MILE JEDINAK'S second-half hat-trick was enough to seal Australia's place in the 2018 World Cup today at the expense of Honduras.
The Aston Villa star netted THREE set-pieces to send Sydney into raptures and dump the central Americans out in the final qualifying stage.
The first meeting between Australia and Honduras ended in a 0-0 draw, despite the Kangaroos' dominance on the ball.
Australia were widely criticised by their own media outlets for lacking firepower that night. But Jedinak put any doubts over his team's scoring abilities to rest with two well-taken efforts.
The midfielder's first came from a free-kick in the 53rd minute, although the ball did take a helpful deflection off an unfortunate Honduras defender. Jedinak then put the game beyond doubt with a powerful penalty 18 minutes from time.
And it only got better for the ex-Crystal Palace when he was able to complete his treble with another spot-kick in the 85th minute, although Honduras managed to pull one back with the last kick of the game. Australia will now compete at next year's World Cup in Russia and are sure to feeling quietly confident about their chances in the group stages.
The likes of Aaron Mooy and Tim Cahill were also too hot to handle for Honduras, and together with Jedinak could provide a real threat if bigger teams underestimate them.
From The Sun
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