the deadlock on 53 minutes with a def lected free-kick, before adding another with a penalty and then clinching his treble five minutes from time when he slotted a second spot-kick.

Honduras captain Maynor Figueroa netted a consolation for the visitors in stoppage time, but the night belonged to Australia as fireworks were set off over the Sydney Harbour Bridge in celebration of clinching a place at a fourth successive World Cup finals.

“It was our duty as a nation of football players to get this job done. We set out on a task two-and-a-half years ago – we stuck to our guns and we got there,” Jedinak said.