It’s been just over 20 years, but it’s a result that will live long in the memory of every Australian football fan.
On a cold February night at Upton Park in east London, the Socceroos surprised England with a 3-1 victory over their historic rivals.
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It was a victory that left the English media stunned at how Australia, who had then only qualified for one World Cup, managed to overcome a Three Lions team packed with superstars.
Yet that’s exactly what happened in 2003, when goals from Tony Popovic, Harry Kewell and Brett Emerton sealed a famous victory.
The historic rivals have played just once since that match as England gained revenge in 2016 with a 2-1 victory at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland.
However, the Socceroos, now coached by Graham Arnold – assistant to Frank Farina for that 3-1 victory – have the chance to take another one against the old enemy when the nations clash at Wembley on Saturday.
But before we get to that game, why not take a trip down memory lane and see what the 18 Australians in the team and coach are up to these days.
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Marc Schwarzer
Australia’s greatest goalkeeper is a vocal presence in the football media landscape.
Schwarzer, who resides in Europe, is an expert for Optus Sport.
Lucas Neill
What Neill does after playing remains one of Australian football’s biggest mysteries.
The former Socceroos skipper quietly retired in 2014, but returned to the public consciousness when he declared bankruptcy in 2016.
However, Neill broke his silence in 2020 when he was filmed alongside Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson in London.
The former Blackburn Rovers defender, who lives in England, helped with “logistics and on-field operations” given Gustavsson was announced during the Covid pandemic.
Neill was “honoured” to help and felt Gustavsson’s passion for taking the Matildas to the next level was “obvious”.
No one had heard or seen Neill since until he made another surprise appearance, this time alongside Australian Test captain Pat Cummins after day five at Old Trafford during that year’s Ashes series.
No one knows where and when Neill will next appear.
Craig Moore
Moore still remains involved in football, but not in a coaching or administrative capacity.
Instead, the 47-year-old is a football agent and works as a senior football consultant for a company called 451 Football Consultancy.
Tony Popovic
Popovic moved straight into coaching following his retirement in 2008, joining the ranks of Sydney FC as an assistant coach.
After joining Crystal Palace as first team coach in 2011, Popovic returned home to Australia where he became the first head coach of Western Sydney Wanderers in 2012.
Popovic has worked several jobs since and is now the manager of Melbourne Victory.
Stan Lazaridis
Since his retirement in 2008, Lazaridis has remained in his home state of Western Australia and resides in Perth.
He makes various media contributions and gets involved in the real estate game.
Lazaridis was also linked to a takeover of Perth Glory in August, according to the Sydney Morning Heraldwhere he would sit on the board of directors if the acquisition goes through.
Brett Emerton
Emerton hasn’t quite left the playing field yet, as the former Blackburn Rovers star has returned to one of his youth clubs, the Macarthur Rams.
According to Macarthur’s website, Emerton was the coach of their men’s under-13 team in the 2023 season.
Paul Okon
Okon returned to Australia in 2006 to finish his playing career with the Newcastle Jets before moving into coaching in 2008.
He eventually earned a place in the A-League as manager of the Central Coast Mariners, but was unceremoniously sacked in 2018, prompting him to return to Bruges in Belgium, the city where he experienced many success as a player for Club Brugge.
Okon has since left the coaching world and opened an Italian restaurant in Bruges called Heart of Puglia in 2021, and he still lives in town today.
Josip Skoko
Since March this year, Skoko has returned to his first club, the North Geelong Warriors, where he plays a key role in their football operations, according to Optus Sport.
Scott Chipperfield
Chipperfield turned to coaching after playing and most recently coached NPL NSW women’s team Illawarra Stingrays.
However, the ex-Socceroo all-rounder was found guilty of assaulting his partner in June this year after a domestic violence incident, according to the Illawarra Mercury.
Marc Viduka
One of, if not the greatest strikers to ever pull on a Socceroos jersey, Viduka retired from all forms of football at the age of 33.
He has since moved to Zagreb in Croatia, where he runs a cafe called No Plus Ultrawhich translates to No higher point.
According to Daily MailViduka even plays guitar in her son’s band where they practice in the Australian legend’s basement.
Harry Kewell
Kewell retired in 2014 after a brief spell at Melbourne Heart (now Melbourne City) and almost immediately moved into coaching, joining Watford as under-23s coach in 2015.
He then moved into senior management when he was appointed manager of Crawley Town in 2017 and played for several teams in the lower tiers of the English Football League (EFL) for several years.
Kewell was then brought to Scottish giants Celtic by former manager Ange Postecoglou in 2022 and although the former Socceroos boss has since moved to Tottenham, he remains a member of Celtic’s coaching staff under Brendan Rodgers.
Miss Sterjovski
After hanging up his boots in 2014, Sterjovski returned to the clipboard and became a coach.
He helped as an advisor and mentor to the Socceroos from 2017 to 2019, but earned his first major coaching job in 2020 as assistant coach to Ante Milicic at the men’s A-League team Macarthur FC.
After Dwight Yorke left his position in 2022, Sterjovski was promoted to head coach and has held that position ever since.
Tony Vidmar
Vidmar remains heavily involved in Australian rules football.
The former Rangers defender is the Olyroos coach and is also an assistant to Socceroos boss Graham Arnold.
Vince Grella
Grella ventured into the world of player agency after retiring in 2013 and has become increasingly influential in the field.
However, he was appointed vice-chairman and CEO of Catania, a Serie C club owned by Australian-Italian property developer Ross Pelligra, in July 2022 and remains in the role today.
Kevin Muscat
Muscat enjoyed a playing career that spanned several decades and enjoyed great success as a coach.
The tough defender is the coach of J1 League side Yokohama F. Marinos and even led the team to a league title in 2022.
He is also heavily linked with the vacant position at Scottish giants Rangers following the recent sacking of Michael Beale.
Marc Bresciano
Bresciano has had quite a career since his retirement in 2015.
The Socceroos prop got into the property investment game and revealed he was working in the medicinal cannabis space in 2018.
It is unclear whether Bresciano still works in this sector, but he remains involved in the real estate game and is a business partner of Ross Pelligra, the owner of Italian club Catania.
Bresciano also sits on the board of Football Australia.
John Aloisi
Add Aloisi to the long list of players from this Socceroos team who have moved into management.
Although his first coaching tenure at Melbourne Heart was not exactly a success, Aloisi impressed in his next role at Brisbane Roar and led the team to consecutive top-four finishes before resigning in December 2018 .
Aloisi then joined Western United as head coach in July 2021 and won the title in his first year at the helm, where he remains today.
Zeljko Kalac
Kalac retired as a player in 2013 and played for several A-League clubs over the years as a goalkeeping coach.
The 50-year-old, affectionately known as ‘Spider’, is now the head coach of Macarthur’s Bulls FC Academy in the NSW NPL.
Frank Farina
Farina left his position at Socceroos in 2005 and was replaced by Guus Hiddink, who led the team to a place in the round of 16 at the 2006 World Cup.
The Darwin native then took over at the Brisbane Roar in November 2006 and held the position for almost three years before being sacked following a drink-driving charge.
He went on to coach Papua New Guinea and Sydney FC, before being appointed technical director of the Fiji Football Federation and coach of the Fiji under-20 team in 2015, before being sacked an year later.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Farina now works as a business development manager for Statewide Sports in Brisbane, which describes itself as a company “distributing quality sports brands to retail stores, sports clubs and the general public”.
He took office in April 2021 and remains there today.
