Hibs duo heading to 2026 World Cup as qualification secured with help of returning Celtic star

The Socceroos pair both started the 2-1 victory over Saudi Arabia on Tuesday night that secured a spot at the tournament being jointly hosted by the USA, Canada and Mexico next summer.

After last week's notable 1-0 away win over Japan, Australia needed only avoid defeat by less than five goals in Jeddah to seal a place in their sixth successive World Cup.

Things started to get tense for Tony Popovic's side when they fell behind to an Abdulrahman Al-Aboud effot in the 19th minute at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium.

However, Australia responded with an equaliser from Connor Metcalfe three minutes before half-time. The away side then took the lead straight after the interval when Boyle whipped in a free kick and Mitch Duke rose to glance home.

The victory ensured Australia finished second in their World Cup group section behind Japan to to secure automatic qualification and avoid the play-offs for the first time since 2014.

It represents a significant achievement for unbeaten head coach Popovic, with qualification prospects appearing bleak when he took over from Graham Arnold, who resigned in September after claiming only one point from the opening two qualifying games, including a shock 1-0 defeat to Bahrain.

Qualification is particularly poignant for Boyle who helped Australia make the 2022 World Cup in Qatar only to suffer a serious knee injury which ruled him out of the tournament, although the Aberdonian, who qualifies for the Socceroos through his father, still travelled as a non-playing member of the squad.

Miller will also be hoping to participate in his first World Cup after both he and Boyle were recently handed one-year contract extensions to remain with Hibs until the end next season.

Celtic winger Marco Tilio, who is due to return to the Parkhead club this summer having spent the past season on loan with Melbourne City, is also part of the Socceroos squad. The 23-year-old's form Down Under earned him a recall to the national side after netting five goals in 15 appearances in the A-League. Tilio replaced Boyle in the 77th minute against Saudi Arabia to help close out the victory.

Former Dundee United defender Aziz Behich, who scored last week's winner against Japan, played the full 90 minutes while ex-Hearts centre-back Kye Rowles was an unused substitute.