Emma Kemp
If Harry Kewell was running the World Cup draw, there wouldn’t be seedings. “I’d prefer all the balls put into one big bowl and then picked out – that’s the best way,” he says.
“Just think about it: you could get England, Brazil, Argentina and Australia in one group. Wow. I get it – people want to go see a Germany v France semi-final. But you know what? Just stick them all in a hat and draw them out.”
It is a novel idea. But then, we are living in the age of novel FIFA formatting ideas.
The former Socceroos great is now laughing because he has just been asked for his thoughts on the expanded 48-team World Cup. And, well, the concept invites a comical response. “When you’re opening it up to every single country to get involved in it,” he starts, “it’s like, well, that was the essence of making a World Cup – there’s only a limited number of spots.”
The perspective is justifiable, particularly from a former player with first-hand experience of being part of a team who twice tried and failed to qualify before the Socceroos’ famous return of 2006 – 32 years after Australia’s previous finals appearance. That team progressed to the knockout phase despite few favours from a seedings system that got them drawn in a group with Japan, Brazil and Croatia.
Kewell is on the phone from Vietnam, offering insight into life as head coach of Hanoi FC.
“It’s been 10 months, and it’s been exciting,” he says. “Opportunities are hard to come by.”
The 47-year-old spent 15 months jobless after leaving Japanese giants Yokohama F. Marinos in July 2024, hoping to add more experience to a coaching resume also featuring a period on Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic coaching staff along with stints in England’s lower leagues.
Hanoi, who have just finished fourth in the top-tier V.League 1, “just seemed like a perfect fit”.
“Since I’ve been over here, it’s taken a little bit of time to get used to,” he says. “It’s not, I would say, the European way – what I’m used to. So you have to kind of adapt.”
Kewell is on his way back home to where it all began for the Socceroos icon from Smithfield in western Sydney, who has been to the grand arenas of the Champions League and FA Cup final. He will be part of the SBS World Cup commentary team as an expert.
This interview, then, lends itself heavily to the Harry-Kewell-on-Socceroos-at-2026-World-Cup genre.
And, given Australia open their campaign against Turkey on Sunday, that seems the most obvious place to start. It was, after all, the country that reignited his love for football after those difficult, injury-ravaged years at Anfield. Where Galatasaray fans called him the “Wizard of Oz” and where he was loved for saying: “In Turkey, football is a game played against Galatasaray”.
I ask him how closely he’s been following Turkey’s progress ahead of their first World Cup in more than two decades, and he laughs at my caveat that playing club football in a country doesn’t necessarily translate to keeping track of their national team 15 years later.
“When I coach, I don’t think about any other team except the team that I’m coaching,” he says. “I’ll watch football just as a fan and keep an eye on things, but I won’t really do a deep dive because I’ve got enough work.”
But he does say: “Turkey are an excellent team. I think they’re in a good position at the moment. Galatasaray are doing excellent, the competition’s strong, they’re doing well in Europe, and I just think with the way that they’re preparing themselves, it is going to be a tough game for us.
“If I could redo the draw, I would like to have played USA first. As an opening game, Turkey could be difficult for us, whereas I think if they get a good result against Paraguay … It’s a bit like, I look back and think about the 2006 campaign with Japan, Brazil and Croatia, and I think we got the right draw where we played Japan first.
“Now it could be a chance for us to surprise Turkey, but it’s going to be a very difficult game.”
Kewell said he has high hopes for Socceroos winger Nestory Irankunda after watching Australia’s 1-1 draw in a friendly against Switzerland last weekend and the 1-0 loss to Mexico the weekend before.
“I think Popa has put a good team structure together,” he says. “He’s got some experienced players in some key areas. But when you’re looking at the way that they played against Switzerland and Mexico, it looks like we’re going to be a counter-attacking team, so there’s going to be limited chances …
“If we only get one or two opportunities to break teams down and to get Irankunda on it – because he does look lively – what we’re asking him to do really is to break in probably in the defensive third and go the whole way, maybe score or maybe put [in] a through ball. That takes a lot out.”
And then we are discussing coach Tony Popovic as head coach, and I am asking Kewell if and his former Socceroos teammate have spoken much over the years. Kewell laughs again.
“No,” he says. “I think everyone thinks footballers just talk to footballers all the time – once they’ve played with them, they speak to them. If we bump into each other, of course we would chat, we can have a coffee, there’s no problem with that. But we have our jobs to do.”
Right now, Kewell’s job is with Hanoi. But what about in future? One day, might be like to apply his pure and absolute brand of focus to coaching the Socceroos? Kewell’s initial answer sounds like a deliberately straight bat, an “I’m going to give Popa all the best of luck because I hope he does really well” which is doesn’t get to finish because the line drops out.
When he rings straight back, I remark that the internet connection stopped working at a convenient time. “Oh no, I did answer that,” he clarifies. “I think one of the greatest jobs you could ever do is to represent your country as the manager. But I think, first and foremost, I’ve got to earn it. I’ve got to go off and prove myself first.”
On Saturday at 7pm on an eBay Live streaming event (Harry Kewell’s all-time XI, Live! – eBay Live), Kewell will reveal his all-time best 11 players he has shared the field with. Fans will be able to buy the full collection of cards, as well as other Kewell memorabilia, during a special “Penny Drop” moment at the end of the stream.
