TPO Rankings Daily Briefing: Recent Episodes

TPO Rankings

Your quick, 60-second daily dose of Australian Football!

Just a heads up that this will be our last Daily Briefing for the year - more on that at the end of today’s briefing.

It’ll be a rematch of last years FFA Cup Final with Adelaide to face Sydney FC after Sydney got over their cross town rivals Western Sydney Wanderers 3 nil last night in the second semi final. We had to wait until the second half to see any goals with Bahagiar breaking the deadlock in the 49th minute. De Jong scored a cracker of a free kick in the 64th minute and Le Fondre wrapped things up from the spot in the 75th minute.

Heading overseas and Mat Ryan's Brighton recorded their first Premier League win since August 19 as they overcame West Ham United 1-0. And an under-strength Matildas have suffered a 2-0 defeat against 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup hosts France in an international in Saint Etienne.

Missing rested headline names such as Sam Kerr, Alanna Kennedy, Lydia Williams and Emily van Egmond, the Matildas rode their luck at times to avoid a hefty defeat. Australia went into the match having suffered just one loss in the last eight outings, but their rejigged backline was under constant pressure with France dominating possession.

As mentioned at the top of the briefing, this will wrap up this season’s coverage - Jake and I are going to take a few months off from both our weekly show and the daily briefing. Thanks for listening, be sure to keep up to date on Facebook and Instagram and we look forward to ramping things back up early next year.

The first of the FFA Cup Semi Finals took place on Friday night, and it was Adelaide United who progressed to the Final for the third time, defeating Bentleigh Greens 2-0. Adelaide looked in control for most of the game, with Goals to Ben Halloran and Jordan Elsey propelling the Reds to their comfortable win. Head Coach Marco Kurz now findes himself in his second Cup final in as many seasons with Adelaide.

Former A-League boss Archie Fraser has put his hand up to help Football Federation Australia reinvent itself in the post-Steven Lowy era. Fraser quit the governing body after just 12 months in the job back in 2011, disillusioned with the direction taken by the FFA board and with a belief that his “hands were tied behind his back”. He’s been an avid observer of the game’s administrative misfortunes ever since, and a staunch critic of the Lowy-led regime.

Hibernian player, Martin Boyle, is set to "pledge his allegiance" to Australia when he is tipped to be named in Graham Arnold's Socceroos training camp squad in the UAE next month. "Red tape" means the 25-year-old Aberdeen born Boyle will be unable to play in the match against Kuwait while the paperwork to determine his eligibility to play for Australia - due to the Australian birth of his father - is dealt with.

Keisuke Honda has netted his first goal in Melbourne Victory colours. The Japanese star fired home a first half penalty during Victory’s 3-1 behind-closed-doors friendly defeat to Wellington Phoenix earlier today. While Honda’s debut strike for Victory will take the headlines from the Wellington clash, the New Zealanders will undoubtedly be buoyed by a fine performance against the reigning Hyundai A-League Champions. A strong, defensive showing from Mark Rudan's men was highlighted by a hat-trick from Phoenix star Roy Krishna, who struck a first-half penalty and put away two second-half efforts to seal a confidence boosting friendly win.

The Western Sydney Wanderers have signed Rashid Mahazi for the 2018/19 A-League season.

Mahazi joins the Wanderers from Victorian NPL club Moreland Zebras. The defensive midfielder has had a wealth of experience in the A-League, having played in over 90 matches for Melbourne Victory, winning both the Championship and Premiership in 2014/15 as well as the FFA Cup in 2015.

Dimi Petratos will be a Newcastle Jet until at least the end of the A-League 2021/22 season.

An upgraded and extended contract was locked in today by the 25-year-old, who won a bunch of individual accolades last season and starred in the Novocastrians' remarkable 2017/18 campaign.

Promising Sydney FC defender Ben Warland has been ruled out of action for up to three months with a foot fracture. Recruited from Adelaide United in the middle of last season, Warland is considered an important member of the Sky Blues' defensive rotation but they could now be without the 22-year-old until early 2019.

Harry Kewell's Notts County earned consecutive League Two victories for the first time this season after the Magpies cruised past former club Crawley Town 3-1 at Meadow Lane. With Notts now in the midst of a four-match unbeaten run, it appears Kewell has turned the corner at the club. And with it being a slow news day, I’m going to give you an update of the TPO Rankings based on the FFA Cup and NPL Championship results. With Bentleigh Greens defeating Heidleberg United in the FFA Cup last week, Bentleigh move up to 9th on the TPO Rankings, and are now the highest ranked NPL club in Australia. Heidelberg United remain in 11th. APIA’s loss to Adelaide United means that they drop down to 10th, and Adelaide have moved ahead of Melbourne City and are now the 3rd best club in the country. And after Campbelltown were crowned 2018 NPL Champions with their defeat of Lions FC, they move up to 14th in the rankings ahead of Central Coast Mariners. Lions FC, on the other hand, drop one place to 18

Today’s news is dominated by FFAs governance of Australian Football, but first a little bit of signing news.

Jason Hoffman and Nigel Boogaard who were instrumental in the Jets’ charge to the 2017-18 grand final and have both signed on for another two seasons.

And now on to the main news that has dominated headlines in the last day or so. In true TPO Rankings Daily Briefing style - we’ll do our best to keep it short. Australian football will travel a new road when Steven Lowy stands down as FFA chairman and a new board and Congress come into being. The Football Federation Australia extraordinary general meeting on Tuesday has the potential to re-cast the sport in Australia.

Here's what the changes will mean...

Socceroos captain Mile Jedinak has announced his retirement from international football effective immediately. After 79 caps, 20 goals, three FIFA World Cup appearances and an Asian Cup triumph, Jedinak has decided to call time on his international career.

Jedinak made his international debut in 2008 a friendly against Singapore. In 2014 he was appointed captain by then-coach Ange Postecoglou ahead of the World Cup in Brazil. Football fans have used the hashtag #ThanksMile to congratulate outgoing captain Mile Jedinak on his storied Socceroos career.

Australia will play at the under-17 FIFA World Cup in Peru next year after qualifying for the first time since 2015. The Joeys defeated Indonesia 3-2 in a thrilling match in front of a hostile pro-Indonesia crowd in Kuala Lumpur to progress to the semi-finals of the AFC under-16 championships.

Congratulations to Campbelltown City who are the 2018 NPL Champions after beating QLD NPL Champions Lions in the Grand Final yesterday. Campbelltown scored in the 5th and 32nd minute to lead 2 nil at half time. Lions got one back early in the second half, but it wasn’t enough as Campbelltown held on to win 2-1. Not only are they crowned champions, but they have also won themselves a place in next years FFA Cup round of 32.

A peace agreement has been reached that could end Australian football's long-running governance saga. Barring a last-minute intervention by FFA chairman Steven Lowy, the agreement on changes to the FFA Constitution could be ratified this week.

FFA members say the fresh agreement reaches a consensus position on the future governance of the sport in Australia.

Socceroos star Mathew Leckie had a season debut to remember as Hertha Berlin defeated defending Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich 2-0 on Saturday The surprise win was Hertha's first over the Bavarian giants in nine years and came courtesy of first-half goals to Vedad Ibisevic and Ondrej Duda.

Socceroos captain Mile Jedinak had a more difficult time of things with Aston Villa, settling for a 1-1 draw away to a Bailey Wright-less Bristol City in the Championship.

Sydney FC has, once again, thrown down the gauntlet to its W-League rivals ahead of the 2018/19 W-League season, announcing the arrival of a trio of American stars ahead of the upcoming campaign. Following on from publicizing the capture of a number of Matildas standouts earlier in the month, Sydney on Friday afternoon announced that NWSL stars Sofia Huerta, Danielle Colaprico and Aubrey Bledsoe would all be making their way harbourside in 2018/19.

Former Celta Vigo midfielder Alex Lopez has signed for Brisbane Roar, subject to completing a medical. Most recently on the books of Sporting Gijon, the 30-year-old joins John Aloisi's side after a long and successful career in Spain. Lopez spent a significant portion of his career at La Liga side Celta Vigo but recently enjoyed loan stints at second-tier side Real Valladolid and English Championship outfit Sheffield Wednesday.

With Australian football governance’s D-Day imminent, the Football Federation Australia (FFA) Board on Friday evening once again outlined its position, releasing an information statement sent to member federations to the public.

Australia are through to the quarter-finals of the AFC Under-16 Championship after defeating Afghanistan 4-0 in the final match of Group D in Malaysia. The Joeys will face Indonesia in the last eight on Monday night. Should they win that match they will not only be through to the semi-finals but also qualify for the U17 FIFA World Cup.

We start with some overseas Socceroos news as Mustafa Amini scored a double for AGF Aarhus in a Danish Cup tie. Amini also turned provider for the next goal and AGF eventually strolled to a 5-1 win.

Trent Sainsbury scored his first ever goal for PSV Eindhoven as they beat Excelsior Maassluis 4-0 away from home in the Dutch Cup. Sainsbury netted from a set piece in the 44th minute.

The match was also significant for Aziz Behich, who made his debut for PSV and played 90 minutes, receiving a yellow card in the 34th minute. Milos Degenek played 90 minutes for Red Star Belgrade in a 3-0 win over Napredak, with the Serbian champions now having not lost a match since March.

And Adam Federici conceded three goals in Stoke City's 3-2 defeat away to Nottingham Forest in the EFL Cup.

Panthers Stadium will host the FFA Cup semi-final derby between defending champions Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers on October 6.

The last two FFA Cup Quarter Finals were played tonight. In the first, APIA Leichhardt hosted Adelaide United, with many believing the hosts could cause another Cupset, after they knocked out Melbourne Victory in the previous round. After a scoreless first half, APIA started to get on top, before a Craig Goodwin screamer gave Adelaide the lead. From there only one team looked like winning, and a second Adelaide goal from Boland secured the A-League side a 2-0 win. The other game was an all VIC NPL affair, with Bentleigh Greens hosting recently-crowned Champions, Heidelberg United. The game was a tight one, with a late goal proving the difference - Bentleigh moving onto the Semi-Finals with a 1-0 win courtesy of an 86th minute winner. Speaking of the Semi-Finals, the draw was conducted right after the two games concluded. The two Semi Finals will be Bentleigh Greens vs Adelaide United, & Western Sydney Wanderers vs Sydney FC.

Former Roar and Mariners attacker Peter Skapetis Signed with NPL Victoria side Dandenong Thunder.

Signing with the Brisbane Roar ahead of the 2017-18 season, Skapetis made 14 appearances for the Roar before making a midseason move to the Central Coast Mariners. He went on to make a further five A-League appearances in Gosford, scoring in the Mariners Round 19 loss to Western Sydney Wanderers before his contract expired at the end of the season.

Bentleigh Greens coach John Anastasiadis says he is pleased Adelaide United counterpart Marco Kurz shone the spotlight on the quality of National Premier League grounds.

Kurz branded the quality of NPL surfaces generally as “sh*t”, and said they had made it difficult for the Reds to recruit players plying their trade in the local NPL SA competition.

The prospect of music during corners, goal kicks and substitutions at A-League matches appears dead in the water after clubs distanced themselves from the radical measures. All but two Australian clubs have categorically ruled out the controversial in-game entertainment. The two on the fence, Adelaide United and Central Coast, also say they're unlikely to adopt the divisive party-starters.

Hibernian winger Martin Boyle is primed to make his international debut for Australia, after accepting an approach from Graham Arnold to join his squad for next month’s friendly against Kuwait. Boyle, who can operate on either flank and has two goals in six league appearances this season, was on the cusp of a Scotland call-up before injury intervened at the end of last season. But now Arnold has pounced to try and lock Boyle down ahead of January’s AFC Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates.

Heidelberg are Victorian NPL champions after they defeated Avondale 2-1 in the grand final yesterday. 2 unanswered first half goals gave them the lead heading into the sheds. Avondale surged in the second half and got one back in the 78th minute, but it wasn’t enough. Congratulations to Heidelberg.

Green Gully will remain in the Victorian NPL next season after an unbelievable comeback win against Moreland City. City scored in the 89th minute to go 2 nil up but Green Gully scored 2 goals in injury time to send the game into extra time. A 117th minute goal won the game for Green Gully and a spot in the NPL next season.

We’ll finish with the Illawarra Premier League Grand Final where Bulli FC have broken a 32 year grand final hoodoo with a 3-2 win over Wollongong United. Bulli took a 2 nil lead and it looked to be going to extra time after Wollongong brought it back to 2 all. With only a minute left on the clock, Bulli scored to win 3-2.

Retired Socceroo Harry Kewell will become the first footballer inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame (SAHOF) in 22 years, joining Peter Wilson, Ray Baartz, John Warren, Joe Marston and Alfred Quill.

In the NPL Championship Semi Final, a 93rd minute penalty proved the difference as South Australia’s Campbelltown City defeated Sydney Olympic to set up a Grand Final next weekend against Lions FC.

In the Illawarra District League Grand Final, Coniston has finished off a great year which already included the Premiership and promotion to next years Premier League, with a 3-0 win, adding the Championship to their trophy cabinet.

And in the Victorian NPL2 Grand Final, Dandenong City has beaten Altona Magic 3-1, despite playing most of the game with 10 men.

Socceroos goalkeeper Danny Vukovic made a strong start to life in the UEFA Europa League, keeping a clean sheet for KRC Genk in their 2-0 win against Malmo.

And with not a lot of other news worth mentioning, let’s take a look ahead to a couple of important games to be played on Saturday. Firstly to the Victorian NPL2 Grand Final between Altona Magic and Dandenong City. Altona were the Western Conference Champions and Dandenong City the Eastern Conference Champions, both finishing well ahead of the 2nd place teams. The game will kickoff at 5pm at ABD Stadium. Next in Football South Coast’s District League Grand Final, where Premiers Coniston will play 3rd placed Warilla Wanderers at 3pm. And finally in the NPL Championship Series, the 2nd Semi Final between Sydney Olympic and Campbelltown will take place from 3pm. You can watch the live stream of this game on the Hyundai A-League Facebook page.

Central Coast have landed Ross McCormack and Tommy Oar to bolster their attack a month out from their A-League season opener.

The Mariners have brought in Scottish striker McCormack on a season-long loan deal from Aston Villa and Socceroos attacker Oar on a two-year deal. McCormack was the A-League's equal-third leading scorer last season with 14 goals in 17 appearances for Melbourne City.

Football Federation Australia's search for a new technical director has ramped up with the appointment of a three-person panel to lead the hunt. Former Matilda Rae Dower, former Socceroo Tony Vidmar and Professional Footballers Australia chief executive John Didulica will form the panel.

They will also be advised by Socceroos coach Graham Arnold, his Matildas counterpart Alen Stajcic and the Asian Football Confederation's technical director Andy Roxburgh.

And we’ll finish with some overseas news as a Massimo Luongo goal has helped give QPR...

The FFA Cup Quarter Finals kicked off on Wednesday night with two games.

Melbourne City 1-2 Western Sydney Wanderers Avondale 2-4 Sydney FC (AET)

Newcastle Jets have announced the signing of Kaine Sheppard on a one-year deal from NPL Victoria club Avondale FC. The talented 24-year-old striker joins the Jets after hitting 20 goals in 26 appearances this season. Sheppard also guided Avondale to the FFA Cup 2018 Quarter Finals, finding the back of the net in 4-1 victories over Marconi Stallions and Devonport City respectively.

Lions beat Heidelberg
Curtis Good to City
Martins declines Phoenix
Sainsbury and Behich sit on bench as Messi scores hat trick
FFA Cup tonight

A tug-of-war has erupted between Australia and England for rising star and Manchester City rookie Alex Robertson, who is making waves in English football at the age of just 15. Such is the intensity of competition for the allegiance of the Scotland-born but Australia-raised midfielder, that Australia coach Graham Arnold took the unprecedented step of inviting him to join his Turkey-based camp for Socceroos present - and future - earlier this month. Football Federation Australia received a letter back from City claiming that Robertson - whose father Mark and grandfather Alex both played for the green and gold - was injured. Robertson is also eligible to play for Scotland and Peru, courtesy of his mother.

Robbie Kruse enjoyed an excellent outing for VfL Bochum, scoring and assisting in their crushing 6-0 win over Ingolstadt. Kruse played the full 90 minutes in the victory that brings Bochum up to second on the 2.Bundesliga table.

In the last of the first round of the npl finals series games Sydney Olympic have prevailed over Perth Soccer Club 1 nil in Sydney yesterday afternoon. They will now face Campbelltown City in the semi final, while Heidelberg will take on Lions this Tuesday night in QLD. We’ve updated the TPO Rankings - which as always can be found at tporankings.com - and here’s a few updates. APIA are the highest non-A-league team in at 9th, followed up by 3 Victorian NPL sides with Bentleigh at 10th, Heidelberg in 11th and Avondale in 12th. Wellington Phoenix arre 13th, Sydney Olympic are rewarded with their awesome year up in 14th, Central Coast Mariners are 15th, Lions 16th and Campbelltown City are in 17th. And it’s for the best that I’m recording today’s briefing, not Jake - as I’m sure you’d be able to sense his disgust at this following news from the FFA.

We start with the NPL Finals Series where South Australia’s Premiers and Champions Campbelltown City have beaten ACT’s representative Canberra FC 3 nil.

In yesterday’s other NPL Finals game which was held in QLD, Lions beat Northern New South Wales Premiers Edgeworth Eagles 1 nil thanks to a goal in the 4th minute.

Moreland City have set up a promotion/relegation battle with Green Gully after they beat St Albans Saints 4-1 yesterday. The equation is simple, whoever wins next weekend is in the VIC NPL next year.

And if you haven’t heard - APIA Leichhardt are doing their best to bring Totti to Australia for their FFA Cup game against Adelaide United on September 26.

The 2 Victorian NPL semi finals were played overnight. If you can get over to facebook you’re going to want to watch the reply of the last few minutes of the Bentleigh v Avondale game. It finished 1-1 after 90 minutes thanks to a first half Chris Lucas goal for Bentleigh and an equaliser in the 48th minute from Katebian. In extra time Lucas scored his second and then third to go 3-1 up with only 5 minutes to play. With 1 minute of normal time remaining Avondale got their second through an own goal and then it got crazy. In injury time of extra time, Avondale scored twice more (one of these another own goal) to finish the game 4-3 winners and to progress to next weeks grand final. Apparently there were light outages during the game too - what a game....

Wellington Phoenix are hoping to use the A-League's marquee fund to help mount a bid for former Inter Milan and Newcastle United star Obafemi Martins. The Phoenix have received the green light from Football Federation Australia to pursue Martins, who is currently contracted to Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua. It comes after Wellington's previous attempt at signing Michael Essien fell flat, but they remain firmly in the market for a big-name recruit at the right price. Former Manchester United fringe defender Ritchie De Laet has been linked with Melbourne City in a move that would reunite the Belgian with coach Warren Joyce.

Capped twice by Belgium, De Laet is currently on the books of Aston Villa - whom he joined from Leicester in 2016. However a switch to City - most likely on loan - is looking increasingly likely for De Laet, whose contract expires in mid-2019.

Sydney FC could find themselves taking on FIFA World Cup winner Andrea Pirlo in the FFA Cup next week, with opponents Avondale FC confirming they have approached the Italian football legend to play for the club.

Sam Kerr’s star is set to shine even brighter with the Matildas striker to feature in sportswear giant Nike’s latest global advertising campaign. The minute long commercial ‘Rallying Cry’ shows Kerr in action for the Matildas alongside clips of tennis great Serena Williams and Australian boxer-turned-AFLW-player Tayla Harris.

Ex-Western Sydney Wanderers and Perth Glory defender Michael Thwaite is ready to share his experience after reuniting with Kristian Rees at former club Gold Coast United. Thwaite has re-joined the side he formerly skippered in the Hyundai A-League to lend a professional edge to next season's NPL Queensland assault.

Adelaide United legend Aurelio Vidmar has returned to the club on the Reds’ 15th anniversary as Director of Football, it has been announced.

Young prospects Joel King and Cameron Devlin have earned call ups to the senior ranks of defending Hyundai A-League Premiers Sydney FC. The Young Socceroos duo have signed contracts to join up with Steve Corica's first team squad for the 2018/19 season, while three other academy starlets have been handed Hyundai A-League scholarships.

Perth Glory has won the race to sign Chris Ikonomidis, with the winger becoming the fourth Caltex Socceroo to join the club in the Hyundai A-League off-season.

The 23-year-old joins defenders Matthew Spiranovic, Ivan Franjic and Jason Davidson as Caltex Socceroos to have joined the Tony Popovic revolution in the west.

Melbourne City have moved to replace the recently departed Dean Bouzanis with fringe Socceroos goalkeeper Mark Birighitti. The 27-year-old has signed a three-year deal, returning to Australia after two years abroad.

A rather slow day in Australian football news - regardless we push on - let’s get into it.

Former Socceroos Coach Guus Hiddink has been tasked with ensuring China qualify for the finals of the 2020 Olympic Games football tournament after the former Real Madrid and Netherlands coach was handed the reins of the country's under 21 team on Monday.

Trent Sainsbury, who is part of Graham Arnold’s Socceroos squad in Turkey – is buzzing to get going in Europe.

And to do it all alongside Behich will only add to the experience, he says.

“It’s a crazy group that we’ve been drawn in, but getting to walk out there to that theme song, it’s the stuff you dream of as a kid,” the defender explained.

“Being able to do it alongside a fellow Aussie, that’s something special. Just a reminder - PSV have been drawn in Champions League Group B alongside Barcelona, Tottenham Hotspur and Inter Milan.

Yesterday there were 2 big NPL Grand Finals - one in QLD and the other in NSW. Let’s start with QLD where Premiers Lions, in their first year in the NPL took on Olympic. Jake and I were lucky enough to get to the game along with a couple of thousand supporters. Olympic were the better side in the first half and were rewarded with a 13th minute goal by Steve Whyte. Lions game out of the half the stronger side and equalised through a Nathan Reardon header. The game headed to extra time where a 95th minute header by Lions striker Madle was enough to get them over the line and to become champions in 2018.

To the NSW NPL Grand Final and it was 2 giants of Australian Football - Sydney Olympic v APIA Leichhardt. Olympic took an early lead, scoring in the 4th minute. They then doubled their lead in the 35th minute and went in to the sheds at half time 2 nil up. They went 3 nil up in the 75th minute and the only slight...

Today we wrap up all the Grand Finals around the country:

Canberra Olympic 1-2 Canberra FC Edgeworth Eagles 0-3 Broadmeadow Magic Perth Glory Youth 1-4 Perth SC Peninsula Power 2-0 Eastern Suburbs

And in other NPL results: Avondale 3-1 Port Melbourne Sharks (Qualifying Final)

NPL Championship: Devonport Strikers 2-3 Heidelberg United

Oakleigh Cannons are through to the Victorian NPL Semi Finals after beating Pascoe Vale 2-1. They will have to wait to see who wins out of today’s game between Avondale and Port Melbourne Sharks to know if they will face Heidelberg or Bentleigh Greens.

Former Socceroo Tommy Oar is set to return to the A-League with the Central Coast Mariners after leaving his club in Cyprus.

Oar was on the outer at the Cypriot champions, only playing 19 matches during his first season with the club and being left out of the Champions League squad.

Sport Australia has waded into the FFA congress war, with CEO Kate Palmer declaring that Sport Australia does not support governance changes proposed by a FIFA-backed working group.

The working group’s proposals are due to be put to a vote at an FFA extraordinary general meeting later this month...

Yesterday Jake reported that Arzani was overlooked for Celtic’s 43-man Europa League squad - today we have an update. Coach Chris Davies has responded to questions saying Arzani’s exclusion is because of a lack of fitness.

Central Coast are in talks to bring former Melbourne City player Ross McCormack back to the A-League.

The Mariners have two vacant slots for marquee players and are hoping to use one of them on Scottish striker McCormack to lead their attack this season.

SBS have announced the return of the W-League for the 2018-19 season, with matches to be shown LIVE, FREE on SBS VICELAND and streamed via The World Game website and app.

Following his disappointment at the Brisbane Strikers pulling their A-League bid, Cameron Atfield states that Brisbane City also pulling out is the perfect opportunity for Brisbane to address its stadium issues and build a boutique rectangular stadium. He believes the Women's World Cup bid presents that opportunity.

Socceroos star Daniel Arzani has been left out of Celtic's 43-man squad for their upcoming UEFA Europa League campaign.

FFA confirmed on Wednesday in a statement that it would conduct a review of the National Club Identity Policy (NCIP).

The NPL Championship kicks off this weekend when Devonport Strikers FC from Tasmania host last year’s Champions Heidelberg United FC from Victoria at Valley Road in the first of the Elimination Finals.

Riley McGree has been nominated for the 2018 FIFA Puskas Award for his ‘scorpion kick’ goal in the 2018 Hyundai A-League Semi Final. The 19-year-old’s incredible backheel effort, which went viral around the world, will be judged against nine other strikes for the honour of the most beautiful goal of the year. McGree’s stunning goal will vie with Champions League overhead kicks from Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, and dazzling efforts from Lionel Messi and Mohamed Salah. However, the Melbourne City midfielder’s goal is eerily similar to Olivier Giroud’s scorpion kick against Crystal Palace, which won the 2017 FIFA Puskas Award.

In case you missed it, Tim Cahill has joined the Indian Super League to play with Jamshedpur FC.

Dimi Petratos has withdrawn from the Socceroos Turkey training camp due to an ankle injury.

The Matildas' World Cup preparations will return to home soil in November for a two-game series against Chile.

The matches will take place at Panthers Stadium in Penrith on Saturday, November 10 and Newcastle's McDonald Jones Stadium on Tuesday, November 13.

Melbourne Victory have strengthened their midfield ranks with the loan signing of Raul Baena from Spanish side Granada.

That’s their fourth visa player of the off-season as Baena joins Honda, Ola Toivonen and Georg Niedermeier as new faces in Kevin Muscat’s side for the 2018/19 season.The 29-year-old, who has appeared in more than 150 La Liga games, will begin his one-season loan spell next week, subject to completion of a medical, and Muscat was delighted to get the deal over the line.

Sunday NPL Results - let’s get on with it. The last round of the Victorian NPL was played yesterday - all games at 3pm. Here’s your results:

Northcote City 2 - 1 Oakleigh Cannons
Heidelberg 2 - 3 Avondale
South Melbourne 0 - 1 Port Melbourne Sharks
Pascoe Vale 1 - 1 Hume City
Melbourne Knights 1 - 2 Dandenong Thunder
Green Gully 1 - 3 Kingston City
Bentleigh Greens 6 - 2 Bulleen Lions

So it’s Port Melbourne Sharks who sneak into the 6th finals spot and will play Avondale in the Qualifying Finals. Pascoe Vale will play Oakleigh Cannons in the other Qualifying Finals with Bentleigh and Heidelberg getting the weekend off. At the other end it’s Green Gully who end up in the play off relegation spot.

It’s Broadmeadow Magic who will face Edgeworth Eagles in the NNSW NPL Grand final after they beat Maitland FC 3-2 over the two legs. Maitland won 1 nil yesterday, but it wasn’t enough.

And we’ll finish in QLD where it’s a Lions v Olympic grand final next weekend...

Today we look at all the Saturday NPL results, and for most States that means finals football!

Harry Kewell has taken on his second management job after being hired as coach of the last-place team in England's four professional leagues Notts County, who are last in the fourth division.

Kewell's first senior management role was at Crawley Town, who he guided to a 14th-place finish in the fourth tier last season. The former Liverpool and Leeds winger agreed to a compensation fee with Crawley allowing him to join Notts County. Melbourne Victory have announced the signing of star Swedish striker Ola Toivonen on a two-year contract. An accomplished striker at both club and international level, Toivonen was one of the most prominent Swedish players at the World Cup, scoring for Sweden against Germany in Russia First-choice Melbourne City goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis has departed the A-League on a loan move to Europe.

The 27-year-old heads overseas, a decade after failing to make it at English giants Liverpool as a highly rated youngster.

Graham Arnold's first Socceroos squad features just one A-League player among the 31 names heading to a week-long training camp next week.

Dimi Petratos is the sole Australian-based name among the group returning to Turkey - the site of their pre-World Cup training camp. Uncapped players Denis Genreau, Ben Garuccio, Kenneth Dougall, John Iredale and Awer Mabil are among the names that will get the chance to forge international careers under Arnold.

Arnold has also restored Alex Gersbach, Bailey Wright and Mitchell Langerak to the national setup.

Melbourne City have bolstered their midfield stocks for the Hyundai A-League 2018/19 Season with the signing of playmaker Florin Berenguer. The 29-year-old joins City with more than 200 games of experience in France's French Ligue 1 and Ligue 2.

And there goes another big night off FFA Cup. This time there were no real surprises - let’s have a look at the results and then the quarter final draw that was help after the games.

Heidelberg dispatched of Adelaide Comets 4 nil, Western Sydney Wanderers beat Bonnyrigg White Eagles 2-1, Melbourne City beat Newcastle Jets 1 nil and Adelaide United might consider themselves lucky, beating Lions FC 1 nil.

And in the next round of the FFA Cup we will see Melbourne City v Western Sydney Wanderers Bentleigh Greens v Heidelberg United APIA Leichhardt v Adelaide United Avondale v Sydney FC

Brisbane Roar have added experienced mentor Darren Davies to their coaching staff for the Hyundai A-League 2018/19 Season. Davies has an impressive resume, including six seasons at Melbourne Victory where he worked under both Ange Postecoglou and Kevin Muscat, while he was also a part of the coaching staff for the Caltex Socceroos at the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup. He also worked as a Head Coach at the Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS), taking charge of future Hyundai A-League players such as Brandon Borrello.

Sydney FC midfielder Paulo Retre has renewed his contract with the club and extended it for a further year, the club revealed this afternoon. It will take him to the end of the Hyundai A-League 2019/20 season.

Usain Bolt admits ‘there will be nerves’ as he takes the first step of his fledgling professional football career by running out as a Central Coast Mariners player on Friday.

Just one game played on Monday night, and it was in Victoria where Bulleen Lions picked up a rare win over Melbourne Knights 1-0. The game finished with 19 players on the field after three red cards were dished out, along with Bulleen’s coach being sent from the team area. The win does nothing to save Bulleen from relegation, but it makes the Knights job of making the Finals a lot more difficult.

Former Socceroo and Sydney FC defender Luke Wilkshire has been lined up to coach Wollongong Wolves next season The A-League aspirants are facing a major shakeup after coach Jacob Timpano elected to step down after more than three years at the helm of the NPL club. According to the Illawarra Mercury ex-Leeds striker Michael Bridges, who was previously on the coaching staff at Newcastle Jets, will assist the 36-year-old Wilkshire.

And we count down the Top 20 clubs in the country right now, according to the TPO Rankings.

In NSW Sydney Olympic are the first club into the Grand Final, smashing Sydney United 4-0 on Sunday. Sydney United get a 2nd chance next weekend when they play APIA Leichhardt with the other Grand Final spot up for grabs.

In the 1st leg of the Semi Final in Northern NSW, Broadmeadow Magic has beaten Maitland 3-1. Maitland’s season will go on the line in the 2nd leg next weekend.

And in a couple of games that don’t really have any impact on the final league ladders, firstly in Tasmania where South Hobart has beaten Hobart Olympia 2-1, and secondly in Queensland where Olympic FC made sure that North QLD’s final game in the NPL was one they’d rather forget - the final score was 6-2.

APIA Leichhardt has had a great week - firstly in their surprise FFA Cup win over Melbourne Victory, and then an 8-2 win in the NSW NPL Finals against Rockdale City Suns. Those wins have seen APIA move 2 places up the TPO Rankings to be the 7th best club in the country.

Perth Soccer Club are premiers of the Western Australian NPL after a dramatic last round. They beat Joondalup United 2 nil to finish 1 point above Perth Glory Youth who dropped the ball, going down 1 nil to Subiaco. Inglewood United would have qualified for finals if they won, but instead they finish 5th after they went down 2-1 to Balcatta. It’s Bayswater who do end in 4th after they drew 1 all with ECU Joondalup. Forrestfield are relegated after they were thrashed 8-1 by by Stirling Lions. In the other games Floreat Athena beat Sorrento 2-1 and Cockburn City beat Armadale 4-1.

To Victoria and Avondale and Bentleigh have both picked up wins - Avondale 6-2 over South Melbourne and Bentleigh beat Port Melbourne Sharks 1 nil. Hume City drew with Green Gully 2 all, while Dandenong Thunder keep their finals hopes alive after beating Northcote City 4-2.

3 top tier NPL games last night - the first of which was between Lions and Redlands in QLD where Lions wrapped up their final round of the regular season with a 4 nil win to go 10 points clear at the top of the table.

To Victoria and we head into the second last round of the season. Oakleigh Cannons beat Pascoe Vale 2-1 which sees Pascoe Vale remain in 4th and Oakleigh remain in 5th, with Oakleigh all but confirming their place in the finals.

In the nights third game we saw a huge upset as Kingston City beat top of the table Heidelberg 4-1. With that win Kingston go to 8th on the ladder and keep their finals chances alive.

Newcastle Jets have announced that scholarship player, Angus Thurgate has been upgraded to a senior contract for the 2018/19 A-League season.

It has been rapid rise to the senior squad for the Port Macquarie product – who signed a scholarship contract midway through the 2017/18 season – after some standout performances in the club’s youth system.

Sydney FC have signed former Ajax captain Siem De Jong on a season long loan.

The four-time Eredivisie winner and six-time Netherlands international was announced as the clubs marquee signing on Thursday.

De Jong is a product of the Ajax academy, and has scored 67 goals in 209 Eredivisie appearances.

Just weeks after PSV signed Trent Sainsbury, reports emerged on Wednesday night that fellow Socceroos defender Aziz Behich is set to join him at the Dutch club.

A new dawn in Australian football is beckoning after proposed governance reforms were rubber-stamped by FIFA, sounding the death knell for outgoing Football Federation Australia (FFA) chairman Steven Lowy and his board.

Lowy and his board are strongly opposed to the changes, but FIFA have endorsed the recommendations of the congress review working group.

Graham Arnold has indicated that a "bolter" for the Asian Cup squad could be 25-year-old midfielder Kenny Dougall, who recently joined English third tier team, Barnsley, from Sparta Rotterdam. Arnold says Dougall is good on the ball, and has good engines and good pass.

Dougall is set to be named in a 30-man training squad in Turkey next month.

Arnold also says that he hopes that Mark Milligan's new contract with Hibs in the Scottish Premier League will help ensure Milligan does not opt for international retirement.

And in a little bit of Overseas news Socceroos midfielder Jackson Irvine has delivered an inspired performance for Championship side Hull City scoring a brace in their thrilling 3-2 win against Rotherham United. It was a difficult night at the office for Socceroos midfielder Massimo Luongo as his QPR side slumped to a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Bailey Wright's Bristol City.

What a night of FFA Cup - with plenty of goals, let’s jump into the results.

In the most one sided scoreline Bentleigh Greens beat Broadmeadow Magic 4 nil. With that win they move up 1 place in the TPO Rankings to 10th and Magic move down 6 spots to 36th.

It was a good night for Victorian NPL sides with Avondale beating Tasmanian Entrants Devonport City 4-1. They were rewarded handsomely in the TPO Rankings, moving up 4 spots to 13th - 1 spot above Central Coast Mariners by the way, while Devonport move down 5 spots to 52nd.

Despite taking a 16th minute lead, Cairns were unable to hold on, eventually going down 2-1 to the highest ranked team in the TPO Rankings, Sydney FC. Sydney stay in at number 1 on the Rankings while Cairns move down 1 spot to 74th.

And what a huge result for APIA Leichhardt, beating A-League powerhouse Melbourne Victory 3-2.

Cairns FC, ranked 73rd in the country vs Sydney FC, ranked 1st. The TPO Algorithm gives Cairns just a 1% chance of causing an upset. APIA Leichhardt Tigers, the highest ranked non-A-League club coming in as the 9th best club in the country, playing Melbourne Victory, the 2nd highest ranked club. Victory are clear favourites, but TPO Rankings gives APIA a 19% chance of winning. Muscat has refused to reveal whether Keisuke Honda would travel to Sydney for the clash but did admit he would not be starting if named in the match day squad. Avondale FC, ranked 17th in the country vs Devonport City from Tasmania, ranked 47th. Avondale are favourites, with a 65% chance of winning in normal time, and Devonport City outsiders at a 17% chance.

And finally, Broadmeadow Magic, ranked 30th, against Bentleigh Greens, ranked 11th. The home advantage isn’t enough to make Broadmeadow favourites, and are only a 22% chance of winning, with Bentleigh Greens expected to get the job done.

Not a lot of Sunday NPL games, but the few that were played were important ones.

Firstly in Victoria, where Heidelberg United and South Melbourne played a catchup game, with Heidelberg coming away 4-2 victors. That win is enough to see Heidelberg crowned as the Victorian NPL Premiers for 2018, with two rounds remaining. It also severely damages South Melbourne’s finals hopes.

In the ACT, and another catch up game was played between Canberra Olympic and Canberra FC. This was an interesting one because the final round of the competition was actually last weekend, and all the star aligned so that this last game of the season was also the playoff for the Premiership. And Canberra FC came away with a 2-0 win, and the title of 2018 NPL Premier.

So when we add Lions FC from Queensland, that makes it three Premierships that were decided this weekend. The only titles still up for grabs are in Western Australia and Tasmania.

Lions are Premiers
North QLD are relegated
Blacktown Eliminated
Hamilton miss out on finals
WA will go down to the last round
Campbelltown progress to the Grand Final
Devonport & South Hobart battle it out for the premiership

And the big news of the day is that The Chairman of the FFA, Steven Lowy, has announced that he will doesn’t intend to seek re-election when his term expires in November this year. Facing the media, Lowy declared that he was making the announcement well in advance of the September deadline in order to provide stakeholders with the time to consider the momentous decisions they will need to make in the future. Craig Foster says that Steven Lowy's decision to resign from his role as FFA chairman in November was an inevitable one, and that Australian football had been "heading towards disaster" under Lowy's leadership for quite some time. "Unfortunately in the end it's a sad ending, but an inevitable one," Foster said. "We don't like to talk our professional game down but there are a lot of questions around it that need to be solved right now and this change process is going to be fundamental to that.”

A quiet day in Australian football news yesterday - with just 2 A-league signings to report on - both for the Central Coast Mariners.

We start with Burnley midfielder Aiden O'Neill has returned to his native Australia on a season-long loan with The Mariners.

The Brisbane-born 20-year-old managed three Premier League appearances for the Burnley in the 2016-17 season prior to a short spell with Oldham Athletic.

He joined Fleetwood Town on loan last term and appeared 21 times in League One.

O'Neill has represented Australia at Under-23 level.

Central Coast Mariners have also confirmed the signing of impressive right-back Matthew Millar for the 2018/19 Season.

The 21-year-old signed a one-year deal after impressing coach Mike Mulvey from more than 50 players from the NPL who trialled at the Mariners.

Millar has played in the Hyundai A-League before, having made four appearances with Melbourne City in the 2015/16 Season.

We’re set for a premiership defining clash this weekend in the Capital NPL thanks to Canberra Olympic smashing Cooma Tigers 7 nil last night. The win takes Olympic within 2 points of Canberra FC, who they play this Sunday. The winner takes all.

Perth Glory owner Tony Sage has reminded four disagreeing state federations of the “serious consequences” facing Australian football should they block sweeping democratic changes recommended by the FIFA-endorsed Congress Review Working Group.

The world governing body would be left with little alternative other than to suspend Australia, which would threaten the Socceroos’ participation in January’s 2019 AFC Asian Cup and the Matildas’ 2019 FIFA World Cup campaign, if the four state federations stick to their guns and join forces with FFA to veto Congress reform at a meeting on September 7.

Adelaide United have signed Australian winger Ben Halloran on a two-year contract. Halloran joins the Reds after spending the last five years of his career abroad.

Keisuke Honda has touched down on Australian soil ahead of his unveiling as Melbourne Victory's marquee signing on Wednesday. It is yet to be revealed whether the 32-year-old former AC Milan playmaker will make his first appearance in the FFA Cup on Tuesday 21 August.

The FIFA-backed panel tasked with fixing Australian football's governance crisis has rejected criticisms of its report from FFA chairman Steven Lowy and his board about their proposals. Four of the country's smallest state federations are also prepared to vote against it, which could force FIFA to make good on long-held threats to intervene or, at worst, suspend Australia from international competition.

The PFA says that the salary cap should be scrapped as a means of dealing with "spiralling" player churn. The players' unions says this is a "symptom of the A-League’s flawed labour market model" which has been tweaked and softened over the years to allow "investment" by clubs in players deemed more marketable and higher quality. The PFA data shows that the more successful clubs use fewer players.

Congratulations to Sydney Olympic who are crowned Premiers after defeating Sydney United 1 nil yesterday. The Premiership race was in APIA Leichhardt’s hands - they just needed a win, but unfortunately for them they went down to Hakoah 2-1. A 2 a draw against Sydney FC Youth was enough for Rockdale to finish in the fifth finals spot, Blacktown finished in 4th despite going down 2 nil to Sutherland Sharks. Manly finished their disappointing season on a positive note, defeating Bonnyrigg 5-1 and Marconi missed out on finals after losing 3 nil to Wollongong Wolves.

To the Capital Football NPL where Monaro have drawn 3 all Gungahlin United. Last years grand final winners Belconnen have missed out on finals after going down 3-2 to third placed Tigers FC. Canberra FC are beat Tuggeranong United 3 nil, but will have to wait to be crowned Premiers as Canberra Olympic can still finish ahead of them.

We’re kicking things off in South Australia where we had 2 elimination finals. MetroStars beat Adelaide Olympic and Adelaide United Youth team beat Adelaide Comets 3-1 to progress. MetroStars and United will face off with the winner playing the loser out of Adelaide City and Campbelltown City, who had a nil all draw in the first of their 2 finals matches.

To Victoria and Bentleigh Greens have scored 2 very late goals to beat Avondale 2-1. They jump Avondale to go 2nd. At the other end of the table Bulleen Lions have beaten Northcote City 4-2 to all but condemn them to relegation - it’ll take a miracle for them to survive. Sticking with Victoria and Altona Magic have beaten Brunswick City 2 nil and with it have earned promotion to the NPL1 with still 3 games to go in the season.

Let’s go to QLD where it looks likes Brisbane Strikers finals hopes are gone after they lost 2-1 to Olympic, Western Pride beat Brisbane Roar Youth 5-1...

In Victoria, Pascoe Vale have dented and possibly ended Dandenong Thunder’s chances of making the finals with a 3-1 win at home. Dandenong are 4 points out of the finals spots with just two games remaining.

Also in Victoria, and Melbourne Knights have taken a valuable three points in a 3-2 win over Port Melbourne Sharks to go equal 6th on the table. Port Melbourne would have secured a finals spot with a win, but instead they find themselves dragged back into a tight battle for 5th and 6th place. And with arguably the toughest final two rounds, Port Melbourne could look back at this loss as a very costly one.

On to Tasmania now, where Hobart Zebras have defeated Kingborough Lions 3-1 to keep pressure on the league leaders. The Zebras are equal on points with South Hobart but six points behind Devonport City, with only three games to go.

Manchester City have signed Daniel Arzani from Melbourne City, beating the likes of Juventus to the 19-year-old's signature. Arzani is expected to be sent out on loan, with Celtic.

Brad Smith ends his "Bournemouth nightmare" by heading to a season-long loan to the Seattle Sounders in the MLS. 24-year-old Smith's five games in two seasons with Bournemouth was the reason he was overlooked for the Socceroos World Cup squad.

The Socceroos have been too "reliant" on Tim Cahill to score goals, according to Graham Arnold - and the new coach promises that will change. But Arnold believes players like Jamie Maclaren, Tomi Juric, Mathew Leckie, Robbie Kruse and Daniel Arzani can collectively fill the void.

Attacking midfielder Alexander Baumjohann has signed with Western Sydney Wanderers for the upcoming A-League season, where he will join forces with new coach and fellow German Markus Babbel. Baumjohann, 31, has played most recently in Brazil with Coritiba and Vitoria.

Lions are a step closer to claiming the QLD NPL Premiership with a 2 -1 win over Brisbane Roar Youth last night. They now sit 6 points clear with just the 3 games remaining.

And in the Capital Football NPL Cooma Tigers have moved into a finals spot after beating Gungahlin United 2 nil.

Mike Mulvey has rejected suggestions that Usain Bolt is blocking opportunities for actual footballers to trial for an A-League contract with the Central Coast Mariners.The club's decision to allow Bolt to train with the Mariners first team for an "indefinite" period has made headlines around the world but has been met with a mixed reaction in Australian football circles.

Some view it as a shameless gimmick at a time when A-League clubs should be looking closer at young Australian players, particularly those toiling away in state-based NPL competitions.

Bentleigh Greens have defeated A-League side Wellington Phoenix 1-0. I won’t call it an upset, because the TPO Rankings had Bentleigh as slight favourites, but it’s only the 6th time an NPL side has knocked out an A-League team.

Devonport City from Tasmania have defeated Northcote City 3-1.

Gold Coast Knights, the lowest ranked club in the Round of 32, has put up a gallant effort but gone down 1-0 to Newcastle Jets.

And in a game that most expected to be as one-sided as it gets, Northern Territory’s Hellenic pushed Western Sydney Wanderers all the way - only losing 4-3 to an injury time goal after pulling the game back to 3-3.

In the first of the all-A-League matches Melbourne Victory have beaten Perth Glory 1-0, the goal coming from Kosta Barbarouses in the first half. In the other, Melbourne City left it as late as possible to find the net - scoring in the 120th minute to defeat Brisbane Roar 1-0 in front of over 6,000 people.

One of Asian football's biggest stars will play in the A-League with Melbourne Victory sealing the signing of Japanese legend Keisuke Honda.''

The high-profile former AC Milan midfielder has signed a one-year marquee deal in a massive boost to the champions' bid to go back-to-back.

Considered a dead-ball specialist, Honda netted 13 times in all competitions for Mexican side Pachuca last season, having spent the previous three and a half seasons at Italian giants Milan.

The Central Coast Mariners have signed record-breaking goal-scorer Jordan Murray from APIA Leichhardt Tigers and exciting attacker, Josh Macdonald from the Wollongong Wolves ahead of the Hyundai A-League 2018/19 season.

22-year-old Murray bagged a record-breaking 23 goals in just 19 games during the 2018 NPL NSW season, the most in a single season by anyone in the history of the competition.

And in the only Monday night NPL game, Pascoe Vale has defeated Bulleen Lions 1-0 in Victoria.

A full wrap of the Sunday NPL results and what it means for the title races and relegation battles.

Plenty of football yesterday around the country - let’s get stuck in.

We’ll start with the South Australian NPL where the regular season is now over with West Torrens Birkalla and Sturt Lions being relegated. West Torrens lost 3-2 to West Adelaide while Sturn Lions nearly survived as they beat South Adelaide Panthers 1 nil to end up on the same points as Croydon Kings, who lost 2 nil to Adelaide Comets. Adelaide City beat MetroStars 2-1 to pip them into second spot, while Adelaide Olympic finish in 6th as they drew 2 all with top placed Campbelltown City. And to round things up Adelaide United Youth beat Para Hills 5-1.

NSW NPL where Marconi have defeated Sutherland Sharks 3-2, Sydney United beat Manly 1 nil and bottom of the table Sydney FC Youth have upset Blacktown City 1 nil.

To QLD where Moreton Bay Jets have been beaten by 11th placed SWQ Thunder which has given Brisbane Strikers finals hopes a boost.

JAPANESE star Keisuke Honda has admitted that he’s close to signing with Melbourne Victory and expects to be able to make an official announcement “in a few days”, but stressed no deal has yet been signed.

The Matildas have fallen agonisingly short of claiming a second successive Tournament of Nations title, despite recording victory over Japan. The Australians instead must be happy with second spot after hosts the USA claimed the title for the first time.

Just the two NPL games played on Friday night - both in Victoria. In a high scoring game, Kingston City have picked up an important point over title-contenders Bentleigh Greens in a 4-4 draw. The draw will hurt Bentleigh’s chances of catching Heidelberg at the top of the table - the gap is currently 4 points but Heidelberg have 2 games in hand.

And only a month ago we were talking about South Melbourne being as risk of relegation, and all of a sudden they are now in contention to make the finals, beating Green Gully 3-2.

A few quick bullet points for your briefing this morning.

An NPL 2 league will be introduced in the ACT from next season, with promotion and relegation.

After 20 years in Europe, 36-year-old Brad Jones has made the move to Saudi Arabia to join Al-Nassr FC.

Former Arsenal midfielder Mathieu Flamini is reportedly on the verge of joining three-time A-League champions Brisbane Roar.

The Westfield Matildas will be after revenge when they take on reigning AFC Asian Champions Japan this morning at 7.45AEST.

Let’s dive straight into the FFA Cup, where four Round of 32 games have just finished. There were no upsets, but plenty of goals.

Rockdale scored first against Sydney FC and kept the A-League Champions out until the 30 minute mark, before De Silva scored the first for Sydney. Three more goals in the second half saw Sydney go out to a 4-1 lead, before Rockdale scored a second 15 minutes from time. The magical comeback didn’t eventuate though, Sydney FC winning 4-2.

An own goal after about 36 seconds gave Heidelberg United the lead over Charlestown City Blues, and a header from Ellis doubled the lead inside the first 15 minutes. It looked like it was going to turn into a horrid night for the team from Northern NSW, but they almost caused an upset, scoring in the 83rd minute and piling the pressure on right to the end in search of an equalizer. It wasn’t to be, and Heidelberg progress to the Round of 16.

Melbourne Victory have sealed the signature of Japan legend Keisuke Honda on a one-year deal worth $2.9 million.

Victory have stumped up $1.3 million, with the FFA - via Fox Sports’ $3 million marquee fund - paying the remaining $1.6 million.

However Victory’s bid to team Honda with Socceroos striker Jamie Maclaren is far less cut and dried, despite reports he is headed to AAMI Park.

Maclaren remains on the books of German club Darmstadt, and despite being inundated with offers from England, Scotland, Continental Europe and the A-League, he has yet to be granted an early release from his contract.

Victory would also have to somehow squeeze him inside the salary cap, with Honda and James Troisi occupying the marquee spots.

Former Australian youth international and well-traveled Hyundai A-League defender Scott Galloway has signed a one-year deal with Adelaide United.

The Matildas and the USA played out an entertaining 1-1 draw in their Tournament of Nations (ToN) fixture on Monday morning.

Chloe Logarzo put the Matildas ahead on 22’, latching onto a Lisa De Vanna through ball. Yet, just as it seemed the USA’s assault on Australia’s goal would be in vain, the Lindsey Horan’s 91st minute header salvaged a much-deserved point for the hosts.

Former Socceroo Ljubo Milicevic has decided to finally retire after suffering a season-ending knee injury with Newcastle club Charlestown City. The 37-year-old has hung up his boots after a long career in the NSL, Switzerland, A-League and Croatia. He represented Australia at Under-20 and Under-23 level, gaining eight caps for the Socceroos.

And we’re back, this time to recap Sunday’s NPL scores.

We start in Tasmania where Devonport City remain top of the table after a 2 nil win over Olympia Warriors while Hobart Zebras have beaten Northern Rangers 4 nil.

To Victoria and Heidelberg keep the 5 point gap with a 3-1 win over South Melbourne and Kingston City move 6 points outside the automatic relegation zone with a 2-1 win over Melbourne Knights.

Let’s go to the ACT where Monaro Panthers have drawn 2 all with Woden Weston in a bottom of the table clash while Canberra FC have missed the opportunity to return to the top of the table after they drew 2 all with Belconnen United. They do, however still have a game in hand.

To the Northern New South Wales NPL where there are 3 games left in the season. Bottom of the table Valentine have defeated Weston Workers 3-1, Charlestown City have stopped their poor run in form with a 4-1 win over Adamstown Rosebud.

Congratulations to Campbelltown City who have taken out the South Australian Premiership after beating Sturt Lions 4-1. They win with one game to go in the regular season as they are 4 points clear of MetroStars, who also had a 4-1 win over Croydon Kings. Adelaide City drew nil all with Para Hills and Adelaide Comets push for third spot continues with a 3-2 win over South Adelaide Panthers.

To the New South Wales NPL and after their midweek FFA Cup loss, Hakoah got their revenge on Bonnyrigg with a 3 nil win away from home which sees them jump 2 spots to 9th. Meanwhile Manly have drawn 1 all with Wollongong Wolves.

To QLD and Lions have continued their great run with a 5-1 win over SWQ Thunder in Toowoomba. Moreton Bay defeated Sunshine Coast Fire 6-1, Brisbane City and Brisbane Strikers played out a 1 all draw, Brisbane Roar drew nil all with North QLD, Magpies gained a crucial 3-1 victory over Cairns while Western Pride defeated Gold Coast 3-1 to go 2nd.

Oakleigh Cannons 2-1 Bulleen Lions Bentleigh Greens 2-0 Green Gully Canberra Olympic 2-1 Gungahlin United

Another foreign has joined the A-League, with A-League Premiers Sydney FC agreeing terms to sign Dutch centre-back Jop van der Linden from Eredivisie club AZ Alkmaar on a one-year deal. The 28-year old joins the Sky Blues after spending nearly a decade playing in the Netherlands' top two tiers.

Daniel Arzani looks likely to move to Celtic for two seasons on loan from Manchester City, the 'parent' club of Melbourne City, where he will link-up with Socceroos team mate, Tom Rogic. The deal is expected to be finalised shortly.

Is it time for the A-League salary cap to be scrapped and for transfer fees to be allowed between clubs? These are the questions that will be addressed in a full review of the current CBA, which expires at the end of this coming season.

There were 3 new A-League signings yesterday but we’re going to leave that for tomorrow because we have to get to the 6 FFA Cup Games from last night.

We start with Avondale - who had an emphatic 4-1 win over Marconi Stallions after it was 1 all at halftime.

We saw the same scoreline, this time in Canberra as the hosts Canberra FC went down to Northern New South Wales NPL side Broadmeadow Magic.

In the all QLD clash, Lions defeated Olympic 3-2, scoring tje winner in the last few minutes.

The highest ranked non A-League side in the country, APIA Leichhardt, travelled to Melbourne where they saw off Port Melbourne Sharks 1 nil. Over to the West of Australia and Division 1 side Gwelup weren’t good enough for South Australian NPL Side Adelaide Comets who ran out 4 nil winners in the end.

And we finish with the all New South Wales NPL clash which saw Bonnyrigg White Eagles survive a late scare to defeat Hakoah Sydney City East 2-1.

German Bundesliga club Freiburg have signed Australian Brandon Borrello from lower-league Kaiserslautern for an undisclosed fee.

Borrello, 22, is currently undergoing rehabilitation for a cruciate ligament tear.

Borrello scored three goals in 20 games last season as Kaiserslautern were relegated to the German third division.

The location of this year's FFA Cup final will be determined through a live draw, with the decision taken out of the hands of FFA.

Previously, the FFA has had the final say on where the knockout tournament's deciding match would be played, basing their decisions on a range of factors including finances and broadcaster demands.

It has often led to controversy, with Sydney FC chairman Scott Barlow accusing the governing body of putting "profit" ahead of fairness by handing the 2016 FFA Cup final hosting rights to Melbourne City.

Just the one NPL game overnight, but it was an important one in the Victorian NPL relegation battle. Kingston City have beaten Northcote City 2-0, meaning that Northcote drop to 13th and an automatic relegation spot with only five rounds left to play.

In Western Australia, Perth Glory have gone down 1-0 to Chelsea in a pre-season exhibition game in front of over 55,000 fans. Pedros 5th minute goal proved the difference although Glory came close to levelling late, with Brendon Santalab heading narrorwly wide. Perth Glory coach Tony Popovic says his side paid Chelsea too much respect early on in the game, but that all round it was a good night for Glory.

In A-League transfer news, Wellington Phoenix have announced the signing of two experienced Hyundai A-League players in Mitch Nichols and David Williams. Mitch Nichols signs on with 219 Hyundai A-League appearances and 39 goals, with David Williams bringing 148 appearances and 29 goals from his time in the competition.

There were some interesting results around the country yesterday - let’s have a look.

We start in the west where Perth Soccer Club have defeated Bayswater City 2 nil to move up to second on the table, 4 points behind Perth Glory Youth with 5 games left in the season.

Two games in the Victorian NPL and in the top of the table clash Heidelberg have stamped their claim to the title with a 3 nil win over Bentleigh Greens. They move 5 points clear with a game in hand. South Melbourne have won their third game in a row, beating Hume City 2-1. South move to 9th.

Moving to Tasmania and the only Sunday game saw South Hobart beat Hobart Zebras 2-1. They are now both on 29 points, 1 point behind second placed Launceston and 6 points behind first placed Devonport City.

4 games were played in the Northern New South Wales NPL. Weston Workers beat Adamstown Rosebud 2-1, Broadmeadow Magic thrashed Valentine 5 nil, Edgeworth beat Charlestown City 2 nil.

I couldn't get all of Saturday's NPL results in less than 2 minutes, so my solution was to speed up the audio. And if you're going to speed up the audio, you also have to make it sound like you've been inhaling helium right??

In this one we cover all the important results from around the country, including a number of shock results, and a Premiership all but wrapped up in South Australia.

3 NPL games overnight. We’ll start in QLD where Olympic have defeated Redlands 3 nil to temporarily go top of the table while Redlands are dangerously close to the relgation zone.

To Victoria and Avondale have beaten Pascoe Vale 2-1 while Oakleigh Cannons and Port Melbourne Sharks have played out a 1 all draw.

Tim Cahill has ruled out a return to the Hyundai A-League following his retirement from international football.

Speaking at a press conference for the first time since announcing the end of his Socceroos career, Cahill said he will consider continuing to play at club level, but not in Australia.

He also said that he is interested in pursuing coaching opportunities. And in our final piece of news - ESPN have reported that Daniel Arzani has attracted the interest of Serie A giants AS Roma.

Make sure you tune in tomorrow for a big recap of Saturday NPL results.

Samantha Kerr’s exceptional year continues as she awarded with the ‘Best International Women’s Soccer Player’ at the 2018 ESPY Awards held in Los Angeles.

The ESPY (Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly) Awards, held annually, recognise individual and team athletic achievements and other sports-related performances.

Kerr will join the Matildas for matches against Brazil, USA, and Japan at the 2018 Tournament of Nations next week.

Melbourne City have boosted their midfield ranks with the signing of former Perth Glory skipper Rostyn Griffiths on a two-season A-League deal.

Griffiths left the Glory at the end of last season to link up with Uzbek outfit Pakhtakor Tashkent, but cut short his contract after making just nine appearances.

Brisbane Roar have signed 21-year-old championship-winner Stefan Nigro.

Nigro, who made his professional debut for Melbourne Victory against Brisbane Roar back in 2016, is excited by what the Club is building this pre-season.

The Matildas have added 15-year-old Mary Fowler to their squad who coach Alen Stajcic rates as the most talented prospect he's seen in women's football.

Fresh from scoring 10 goals in six games for the Young Matildas at the AFF Women's Championship, striker Mary Fowler will join the Australian set-up in America ahead of their friendly clashes with Brazil, the US and Japan.

The Cairns product has emerged from almost total obscurity to thrust herself into potential Women's World Cup calculations with a year to go until the showpiece tournament in France.

She is currently not signed with any W-League club, but rather plays for Bankstown City in the NSW Women's NPL.

A week after welcoming English defender Steven Taylor to the A-League, Rudan has signed former Poland youth team goalkeeper Filip Kurto from Dutch club Roda JC.

The 27-year-old has been hailed as potentially one of the best goalkeepers in the league by Rudan, who has kept an eye on his career in Europe.

The time has come, Timmy Cahill has retired from international football. Yes that’s right - after 50 goals in 107 appearances the 38 year old is calling it time on his Socceroos career. He announced this on Twitter saying ‘Today’s the day that I’m officially hanging up my boots on my international career with the Socceroos.

No words can describe what it has meant to represent my country. Massive thank you to everyone for the support throughout all my years wearing the Australian badge.’

If you saw the headlines yesterday that Usain Bolt may be gracing our shores, you may be forgiven for thinking it was a joke - but no, apparently not - Bolt’s proposed A-League trial will go ahead - but only if the FFA agrees to contribute around $900,000 from its marquee fund should the Jamaican sprint king prove worthy of a contract.

Australian football agent Tony Rallis says an "in-principle" deal has been reached to bring the eight-time Olympic gold medallist to the Central Coast Mariners.

Updated TPO Rankings:

9 APIA Leichhardt Tigers 10 Heidelberg United 11 Wellington Phoenix 12 Bentleigh Greens 13 Central Coast Mariners 14 Adelaide City 15 Blacktown City 16 MetroStars 17 Manly United 18 Sydney Olympic 19 Rockdale City Suns 20 Avondale FC 21 Sydney United 58 22 Lions FC 23 Campbelltown City 24 Pascoe Vale 25 Adelaide Comets

We start in QLD where Olympic have defeated the Brisbane Roar Youth team 3 nil to move to second, just 1 point behind Lions albeit Olympic have played 2 extra games.

A shock result in the Tasmanian NPL sees South Hobart lose to Northern Rangers 3-2, which leaves South in 4th, 6 points behind top of the table Devonport City.

To the South Australian NPL and in the only Sunday game West Adelaide beat Para Hills Knights 1 nil. That win sees West Adelaide jump in the that 6th finals spot while Para Hills are in 8th.

To the Capital and Canberra Olympic have kept the pressure on Canberra FC at the top of the table with a 3-2 win over Tuggeranong. Meanwhile Gungahlin United drew 1 all with Woden Weston and Tigers beat Monaro Panthers 3-1.

And we’re going to finish with the Northern New South Wales NPL where there were four games played. Maitland beat Newcastle Jets Youth to remain in 4th, Edgeworth Eagles defeated Hamilton Olympic 1 nil to go 3 points clear at the top of the table.

All the NPL results across the country from Saturday night, plus Knockout Cup wins for APIA Leichhardt Tigers and Armadale Soccer Club.

Perth Glory have announced the signing of Socceroo Jason Davidson on a one-year deal. Davidson is the latest Aussie international to link up with the Glory, after Matt Spiranovic and Ivan Franjic joined in recent months.

FFA is taking a leaf from the NRL's book for the A-League, creating a centralised bunker facility for the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system.

It was also confirmed that, while the league will break for international windows in November and March, there will be no recess during the Asian Cup which runs from January 5 to February 1.

Some other news that isn’t specifically about Australian football but will have an impact is that FIFA have finally confirmed that the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will take place over the months of November and December.

Friday NPL Adelaide Comets 3-2 Campbelltown City Oakleigh Cannons 2-2 Avondale Green Gully 0-1 Northcote City Pascoe Vale 1-1 Kingston City Melbourne Knights 2-2 Heidelberg Bentleigh Greens 0-1 South Melbourne

A-League champions Melbourne Victory have been stung by the loss of another key player with Rhys Williams departing for Saudi Arabia.

The fringe Socceroos defender was contracted for another year and it now leaves coach Kevin Muscat with plenty work to do on the recruitment front after the recent departures of Besart Berisha to Japan and James Donachie to South Korea.

New Perth Glory manager Tony Popovic will go up against former side Western Sydney Wanderers in the opening round of the 2018-19 A-League season.

The game, which is set for Sunday, October 21, will be the first time Popovic will coach against the Wanderers since departing club in October 2017.

Adding further interest to the clash will be former Wanderers fans favourite Brendan Santalab who has joined Popovic in Perth after being told he was unwanted by Western Sydney for the upcoming season. The Round one fixtures will takes place later than usual due to a FIFA international window earlier that month.

2 NPL games overnight with Charlestown missing the chance to move back into a finals spot, going down 2 nil to Hamilton Olympic in the Northern New South Wales NPL. Meanwhile, Manly United beat Sydney FC Youth 1-0 to go 9th on the ladder.

The second-longest A-League ban in history will stand after Newcastle Jets striker Roy O'Donovan failed in a bid to have his 10-match suspension reduced.

The incident in this years grand final earned him an instant red card as his side lost 1 nil to the Victory.

Wellington Phoenix have made their second key signing in as many days, with teenager Sarpreet Singh signing a new two-year contract.

The 19-year-old attacker had a great debut season in 2017/18, scoring four goals in 11 appearances which and also making a full international appearance for the All Whites.

Sticking with the Phoenix and Mark Rudan has a message for all the doubters: write the Wellington Phoenix off at your own peril.

Wellington Phoenix coach Mark Rudan has made a statement of intent by luring former Newcastle United defender Steven Taylor to the club.
Perth Glory have announced the signing of Portuguese attacker Fabio Ferreira on a one-year deal.
Torres has confirmed he will sign for J-League club Sagan Tosu rather than take up an offer from the Sky Blues.
Daniel Garb is now reporting that FFA are interested in Peter Crouch as an A-League marquee.
Bentleigh Greens have won the 2018 Victorian Dockerty Cup, defeating Heidelberg United 2-0 in what was a heated match that nearly boiled over in the remaining minutes.

The result was important for another reason - the 2 goal margin means that Bentleigh Greens move ahead of both Wellington Phoenix and Heidelberg in the TPO Rankings, and are now ranked as the 10th best club in Australian football. Heidelberg fall to 11th.

Sam Kerr has broken yet more records. First, a hat-trick in a 1-3 win for Chicago Red Stars against her former team, Sky Blue FC of New Jersey - her third hat-trick in the NWSL competition, and the first to reach that milestone. Second, she is the first player to reach 50 goals in the NWSL.

Today’s briefing is all about NPL results from Sunday - so let’s get started with the Northern New South Wales NPL where Lambton Jaffas beat Adamstown Rosebud 3-0, Lake Macquarie beat Valentine FC 2-1 and Charlestown City Blues beat second placed Broadmeadow Magic 1 nil.

South Melbourne had a much needed win, beating Melbourne Knights 5-1. South are now 4 points outside the automatic relegation spots.

In the NSW NPL we have a new league leader in APIA Leichhardt as they beat Sutherland Sharks 6-2 and Sydney Olympic lost 1 nil away from home to Rockdale City Suns. Meanwhile Blacktown City and Marconi played out a nil all draw.

Canberra FC go top of the ladder in the Capital Football NPL after beating Gungahlin United 1 nil.

Para Hills Knights defeated West Torrens 1 nil in the South Australian NPL.

South Hobart keep the pressure on the top of the table after beating Olympia Warriors 4-1.

In the ACT, top of the table Canberra Olympic suffered a surprise 4-2 defeat to Belconnen United leaving the door open for Canberra FC to go top as they face Gungahlin United later today.

To the West and Perth Glory Youth team have moved 5 points clear at the top of the table with a 3-1 win over third placed Bayswater City. While Perth Soccer Club moved to 4th with a 2-1 win at home to Cockburn City.

In the South Australian NPL Campbelltown have moved moved 4 points clear with a 1 nil win over the Adelaide United Youth team. In some other results Adelaide City have defeated Sturt Lions 4 nil and Croydon Kings drew nil all with Adelaide Olympic.

In a top of the table clash in Tasmania Devonport City have beaten Launceston City 3-1 to go equal on 29 points, while Hobart Zebras beat Clarence United 9 nil to stay in 3rd.

To Queensland and Moreton Bay inflicted a big defeat on Western Pride, winning 5-1 in the end. Lions beat bottom of the table Sunshine Coast Fire 4 nil...

Socceroos’ defender Milos Degenek has signed a three year deal at Red Star Belgrade. The 24-year-old joins the Serbian powerhouse from Japanese outfit Yokohama F. Marinos, where he made 43 appearances after signing on in 2017.

Mark Milligan has been released by Al-Ahli following a statement released by the Saudi Arabian giants. Milligan joined Al-Ahli from Melbourne Victory in January and made eight appearances for the club.

In a huge boost for Melbourne City as they begin pre-season training, the club has confirmed playmaker Luke Brattan has signed a one-year contract extension with the Hyundai A-League club. Adelaide United has also announced the signing of Danish forward, Ken Ilsø, for the Hyundai A-League 2018/19 season. Ilsø joins the Reds on a one-year contract and most recently plied his trade with Malaysian Super League outfit Penang.

Socceroos striker Jamie Maclaren has emerged as a target of clubs in the English Championship, the A-League, the Netherlands and the Middle East, as he plots the next critical step in his career.

Unused at the World Cup after winning a late call-up, Maclaren netted eight goals in 13 starts while on loan at Hibernian last season.

He is now set to leave German second-tier side Darmstadt for the next chapter in a career he hopes will see him start for the green and gold in January’s AFC Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates. Johnny Warren Medallist Adrian Mierzejewski has won his battle to leave Sydney FC, with a $1.3 million move to the Chinese Super League virtually signed and sealed.

In a huge boost for Melbourne City as they begin pre-season training, the club has confirmed playmaker Luke Brattan has signed a one-year contract extension

Australian winger Ben Halloran is on the hunt for a new home after leaving J.League side V-Varen Nagasaki.

Stoke City have announced the signing of experienced goalkeeper Adam Federici on a two-year deal from Bournemouth. Federici joins after Manchester United completed the signing of Stoke’s second choice goalkeeper Lee Grant, and the former Socceroos stopper could become Stoke’s number one, depending on how the future of Jack Butland pans out.

And it looks like Matt Jurman is on his way out of South Korea and into Saudi Arabia, with powerhouse Al-Ittihad set to snare his signature. It’s understood that the two clubs are close to agreeing a transfer fee of around $500,000 for the Socceroo.

The PFA held a 25-year anniversary dinner last night as part of its annual awards. The Alex Tobin Medal for services to fellow professional players was handed to Paul Okon. The player awards - voted by the players - were awarded to Aaron Mooy and Samantha Kerr for players of the year and Daniel Arzani and Alex Chidiac for young players of the year.

Goalkeeper Tando Velaphi is back at Perth Glory, signing a one-year deal with the Hyundai A-League club.

The 31-year-old keeper made more than 70 appearances for Glory in his first stint at the club between 2007 and 2011.

Velaphi has also played for The Roar, Melbourne Victory, Melbourne City and most recently, Wellington Phoenix.

Coach Tony Popovic has added plenty of experience to his squad for the 2018/19 Season, with Velaphi joining the likes of Ivan Franjic, Matthew Spiranovic, Brendon Santalab and Tomi Mrcela in the west.

Glory is expected to reveal further additions to their squad in coming days, with Socceroos left-back Jason Davidson heavily linked with a move to the club.

A meeting at the end of July will help determine how close the long-held dream of an A-League second division is to becoming a reality.

Not a lot of Australian football news today, so instead I’m going to give you a quick update on the TPO Rankings and some of the major movement over the last week.

And I’ll start with the big one - Heidelberg are no longer the highest ranked non-A-League club after their 2-0 defeat to Pascoe Vale. They’ve fallen to 10th in the country and been overtaken by APIA Leichhardt Tigers who beat the Sydney FC Youth team 5-1 over the weekend.

Pascoe Vales win sees them move up 3 spots to 24th. Dropping out of the Top 25 is Broadmeadow Magic to 26th, despite having a 3-0 over Weston Workers.

Avondale have fallen further after a second loss in two weeks. But this was a surprise - losing 5-1 to bottom of the table Bulleen Lions! Avondale fell four spots this week to 21st.

The highest ranked Tier 3 side right now is Peninsula Power from QLD in 36th. The highest Tier 4 side is Geelong from the Victorian SL1NW at 84th. Highest Tier 5 is Berwick City from Victorian SL2SE in 180th.

Some surprising and important results from Sunday’s NPL games - let’s have a look. We’ve also updated the TPO Rankings on our website after the weekend’s games - and as a bit of a teaser, we have a new best non a-league team in the country.

Heidelberg went down 2 nil to 4th placed Pascoe Vale in the VIC NPL. Heidelberg remain in top spot, 1 point ahead of Bentleigh Greens and still with 1 game in hand. Meanwhile 12th placed South Melbourne have drawn 1 all with bottom of the ladder Northcote City.

Top of the NSW NPL Sydney Olympic went down 1 nil to Blacktown City, which means APIA are only the 1 point behind with 5 games left in the season. In some other results Sydney United beat Wollongong Wolves 3-1 and Rockdale defeated Manly 4-3.

Perth Glory Youth remain at the top of the WA NPL with a 2 all draw against 8th placed Floreat Athena.

All the Saturday NPL results from around the country.

FFA has today announced ten shortlisted bidders to take part in the next stage of A-League expansion.

They are: - the two south-west Sydney bids, formally known as South West Sydney FC and 'United for Macarthur'; - Southern Expansion (southern Sydney) - Team 11, based around Dandenong in Melbourne; - former NSL teams, South Melbourne and Brisbane City; - Western Melbourne; and - three regional teams - Canberra, Ipswich and Wollongong.

Those that didn't make the cut are Tasmania, Gold Coast City, West Adelaide, Fremantle and Belgravia.

Terrible news for Andrew Nabbout who is likely not to play football again this year, and will probably miss the Asian Cup, due to a requirement for a full shoulder reconstruction after the injury suffered in the game v Denmark.

The A-League’s greatest goal scorer Besart Berisha is set for a blockbuster move to Japan to join Sanfrecce Hiroshima.

SBS will now be broadcasting every match of the World Cup until the end of the tournament.

Next up, we’ve got some A-league transfer news with Sydney FC's Bobo reportedly having agreed to terms with Turkish side Alana-yasper - which would free-up cash for Adrian Mierzejewski.

Central Coast have signed former Reading defender Kalifa Cisse.The France-born 34-year-old, who earned five caps for Mali between 2008 and 2012, has signed a one-year deal with the Mariners as part of new coach Mike Mulvey's bid to restore last season's wooden spooners to their former glory.

A holding midfielder by trade, Cisse has more recently been deployed in central defence. After his spell with Reading and Bristol City, he has since completed stints at MLS club New England Revolution and English Championship side Derby County, before moving to Thailand's top flight for Bangkok United, Bangkok Glass and BEC Tero Sasana.

Aaron Mooy and Daniel Arzani could both be on the move, with interest from a number of European clubs.

Plus Knockout Cup Semi Final results from both NSW and Victoria.

The Socceroos who have lost their final group game against Peru 2 nil. It means Australia finish last in their group with France and Denmark progressing - after they drew nil all.

And Van Marwijk, who will stand down as Australia boss after their elimination from Group C, acknowledged that his side lacked the ability to convert chances into goal.

"We played against France, Denmark and Peru, in all three games we gave good performances and this team has really improved since the day I started working with them," van Marwijk said.

"We became better and better, but at the World Cup you can see for this team it is difficult to make goals at this level, because against France we were at least equal and against Denmark even better.

"But in all three games we couldn't make the difference in goals and that is something this squad misses at this level.

To the FFA Cup and the round of 32 draw has been conducted with plenty of exciting match ups.

After the weekend’s games we’ve had some movement in the TPO Rankings:

Adelaide City move up 2 spots to 14th

Blacktown slip 1 spot to 15th

Sydney Olympic up 2 spots to 16th

Avondale down 2 spots to 17th

Campbelltown City up 2 spots to 20th

Lions FC, Sydney United and Broadmeadow Magic all up 1 spot each to 22nd, 23rd and 24th respectively

And a big move down for Adelaide Comets, down 5 spots to 25 after their shock 2 nil loss to bottom of the table Sturt Lions - who moved up 12 spots in the rankings to 97th.

As always the full list of 362 clubs is available at tporankings.com

Adrian Mierzejewski's future at Sydney FC could be in doubt after the star midfielder hinted at a rift between himself and the A-League club.

The former Polish international signed a three-year deal with the Sky Blues last year and proved an immediate success, scoring 13 goals in 24 appearances and winning the Johnny Warren Medal.

There were some important fixtures played on Sunday in the National Premier Leagues around the country, let’s have a look at few of them.

In Victoria Heidelberg reclaimed top spot after beating Oakleigh Cannons 3-nil, while South Melbourne’s poor season continues with a 3-2 loss to Pascoe Vale. They sit in the play-off relegation spot.

To the Capital and Tigers FC upset third place Tuggeranong 3-1 while Canberra Olympic go top of the table after smashing Monaro Panthers 5 nil.

NNSW and the top of the table clash between Broadmeadow Magic and Edgeworth Eagles has ended in a nil all draw while 2nd bottom Lake Macquarie City upset Charlestown City Blues 3 nil and Adamstown Rosebud drew 2 all with Maitland FC.

NSW NPL Manly united drew 1 all with Blacktown City while APIA claimed an important 3 points with a 4-1 win over Rockdale City Suns.

All the important NPL results from around the country.

Heading into the game against Peru, van Marwijk said he will be eyeing the “last part of the puzzle”.

“I fully agree we should have won. Against France we also deserved more, I think. We have one point and we deserve four points from these two games. The last part of the puzzle is that we must make the difference by scoring one goal more than the opponent."

Such is the hype around Socceroos young gun Daniel Arzani that calls have grown for the 19-year-old to be elevated to Bert van Marwijk’s starting XI for the final Group C match against Peru. Arzani impressed in his 22-minute cameo against the Danes, and supporters were left in awe of his efforts. Van Marwijk has been clear on what Arzani’s role is in his squad: make an impact off the bench. But could that be set to change with one group game remaining?

In the Victorian NPL, Hume City have defeated Melbourne Knights 3-2 to move out of the relegation zone.

Essentially, the equation is this: win and hope.

The Socceroos' 1-1 draw with Denmark and France's 1-0 defeat of Peru ensures Les Bleus will be in the knockout stage and confirms Peru cannot continue on in Russia.

It leaves Denmark and Australia in a shootout to accompany France in the round of 16, with the Socceroos' World Cup hopes hanging by a thread.

Here is what Bert van Marwijk's side require to continue on in Russia past Tuesday's (Wednesday morning AEST) showdown in Sochi.

STEP A: AUSTRALIA DEFEAT PERU A win over the South Americans would give Bert van Marwijk's team four points, drawing them level with Denmark.

STEP B: FRANCE DEFEAT DENMARK Should the French clean sweep the group, they'll finish with nine points, and restrict Denmark to four points.

STEP C: TALLY THE GOALS If the above results occur, Australia will qualify on goal difference with a win of more than one goal.

If Australia win by one, it will come down to how many goals Denmark lose to France by.

Today is all about the Socceroos as we prepare for the do or die clash with Denmark.

Given how well the Socceroos shaped up against France, it is likely that minimal changes will be made, although one potential switch could see Massimo Luongo come in for Mile Jedinak in order to create more attacking opportunities in a match where goals are necessary.

Yesterday’s report was the both Josh Risdon and Tomi Juric had missed a training session. The good news is that both completed a full training session today, so Bert van Marwijk has a full and complete group from which to make his selections.

It's a vital game for both sides. A win for Denmark will see them more or less assured of progress to the second stage. A win for Australia gives us a chance.

On a lighter note, the game against Denmark has an additional prize up for grabs, as it’s an Unofficial World Championship game.

Mile Jedinak is having to endure a waiting game to see if he's selected or not for the match against Denmark. Jedinak himself says he never takes selection for granted; it's something he fights for every day and which he treasures.

Two players, Josh Risdon and Tomi Juric, did not train with the squad today because of injury concerns. Risdon's rest was just "precautionary" while the Juric injury is a continuation of problems with his knee.

Santalab has left Western Sydney Wanderers, joining Perth Glory and reuniting with coach Tony Popovic.

Besart Berisha has reportedly left Melbourne Victory and is bound for Japan.

And James Donachie has also opted to leave the Melbourne Victory and the A-League after six years with Brisbane Roar and then Melbourne Victory. News Corp has reported that Donachie was being courted by K-League 1.

In A-league transfer news:

Melbourne City have announced the signing of Michael O'Halloran from Glasgow Rangers on a two-year deal.

Sydney FC have announced the appointment of former Young Socceroos coach, Ufuk Talay, as assistant coach to Steve Corica at Sydney FC. “King” Kenny Athiu’s journey from the Victorian NPL to the A-League is now complete, with the announcement on Monday that the former Heidelberg United star had signed a two-year contract with A-League champions Melbourne Victory.

And SBS will take advantage of Optus’ troubles and will be showing all games within a 48 hours window, Beginning with last nights Sweden v South Korea match until Russie v Egypt on Wednesday morning.

Optus have been taking a beating in the news - with the newly coined to floptus doing the rounds.

Plenty of NPL action around the country and here’s our pick of the games.

In the NNSW NPL Maitland have jumped to 3rd spot on the ladder after a 5-1 win over Charlestown City Blues who have fallen to 5th.

NSW NPL APIA have defeated Blacktown City 2-1 and close to the gap on Sydney Olympic at the top of the table to just 4 points after Olympic drew to Hakoah earlier in the weekend.

Heidelberg have jumped to the top of the Victorian NPL with a 5-2 win over Dandenong Thunder after being down 2-1 at half time. They are equal on points with second placed Bentleigh Greens - but have a game in hand.

To the World Cup and France star Paul Pogba revealed his French side were intimidated by an imposing Socceroos support which made their Group C clash in Kazan feel like an Australian home game.

Mat Ryan summed up Australia’s gut-wrenching loss to France with typical forthright honesty, declaring: “We got beaten by a penalty and a deflected goal."

Even the most loyal of Socceroos fans feared a possible blow out against Les Blues.

But in the end, the 2-1 victory to France in Kazan flattered Didier Deschamps’ men.

And Canberra FC will be representing the ACT in the final 32 of the FFA Cup after defeating Gungahlin United 3-2 on Saturday night.

And join Jake and I on the TPO Rankings Facebook Page for a Facebook Live where we will be recapping the scores from all the NPLs tonight, that’s Sunday night at 8.30pm.

VIC NPL - Melb Knights def Northcote City 4-1 Kingston City def Port Melbourne Sharks 4-0 Pascoe Vale def Bentleigh Greens 2-1 VIC NPL2 - Dandenong City def Moreland Zebras 3-1 SA NPL - Adelaide Comets def Adelaide Olympic 1-0 FQPL - Eastern Suburbs def Mitchelton 5-1

Bert van Marwijk says his Socceroos simply have to be themselves in their World Cup opener against France on Saturday in order to give them a chance of a “surprise”. The daunting task of Les Blues awaits Australia on matchday one at Kazan Arena, with the likes of Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappe waiting in opposition. “We also have to have a little bit of luck, but I think one of the key things is we must be very well organised,” van Marwijk added. “Not only for five or 10 or 20 or 30 minutes, for 90 minutes plus extra time, so we must be very fit, physically and in your head.

Tim Cahill says he has spent the entire year preparing for the next three matches and, when he gets his chance, he'll make something happen.

Who will start for the Socceroos against France? David Davutovic says Jackson Irvine is a chance of getting the nod ahead of Tom Rogic, and Mile Jedinak is only 50-50, with Massimo Luongo being favoured.

Central Coast Mariners have had their application for a W-League license rejected by the FFA.

APIA Leichhardt Tigers set up a Waratah Cup Semi-Final against arch-rivals Marconi Stallions, after defeating Rockdale City Suns 3-2 (and in doing so move into 11th on the TPO Rankings).

Latest episode of TPO Rankings Daily Briefing

The TPO Rankings has just released it's first major expansion, increasing the number of Australian football clubs to 362.

De Silva's move to Melbourne City is off, with City unable to find room in the salary cap for his wages and declining to make him a maquee.

Mat Ryan reminds us what he has learned in the last season of the EPL - that these big name players 'are only human'.

Latest episode of TPO Rankings Daily Briefing

Latest episode of TPO Rankings Daily Briefing

Socceroos beat Hungary 2-1, Lions FC and Cairns FC qualify for the FFA Cup Round of 32, and a host of NPL results from around the country.

Latest episode of TPO Rankings Daily Briefing

Latest episode of TPO Rankings Daily Briefing

TPO Rankings Daily Briefing - 7th June 2018

A-League clubs set to receive a financial bonus for fielding players in Russia.

Melbourne Victory assistant coast Jean-Paul Marigny has departed the club for Western Sydney Wanderers.

David Carney departs Sydney FC, and Jordan O'Doherty has joined Western Sydney Wanderers.

Two head coaches depart in the QLD NPL - David Large from Brisbane Strikers and Graham Harvey from Western Pride.

Latest episode of TPO Rankings Daily Briefing

The TPO Daily Briefing - 5th June 2018

The very first episode of TPO Rankings Daily Briefing!