- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
As the Socceroos continue their path to the 2018 FIFA World Cup, match sharpness and unknown opposition will be the main obstacles in the way of a maximum six points, and with it a perfect start to the Group B qualifiers.
Postecoglou’s squad, which features four A-League players, three possible debutants and a returning prodigy, continues the 50-year-old’s constant search for new talent in the hope of building depth in all positions.
It is another promising squad which combines a mixture of experience and raw talent, albeit with a number of the Socceroos’ top stars missing through injury.
However, the main problem going into Thursday’s match with Bangladesh in Perth and next week’s clash with Tajikistan in Dushanbe, is the lack of game time flowing through the team in the middle of the park.
It could open up the possibility of Postecoglou experimenting with players who are at peak match fitness, or taking a relatively safe approach and sticking with the tried and tested. Both choices could be considered risky.
Mat Ryan has been ruled out with a knee injury that requires surgery, so Alex Cisak will battle Adam Federici for the gloves. Federici is the more experienced keeper, however Cisak has been starting for Leyton Orient while his competitor has been sitting on the bench. I would give the number one jersey to Cisak for his debut, but Federici’s experience will likely be the deciding factor.
The rest of the defence should be straight forward, however. Tarek Elrich and Aziz Behich are the only defenders not playing regular football, and it’s safe to say that Matthew Spiranovic will partner Alex Wilkinson centrally. Jason Davidson – finally getting regular minutes with Huddersfield Town – and Ryan McGowan will be sure bets to maraud up and down the flanks.
It would be nice to see Bailey Wright get some minutes in either the Bangladesh or Tajikistan matches, though if he is going to start one match it will likely be at home in Perth. It is possible he will challenge Wilkinson for a spot next to Spiranovic.
In midfield the Socceroos only have three players getting regular game time. One is Massimo Luongo, who continues to impress with some promising performances in the Championship at Queens Park Rangers. He is an automatic starter for the Socceroos.
However, the only two midfielders with similar match sharpness are a possible debutant and a prodigy returning from injury. It is hard to see both Jackson Irvine and Tom Rogic in the starting XI, and Postecoglou will most likely plumb for more familiar options.
Milligan only recently made his debut in the Arabian Gulf League with new club SC Baniyas in the United Arab Emirates, but his experience will help fill the void of captain Mile Jedinak’s injury. He will join Luongo in the middle of the park as the No.6.
Rogic is an option to join Luongo and Milligan in midfield – a juicy combination – but Postecoglou may wish to ease the Celtic playmaker back into international football after a long lay-off.
Matt McKay and Aaron Mooy are the obvious alternatives, with the former the favourite, although both have only briefly appeared in the FFA Cup this season. Rogic may be better prepared to play from the start but would also be effective coming on in the final 20-30 minutes to weave some magic against a tiring defence.
A midfield trio of Luongo, Rogic and Luke Brattan would be an equally salivating sight, and it is great to finally see 25-year-old Brattan in the Socceroos set-up. He has some detractors back home, but if a move to Europe materialises then he will show he can step up to a new level.
Fielding a midfield with barely 20 caps between them would be considered fairly reckless, however, especially against unknown quantities such as Bangladesh and Tajikistan. Unless they impress Postecoglou in training to exceptional levels, Brattan and Irvine will sit on the bench alongside Rogic and Mooy.
Similar to the midfield options, there are only three forwards regularly starting for their clubs – Nathan Burns, Tim Cahill and Mathew Leckie. It would be a surprise to see anything else than a three-prong attack containing those names on the team sheet.
Leckie scored his first Bundesliga goal on the weekend, Cahill has started to find the back of net after a dry start to his time at Shanghai Shenhua while Burns is also performing for Japanese club FC Tokyo.
Ben Halloran returns for the first time since the 2014 FIFA World Cup in place of Robbie Kruse, who stayed in Germany to seal a loan move to VfB Stuttgart from Bayer Leverkusen. Halloran has featured mainly off the bench for new club FC Heidenheim. Chris Ikonomidis is no doubt enjoying the permanent seat on Lazio’s first team bench, but he is yet to make his debut and the Campionato Primavera (reserve league) does not begin until after the international break.
Meanwhile, Tommy Oar only just signed with Ipswich Town after taking his time to find a new club, and like Rogic may be best utilised in the dying minutes of the Bangladesh clash.
Just like Kyrgyzstan in June, the Bengal Tigers and Tajikistan will provide the Socceroos scouts with a massive job. The Kyrgyz were expected to sit back and soak up pressure against Australia – even Postecoglou predicted as much – but they came out to play football in Bishkek. The Socceroos were extremely lucky to escape with three points.
The Bangladesh clash, being at home in Perth, should prove an easier proposition.
Under Dutch coach Lodewijk de Kruif the Bengal Tigers have developed their game from punting the ball long to playing across the ground, so it will be interesting to see how they approach the game on Thursday. They were surprised to lose 3-1 to Kyrgyzstan in their Group B opener, and then conceded a late goal to Tajikistan in Dhaka to draw 1-1.
Third place and a spot in the Asian Cup is the aim, though it will be a big surprise if they get something from Postecoglou’s team.
The trip to Dushanbe will put the Socceroos in unknown territory, much like Kyrgyzstan, and it will prove to be a tougher test.
Despite Tajikistan’s interim coach Mubin Ergashev proclaiming that his team will sit back against the Australians and soak up pressure, do not be surprised to see them pumped up by a home crowd. They are yet to win in Group B, with a loss to Jordan and the aforementioned draw to Bangladesh.
Both matches will provide unknowns for Postecoglou, and he has a job picking a team that has enough experience but is also in form and match fit. There should be too much quality for Bangladesh, but it will be interesting to see if he hands out some starting debuts or introduces a new midfield trio.
Predicted line-up
Leckie, Cahill, Burns
Luongo, McKay
Milligan
Davidson, Spiranovic, Wilkinson, McGowan
Federici
Are you the ultimate team manager? Pick your own superstar team and go head to head with other football fans for glory and cash prizes on Draftstars. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.