So the second eleven of the world's best team beats the reserves from the planet's number 48 ranked side 4-0 in a match that had nothing riding on it - save some pride for the losers, Australia, and a huge Victorian-government subsidised pay cheque for the winners, Brazil.
The Socceroos' bid for direct World Cup qualification has been boosted by Asian rivals Japan being held to a 1-1 draw against Iraq in Tehran.
Football star Cristiano Ronaldo faces a lawsuit filed on Tuesday by Spain's prosecutor's office in Madrid for allegedly defrauding Spanish tax authorities of 14.7 million euros ($16.48 million) between 2011 and 2014.
Ange Postecoglou is always keen to test the Socceroos against the best and on Tuesday night he found out just how good the best can be.
Follow full live coverage as the Socceroos host Brazil in a friendly at the MCG.
A potential Women's World Cup on home soil has Lisa De Vanna wishing she was 10 years younger.
Will it be enough to simply be the best? That much, Australia will discover over the course of the next two years when they go through the process of bidding for the 2023 Women's World Cup that pits them down the windy, murky road of international football politics.
Sydney FC will retain the core of their A-League winning side after David Carney signed a new contract on Tuesday.
The battle for the hearts and minds of elite female athletes has been fierce and frantic in the past few years.
They say you should never go back, but it's a rule that doesn't seem to apply at Australia's biggest A-League club, Melbourne Victory.
Australia will launch a bid to host the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup which will be fully supported by the federal government.
The Socceroos will contest the Confederations Cup without their skipper after Mile Jedinak was sent home to properly recover from the groin injury that disrupted his English Championship season.
The Socceroos coach is in the unusual position of using Brazil as trial match opponents.
Deadlocked with Australia and Saudi Arabia in World Cup qualifying, Asian football powerhouse Japan have a chance to break free at the top of Group B when they come up against Iraq.
Socceroo legend Tim Cahill is more aware of his sporting mortality than anyone else.
A first-half goal from Dominic Calvert-Lewin gave England a 1-0 win over Venezuela in the 2017 Under-20 World Cup final.
Socceroo Trent Sainsbury is not happy with negative commentary about the Socceroos.
Socceroos boss Ange Postecoglou has said that every one of his 23-man squad will see some game time in the frantic three weeks of action that kicked off with Australia's win over Saudi Arabia last Thursday.
Harry Kane's stoppage-time goal gave England a 2-2 draw with Scotland in World Cup qualifying. Tottenham's Kane volleyed home Raheem Sterling's long cross in the 93rd minute to cap off a frantic finish.
​Jackson Irvine insists the Socceroos' inferiority complex is consigned to the past as Australia prepare to go hard at world No.1 Brazil before tackling more global heavy-hitters at the Confederations Cup.
Well, facing world powerhouse Brazil on Tuesday night might not be everyone's idea of a party, but in the context of the Socceroos itinerary, a meeting with the Selecao in front of a big crowd at the MCG with nothing much at stake might feel like light relief.
Ola Toivonen scored from the halfway line as Sweden grabbed a stoppage-time 2-1 win over France after a blunder by keeper Hugo Lloris, while Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as European champions Portugal won 3-0 at Latvia in World Cup qualifiers.
The Lionel Messi-led Argentina saw off their old rivals Brazil, winning 1-0 through a Gabriel Mercado goal just before the interval in front of more than 95,000 fans at the MCG in a quality friendly on Friday night.
Apparently you still need a Sherrin to sell the Socceroos to Victorians.
At this stage of the game, when World Cup qualification is balanced on a knife edge, a win is a win and the three points are all that matter – whether they are won with style or secured in ugly fashion.
The Saudis were in our country and that makes what they did grossly disrespectful.
There are inadvertent breaches of protocol. There are cultural misunderstandings. Such things are inevitable in international sport. But there is also downright insensitivity.
The move caused outrage among fans on social media, who accused the Saudis of failing to show respect.
Australian soccer chiefs on Thursday night sought to defuse growing outrage over what UK media has characterised as a Saudi Arabian snub for the memories of the eight victims of last weekend's London terrorist attack.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is not expected to be offered a new contract by Manchester United with the club's 'retained list' set to be published imminently.