Although the Australian under-23s hardly set the world on fire, there are still glimpses of talent, and now’s the time to invest in our younger players.
Why? Because many of Australia’s established players are ageing.
Although Matthew Jurman is a new inclusion, he’s already 28 years of age. Russia could be his only World Cup.
James Troisi, 29 years old and in last year’s A-League team of the season, is done. He was the one who ran through the entire Perth Glory defence and scored from 30 yards, scored a chip against Chile and assisted twice in the match against UAE last year.
We have plenty of replacements for him, and he doesn’t really fit with the new 3-5-1-1 formation. Tom Rogic, Ajdin Hrustic, Riley McGree and the in-form Daniel De Silva are a few of these choices.
Mark Milligan and Mile Jedinak (32 and 33 respectively) need to be replaced as well. Although Milligan scored three goals and has played relatively well, as has Jedinak, no-one else in the current squad can play the defensive midfielder.
This means we have to replace him with someone younger – perhaps with the pinpoint passer Aiden O Neill, Brandon Wilson or Keanu Baccus. All three have potential, but it’s currently too big a sacrifice to lose an experienced captain and have him replaced by someone inexperienced.
(Cameron J Spencer/Getty Images)
I could ask what Nikita Rukavytsya is doing up the front. He has scored one goal in 16 appearances but is included because of his ‘explosive pace’. He is 30, doesn’t score and we have other pacey players. The obvious replacement is Mathew Leckie. He can run, so why not put him up front? He’s a winger, as is Rukavytsya.
Ryan McGowan has always been in the squad, but he hasn’t played since the Chile game. He can play as a centre or a right back, but Milos Degenek, Matthew Jurman, Bailey Wright and Trent Sainsbury have the nod against him.
At 28 years old and a reserve, McGowan could be replaced by the promising Thomas Deng, Jonathan Aspropotamitis or Aleksandar Susnjar. Then again, they did concede three against South Korea.
Robbie Kruse has somehow started playing again, but is it too late for him? He has scored four goals in 14 appearances, but when he played as a central striker against Japan it did not end well. Then again, he did win a penalty against Honduras.
The biggest question is whether Tim Cahill has to go. He is searching for a new club, but there is little depth in this area. Tomi Juric isn’t scoring much for Luzern, Jamie Maclaren and Brandon Borrello can’t break into the first team, but in the A-League 20-year-old George Blackwood is showing some promise, playing regularly for Adelaide United and scored five goals in eight appearances for the under-23 side.
Milislav Popovic could play as a striker, but he has scored twice in his past six appearances, though he racked up a couple of assists against Syria. Could they be included in the squad? Will the new coach think of long-term success or only short-term wins?
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