Toure double fires Australia to Ashes win over New Zealand

Rookie striker Mohamed Toure scored two goals in a new-look attack for Australia as the Socceroos beat New Zealand 3-1 in a friendly in Auckland on Tuesday to complete a 2-0 sweep of their "Soccer Ashes" series.

Starting up front with teenage dynamo Nestory Irankunda, 21-year-old Toure slotted his first international goal on a counter-attack in the 34th minute before adding his second on the hour mark with a crisp, left-foot finish.

Watford forward Irankunda also made the most of his recall for the series with a 54th-minute strike as the Socceroos flexed their muscles against their 82nd-ranked neighbours in front of a crowd of 18,213 at Mount Smart Stadium.

"In the second half, every attack we had we were pretty dangerous," said 21-year-old defender Alessandro Circati, given the captain's armband by coach Tony Popovic.

"They had a few gaps, a few holes, a few errors.

"So it's just important to maybe take a little risk playing the ball in behind."

Beaten 1-0 in the series-opener in Canberra, New Zealand broke a 15-year scoring drought against Australia when striker-captain Chris Wood found space and toed in a goal three minutes after Irankunda's.

But Toure crushed the rally with his second goal, stepping around New Zealand centre back Finn Surman and slotting his left-foot shot inside the far post.

Two minutes later, Toure thought he had a hat-trick when he banged in a Lewis Miller cut-back pass but the goal was ruled out by VAR, with Miller offside.

With both teams having qualified early for the 2026 World Cup, the series gave the coaches a chance to experiment with youth.

Seventeen-year-old Luke Brooke-Smith became New Zealand's second youngest international with a run off the bench and gave the hosts a spark in his late cameo.

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