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The Socceroos went down 2-0 to a star-studded Belgian side on Friday morning, outclassed by quarter finalists at this year’s FIFA World Cup.
In a new-look team featuring two debutants in the back line, it was always going to be an uphill battle for Ange Postecoglou’s charges.
The stats may read as five losses in a row, but considering the quality of opposition – Croatia, Chile, Netherlands, Spain and now Belgium – it’s not all doom and gloom.
For a friendly match the quality of play was reasonably high. Most of it came from Belgium, but the Socceroos put up a good fight and pressed admirably. The first half was full of turnovers and shonky defending, but the performance improved in the second period.
There was no lack of effort, but on too many occasions the midfield surrendered possession cheaply and build-up play was rushed. There were nice links on both flanks and Postecoglou will takesome positives from of the match. But what can supporters take from it?
Mat Ryan could be Australia’s number one for a long time
Let’s start with a positive. Mat Ryan was once again faultless against Belgium. His handling, positioning and shot-stopping was fantastic, and he’s still only 22. His immediate competitor Mitchell Langerak is a class act as well, but he will struggle to get consistent game time behind Roman Weidenfeller at Borussia Dortmund, and so the gloves are safely in Ryan’s hands for now.
But the threat of Langerak, just 26, will keep the former Central Coast Mariners number one on his toes for a long time, and it will an interesting battle over the next decade. Australia are safe in the keeping department, with Mark Birighitti also set for a bright future.
Australia need a fit Robbie Kruse for the Asian Cup
While Mathew Leckie was once again impressive (despite the theatrics), and Tommy Oar was involved in some nice link-up play, there is no doubt that Australia are missing their best player. Kruse was all set to play a starring role at the World Cup before he ruptured his ACL, and fans will be hoping he can get back to his best in time for January.
A loan deal away from Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen was mooted for the 26-year-old before the transfer window closed, but he’s decided to fight for a place in Roger Schmidt’s high-flying side. Game time is essential at the moment though, as he’ll want to be in top shape for the Asian Cup early next year.
If the Socceroos are to have a chance of winning the competition on home soil, Kruse’s involvement is crucial.
Australia’s back four needs a lot of work
Since Ange took on the Socceroos’ managerial post he has yet to settle on a back four, which has not been by choice. No one has a clue what his preferred back line would look like as injuries have constantly decimated his options.
Ivan Franjic and Matthew Spiranovic, both starters at the World Cup, were missing through injury while Rhys Williams, who would likely be Ange’s first choice, is still battling his own fitness problems. Curtis Good, oft tipped as a future starter, is also unavailable.
Trent Sainsbury and Chris Herd were the new names and they had a tough debut. Sainsbury will learn from the experience and his continued place at the centre of PEC Zwolle’s defence will only see him improve. Yet Herd’s first game in the green and gold backfired, both for the manager and the player. The Aston Villa right back-cum-midfielder was clearly lacking match fitness, having made his last first team appearance in December last year. But hopefully he can bounce back.
Alex Wilkinson is also not a long-term solution for the Socceroos, but Ange must already know that. A consistent defensive pairing is essential to the Socceroos’ future. Too often the back four were caught flat-footed and lacking cohesion and that should be one of Postecoglou’s major concerns.
Like Herd, Jason Davidson had a tough time on the left side, time and again exposed by the exceptional talents of Kevin de Bruyne and Divock Origi. While his attacking play is brilliant – his links with both Tommy Oar and Mark Bresciano were impressive against Belgium – he needs to work on his bread and butter defensive duties. Davidson’s move to West Bromwich is definitely a step up, but whether the EPL can improve his defending is yet to be seen.
The emergence of Brad Smith, however, who made his debut on the left wing, should push Davidson to greater heights. Smith, who has been playing weekly as a left wingback for Swindon Town, is a promising talent and will provide Davidson with a competitive battle for a spot in Ange’s starting XI. Both players have bright futures and it will be interesting to see who comes out on top of this healthy duel.
Postecoglou has to make bolder decisions
While blooding youngsters such as Sainsbury and Herd is exactly what we want to see from Postecoglou as he gets the Socceroos revolution into full swing, there are still questions over some team selections.
The middle of the park was concern against Belgium as Mile Jedinak and Mark Milligan were completely overrun by Alex Witsel and Steven Defour. They lost the ball too often and failed to spark meaningful attacks. Most of Australia’s forays forward came from the wings.
The central pairing are too similar, as they’re both best utilised as enforcers. Jedinak is fantastic at breaking up play and covering the defence but he’s never going to make a defence-splitting pass, it’s not his game. Joshua Brillante was introduced as a right back, but perhaps the Saudi Arabia game next week is a chance to give him a spot in the centre of defence.
And while Bresciano once again showed the country, and the world, that he oozes class, it’s time for change in that department too.
Massimo Luongo impressed off the bench and should be a definite starter against Saudi Arabia. Australia need a new number 10, and with Bresciano’s powers unfortunately on the wane there needs to be new blood introduced. Luongo showed some tidy touches in his 30-minute cameo and it would be great to see what he can do from the off.
It’s bizarre that Postecoglou was ready to introduce Terry Antonis into the fold before his injury but was unwilling to give Luongo a similar opportunity. How the two players’ situations differ is perplexing and recalling Bresciano to move ahead of Luongo was disappointing.
Elsewhere Ben Halloran deserves to start against Saudi Arabia, too. He looked lively in the short time he was on the field and provided some much needed pace to the side. Oar was solid if unremarkable and it’s time Halloran was given his chance.
Origi will be a star
While Vincent Kompany was the best player on the field, and Alex Witsel absolutely bossed the midfield, it was young Liverpool forward Origi who impressed the most.
Liverpool signed the 19-year-old from Lille for £10 million in the summer, but loaned him straight back to the Ligue 1 club. This performance showed that he is ready to make the step up to the Reds now.
The youngster was simply fantastic in the first half, even though his involvement decreased as the game’s intensity dropped. Origi’s ability to hold up the ball and bring players into the game was fantastic, as was his movement off the ball. He also showed he’s dangerous on the turn and when running at defenders, schooling a couple of Socceroos players on the wing.
It might not be long before Liverpool fans are asking, Mario who?
It ain’t all bad for the Socceroos
To finish on a high note, fans should not too upset with the 2-0 scoreline and the fact that the Socceroos haven’t won in five matches. While the first half was full of rushed attacks, shaky defending and an isolated Tim Cahill, the second half was an improvement.
Build up play was more measure and controlled and the substitutes provided some positives. The game turned into a scrappy affair midway through the second period, as is common in friendlies, but Postecoglou will have enough to be confident of grabbing victory over Saudi Arabia next Tuesday (AEST).
The future is still bright under Ange, and results aren’t everything (despite what the naysayers proclaim). The next run of fixtures will provide a better indication of where we are as a football side, and how we’ve developed. Saudi Arabia comes next week, before matches against the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in October. Those three games provide the Socceroos with opponents they should realistically beat. Under Holger Osieck we played uninspiring football against such teams, and just scraped through with results.
Under Postecoglou we should see a better brand of football, coupled with victories. If we don’t, then it may be time for the alarm bells to start ringing. But for now, it ain’t all that bad. There is still a lot of work to do but there is enough there to suggest this team is moving in the right direction.
Follow Janek on Twitter @JanekSpeight
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