Australia’s World Cup dream lives on after a 3-1 win over China in Adelaide on Thursday night.

Trailing 1-0 just before half-time, the Socceroos found themselves staring into the abyss and the very real prospect of World Cup failure looming large. But goals from Lewis Miller and Craig Goodwin either side of half-time and a stoppage-time strike from Nishan Velupillay saved Tony Popovic a valuable three points in his first appearance as Socceroos manager.

That puts their campaign back on track ahead of a daunting trip to Saitama Stadium next week where they face Japan, the continent’s standard-bearers who have scored 12 goals in their first two games.

Any doubts that this was a new era in Australian football were dispelled 80 minutes before kick-off when, with hope and optimism, it emerged at the Adelaide Oval that Popovic had made five changes to the squad against Indonesia last month.

The headline change was made by hometown hero Joe Gauci, the 24-year-old who now plays at Aston Villa, after replacing incumbent goalkeeper and former captain Mat Ryan, who appears to have paid the price for his lack of playing ability during his time with him new Italian team, AS Roma.

The changes offered not only new faces but also a new tactical approach with either a back three or a back five depending on how you view the game, and early on they appeared to have had the desired effect as Australia played with the momentum, that Popovic had promised.

The balls were played forward, the players found the half spaces between the lines and Australia had China where they wanted them – in their own half. Popovic liked what he saw, sitting on the edge of his technical area, applauding and encouraging every action.

The initial optimism gave way to a feeling of frustration as the half progressed.

Popovic demanded to be judged by the football his team played against China and while the initial intent was there, the quality was absent in most cases, with the same problems of a lack of ingenuity and creativity in the final third being theirs ugliness caused head.

What the 46,291 crowd, a record for the Socceroos in Adelaide, did not expect was for China to take the lead, but the air was sucked out of the stadium when Xie Wenneng did just that after 20 minutes, capitalizing on a weak figure hit the Australian defense.

The goal killed Australia, who headed in at half-time, a shadow of the team that had started, and the reality of the situation seemed to weigh on them.

But when Lewis Miller headed an inch-perfect free kick from Goodwin into the goal shortly before half-time, relief was written all over his face. Relief not just for his team but for himself as the Scotland-based full-back made his first appearance since his nightmarish performance against South Korea in the Asian Cup quarter-finals in January.

He was more confident this time, as was Australia in the second half after Popovic made the half-time substitution, bringing in Thomas Deng and Nestory Irankunda for Jason Geria and Riley McGree.

The change had the desired effect: Australia returned to the more dynamic team it had been at the start of the game and eight minutes after half-time Goodwin found the space he needed to score a 25-yard strike to the delight of not only his coach. to fire a thunderbolt, but also his enthusiastic home audience.

The three points were secured two minutes into stoppage time when Velpillay scored on his international debut after a fracas in the penalty area.