# 1985 in Australian soccer

The 1985 season was the 16th season of national competitive association football in Australia and 102nd overall.

## National teams
### Australia men's national soccer team
#### Results and fixtures
##### 1986 FIFA World Cup qualification
###### Group C

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | | | | |
| 1 | Australia | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 2 | +18 | 10 | Advance to Inter-confederation play-offs | — | 1–1 | 2–0 | 8–0 |
| 2 | Israel | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 17 | 6 | +11 | 7 | | 1–2 | — | 3–0 | 5–0 |
| 3 | New Zealand | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 7 | +6 | 7 | | 0–0 | 3–1 | — | 5–0 |
| 4 | Chinese Taipei | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 36 | −35 | 0 | | 0–7 | 0–6 | 1–5 | — |

###### Inter-confederation play-offs
### Australia men's national under-20 soccer team
#### Results and fixtures
##### 1985 FIFA World Youth Championship
###### Group C

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Soviet Union (H) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 | +6 | 5 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Nigeria | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 4 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | Australia | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 2 | |
| 4 | Canada | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | −7 | 1 | |

##### 1985 OFC U-20 Championship

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Australia (H) | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 4 | +16 | 10 | Qualification for 1985 FIFA World Youth Championship |
| 2 | Israel | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 6 | +9 | 7 | |
| 3 | New Zealand | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 21 | 9 | +12 | 6 | |
| 4 | Chinese Taipei | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 12 | −5 | 4 | |
| 5 | Fiji | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 12 | −3 | 3 | |
| 6 | Papua New Guinea | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 31 | −29 | 0 | |

### Australia men's national under-17 soccer team
#### Results and fixtures
##### 1985 FIFA U-16 World Championship
###### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Australia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 6 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | West Germany | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 3 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | Argentina | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 3 | |
| 4 | Congo | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 10 | −6 | 0 | |

###### Knockout stage
## Domestic soccer
### National Soccer League

For the second season of the conference format in the National Soccer League, Sydney City and South Melbourne won the Premierships from their respective conferences. The Grand Final was played between Sydney City and Brunswick Juventus, which Brunswick won 2–0 on aggregate winning their first national title.

#### Northern Conference

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Sydney City | 22 | 15 | 5 | 2 | 42 | 19 | +23 | 35 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 2 | Sydney Croatia | 22 | 14 | 5 | 3 | 50 | 22 | +28 | 33 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 3 | Marconi Fairfield | 22 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 44 | 23 | +21 | 29 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 4 | Sydney Olympic | 22 | 12 | 3 | 7 | 29 | 25 | +4 | 27 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 5 | St George-Budapest | 22 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 31 | 26 | +5 | 22 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 6 | Canberra City | 22 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 33 | 35 | −2 | 22 | |
| 7 | Inter Monaro | 22 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 29 | 37 | −8 | 20 | |
| 8 | Blacktown City | 22 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 30 | 34 | −4 | 18 | |
| 9 | APIA Leichhardt | 22 | 7 | 2 | 13 | 20 | 34 | −14 | 16 | |
| 10 | Wollongong City | 22 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 29 | 46 | −17 | 16 | |
| 11 | Penrith City (R) | 22 | 4 | 6 | 12 | 24 | 35 | −11 | 14 | Relegation to the 1986 NSW State League |
| 12 | Newcastle Rosebud United | 22 | 4 | 4 | 14 | 20 | 45 | −25 | 12 | |

#### Southern Conference

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | South Melbourne | 22 | 14 | 5 | 3 | 39 | 21 | +18 | 33 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 2 | Brunswick Juventus (C) | 22 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 33 | 19 | +14 | 29 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 3 | Heidelberg United | 22 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 29 | 17 | +12 | 27 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 4 | Melbourne Croatia | 22 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 29 | 21 | +8 | 24 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 5 | Preston Makedonia | 22 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 30 | 28 | +2 | 24 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 6 | Sunshine George Cross | 22 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 25 | 22 | +3 | 23 | |
| 7 | Brisbane Lions | 22 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 29 | 29 | 0 | 22 | |
| 8 | Green Gully | 22 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 24 | 29 | −5 | 18 | |
| 9 | Adelaide City | 22 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 29 | 35 | −6 | 18 | |
| 10 | West Adelaide | 22 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 24 | 37 | −13 | 17 | |
| 11 | Brisbane City | 22 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 25 | 42 | −17 | 17 | |
| 12 | Footscray JUST | 22 | 5 | 2 | 15 | 25 | 41 | −16 | 12 | |

### NSL Cup
#### Final
## Head coach changes

This is a list of changes of head coaches within Australian league soccer:
| Team | Outgoing head coach | Head coaches of departure | Date of departure | Position in table | Incoming head coach | Date of appointment |
| West Adelaide | Sam Salabasidis | | 29 January 1985 | Pre-season | Neil McGachey | 29 January 1985 |

## Retirements

* 29 January 1985: Michael McLaughlin, 20, former Blacktown City striker.