Auckland FC to host Sydney FC in A-League Men grand final
Sunday, 17 May 2026
Auckland FC will not only be the first New Zealand club to play in an A-League Men grand final – they will be the first to host one.
At 8.10pm next Saturday at Go Media Stadium against Sydney FC – the club where their coach, Steve Corica, won two championships as a player and two more as the man in charge.
After his side’s place was confirmed on Friday night with a 3-0 win away to Adelaide United – their first win inside 90 minutes in more than two months – Corica described the potential match-up as an “emotional” prospect.
Sydney’s penalty shootout win away to the premiership-winning Newcastle Jets on Saturday night locked in a battle between the teams that finished third and fifth at the end of the regular season.
They ended up in those positions after drawing 2-2 in Sydney in the penultimate match of the final round.
At that point it was hard to see them meeting again in the decider four weeks down the line.
Auckland were winless in five, while Sydney’s only win in their last seven matches was a derby win over Western Sydney Wanderers, the eventual wooden-spooners.
Yet here they are.
Auckland needed a shootout to win their home elimination final against Melbourne City, while Sydney had a more straightforward win away to Melbourne Victory.
After a 1-1 draw at home, Auckland silenced the Coopers Stadium crowd on Friday with their most emphatic display since the end of February.
There is something of a sense of destiny about them, after they won the Premiers’ Plate then lost to Victory in the semifinals in season one.
Corica acknowledged that feeling to Stuff on Saturday morning – “it looks like it” – then quickly added: “We don’t get carried away”.
Sydney and Newcastle also drew 1-1 in their first leg, in Sydney.
A Piero Quispe goal had Sydney ahead 2-1 with 95 minutes played in Newcastle, but Eli Adams scored a special side-footed half-volley in the 96th minute to take the match to extra time at 2-2 on aggregate.
A shootout followed 30 scoreless bonus minutes, which Sydney won 4-2, with goalkeeper Harrison Devenish-Meares making a pair of vital saves.
Auckland have never lost to Sydney.
They won 1-0 at home in early February, then drew 1-1 across the Tasman 10 days later and 2-2 in April.
Last season they had a 1-0 win at home early in the season, then came from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 away in the final month.
At the same time, Sydney are yet to lose under coach Patrick Kisnorbo, who took over from Ufuk Talay just seven matches ago.
Corica and Kisnorbo previously faced off in the 2020-21 grand final, won by Kisnorbo and Melbourne City.
They are both looking to win an A-League Men championship at a second club, something only Graham Arnold has done previously.
Corica would become the first coach to win three championships if Auckland are successful.
No team would ever turn down a home final, but Auckland’s best work this season has come on the road, which adds a layer of intrigue.
Auckland’s last two wins – the previous one was over the Jets on March 14 – were in away matches, while they have lost four times at home and haven’t won there since beating City on February 28.
They also have developed a habit of slipping up when things seem to be in their favour, but thriving when their backs are against the wall.
They will be favourites next Saturday, but their brief history suggests that isn’t a tag they enjoy wearing.
Yet after the way they dominated proceedings on Friday in Adelaide, they will be flying as high as they have all season – if not as high as they have in their short life to date.
“They did so well last night,” Corica told Stuff. “You’ve got to have every chance to win a grand final if you perform like that.”