Socceroos v Colombia AS IT HAPPENED: Coach Tony Popovic filthy at penalty call as worrying slump continues

Thanks for joining us for our coverage of the final Socceroos game of the year.

Three games remain next year before the World Cup.

Who will earn a spot in the starting lineup? That is a question we have to wait to learn the answer to.

A loss was not what Tony Popovic was hoping for in New York, but there was one key moment that truly got under the skin of the manager.

That moment was the penalty goal for James Rodriguez.

"I think for 75 minutes we did really well," he told Paramount +.

"The first goal, we never get that penalty. That was clear that only Colombia would get that penalty. There is no way that we could ever get a penalty like that.

"I'm very disappointed in that decision. Unfortunately, at the end there, the result blows out with two soft goals. It is a shame for the players because they were very good.

"They [Colombia] were never really a threat, aside from those shots outside the box."

There is plenty of lessons that Tony Popovic will be taking away to help his playing group improve ahead of the World Cup.

Luis Diaz, James Rodriguez and Jefferson Lerma were the goal scorers for Colombia.

Lerma's slotted his goal in the final seconds of the match.

There was small glimpses in the first half that Australia were on track to challenge Colombia, however, the second half went all in favour of the hosts.

"The world-class quality that they had in their team was just too good," Alex Brosque said of Colombia post-match on Paramount +.

Australia's losing streak has been extended to three games.

It was a messy play leading up to the goal by Luis Diaz, who had no one in front of the goal defending his shot.

Paul Izzo had come out of the box in attempt to deflect a high flying ball, with two of his teammates also standing nearby ready to pounce into defence if needed.

But Diaz swept up the ball and nailed it into the back of the net.

"One of the best on the planet, just helping himself to an empty goal," Andy Harper said in commentary on Paramount +.

Colombia have wasted no time running riot in attack in the second half.

Australia have only put one shot on at goal in this half.

It has been a tough battle to try and break out of defence, but remarkably they have been able to limit Colombia to just one goal.

Colombia are on the board!

The hosts were awarded a penalty after several players came falling to the turf. All those falls were initially left while played continued, but the involvement of Lewis Miller eventually saw the whistle blown.

The Socceroos were seen pleading with the referee to not award the penalty.

Their concerns were ignored. Tony Popovic also was not happy on the sidelines with the calls.

The decision can not be overturned by VAR though as it is no in action.

James Rodriguez was the man sent up to break the deadlock for Colombia, sending Paul Izzo diving to the wrong edge. The ball landed perfectly in the bottom right corner.

Away from the Big Apple, a little-known island nation by the name of Curacao has just secured their first-ever qualification to the World Cup.

Curacao just needed to avoid defeat against Jamaica to book a ticket to the World Cup. A 0-0 draw at full time saw remarkable scenes unfold on the field.

Their qualification sees them make history as the smallest country to ever qualify.

Read about their journey to the World Cup here.

There is just over 20 minutes left in this match. Still no goals on the board.

Australia have had a few breaks down the middle but have not been able to get the ball to a chasing attacker to take a shot.

Colombia, meanwhile, have set themselves up nicely in attack on several occasions.

Tony Popovic has called for some substitutes to be made.

Jackson Irvine has come from the field and is replaced by Maximilien Ballard.

The crowd is roaring and Colombia are coming closer to finding the net, but the Socceroos are not letting them get through with ease to attempt to do so.

Luis Diaz stepped past Kai Trewin just inside the box to position himself nicely to strike, but Milos Degenek was floating behind him, ready to defuse whatever shot the Bayern Munich star attempted.

Beautiful defence by the duo.