Football is the world’s most played and favourite game and Australia currently sit 61st on the international FIFA World Rankings. We are now looking towards the future as the end of the ‘Tim Cahill’ generation is almost upon us.
Since 2009, Australia have dropped from 21st in the world to 61st.
That single stat simply says that we need to introduce some fresh talent into the team. We need some players to get some more first team experience so they can get the feel of the pressure and the pace of international football.
Who will be our next star player, who can help carry us through the World Cup past the round of 32, and reach the glorified round of 16?
Australia have some of the best young talent in the world, with three main young lads playing above the rest of the team who have shown their composure at international level. They are Celtic star Tom Rogic (22), QPR midfielder Massimo Luongo (22) and Ingolstadt winger Mathew Leckie (24).
The future of Australian football lies in these three future stars. Rogic, the imposing 188-centimetre attacking midfielder, plays for the well regarded Celtic in the Scottish League. After joining the Nike Football Academy in 2011 he has been often considered as the future of Australian football. Despite his injury-marred career, his has started playing some of his best football.
He has already played 11 games for Australia and is well on his way to many more. Rogic showed his class against Bangladesh as he scored two goals (one being a deflection) and missed a header in which Nathan Burns followed up to score a rebound goal. This game really showed us how good Rogic can be for Australia, still considering that he has two or three more years to grow into an outstanding player for our country.
Luongo always had a bright future as he began his professional career at one of the biggest clubs in The English Premier League – Tottenham Hotspur. It wasn’t until the 2015 AFC Asian Cup that the young gun made his debut. His constant pressure and never-ending stamina resulted in the player of the tournament award.
Luongo played six games and scored two goals, one of them being a 20-yard long shot in the final against South Korea in the 45th minute. He has the potential to be one of Australia’s best ever midfielders, and to think that he is only 22.
Leckie has been playing as an attacking wingman or striker his whole life, so if or when Tim Cahill retires I wouldn’t be surprised to see Leckie playing as the main target man with Rogic sitting behind him.
Leckie may be the oldest of the trio at 24, but is still considered a young player. He plays in the German Bundesliga and is playing some of the best football out of the current Australian squad. Leckie has the pace and dribbling of some of the best players out there, something that the other two players do not possess. He has scored in his last game against Bangladesh and is a constant threat in front of goals, as he is always running at the defence creating chances.
The future for Australia looks bright, with other young players like Aaron Mooy (22), who scored against Bangladesh, and the likes of Tommy Oar (23), goalkeeper Mat Ryan (23), Danny De Silva (18) and striker Adam Taggart (22) will set for a major role in the next World Cup.
Tom Baulch
Roar Guru
I also love Leckie Hosea, that is true we are going to need more than 3 good players to get back to where we were.
Tom Baulch
Roar Guru
True Brendo, i do hope that we manage to become a team in the top 30, thats where we really should be, in the sixties is an embarrassment.
Tom Baulch
Roar Guru
True, we dont have any players playing in the top flight except Leckie. Would love to see some more Aussies playing in the top flights to really test their potential.
Tom Baulch
Roar Guru
Thats true, Cahill has been it for a while, who will be next?
peeeko
Roar Guru
in australia we seem to have to have a face for everything, an ambassador etc. i have no idea why except some PR genius made it up
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
I've never heard anyone suggest Rooney is the face of English football. Perhaps, as a non-Englishman I'd have said Beckham was the closest I've seen to "a face on English football" during my life. But, outside the ManU community English people often openly despised Beckham; they never deified him.
peeeko
Roar Guru
well said Fuss, who needs a face besides a marketing team?
Tom Baulch
Roar Guru
Hi bfc, I truly believe that Leckie, Luongo and Rogic can be the next Kewell, Viduka and Cahill.
Tom Baulch
Roar Guru
Hi, Australia is incomparable to these other countries unfortunately, and most of those countries do have a 'face of their country', I mean look at Argentina (Messi), England (Rooney), Belgium (Benteke).
Tom Baulch
Roar Guru
That list only contains players that are 21 and under, all of my players are 22...
Brendo
Guest
Wouldn't read too much into the rankings. Our current ranking is a result of the poor run of results we experienced at the end of the Holger Osieck era Mid-late July 2013 and the start of the Ange era as he was refreshing the team in the lead up to the 2014 world cup (early-mid) 2014. You have to remember we lost 10 of our 12 matches in this period, only beating Canada and Costa Rica. This period is currently dragging down our ranking, if you discount this period and took the last 12 months as a truer reflection of where we stand we would be closer to 25th on the ranking table (ie we would be close to 840 points than the 548 we currently have). In October we should jump up around 15 spots to 50ish, as recent results count and if we can continue to win our WC qualifying matches we will move further up in the coming months.
Hosea
Roar Pro
I love watching Mat Leckie play, he is very quick and manages to create plenty of chances. Rogic is also a very classy player. But it will take a collection of good players playing in a few of the top leagues in the world to get us back to where we were. Our best team came when we had guys consistently playing at a high level, Viduka, Kewell, Schwarzer, Neill, Emerton, Cahill, Chipperfield and all those great guys.
144
Roar Guru
They are i would argue three of the most promising. Leckie is an incredible player, rogic is just unique and amazing in his own right and Luongo is a very accomplished player. BUT i don't feel that especially Rogic has really been tested at very high level, in Scotland he has never played some real solid opposition. And Celtic out of the championship does not help. I think if rogic gets an offer from a top four leage club being Premier League Bundesliga La Liga Serie A or even France he should take it. He would be better suited as a player who would be able play in the Belgian league rather than the Scottish.
Bfc
Guest
Would agree that a group of world class talent would be way better than a perceived singular 'face of Aussie' football... As Aussie fans, I guess we are all waiting to see if our next crop of players manage to reach the rarified atmosphere of the likes of Kewell, Viduka and Cahill as they were all considered 'world class' when in their pomp... Seems to be no shortage of talent pushing for recognition though...and we watch, support and hope!
Realfootball
Guest
Mooy is 25 in on 15 September. Doesn't take much to check a basic fact like that, Tom. That makes him a mid career player, not a "young" player.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
I'd rather have a never-ending group of talented footballers than a single "face of Australian football". The National Team is bigger than any individual. No one should feel entitled to being the face of the National Team. Maybe, that's part of the reason why generational change was so slow. Most countries don't have an iconic football star. Germany, England, Spain, Italy, Russia, Belgium, etc. etc. all have a multitude of football personalities that are synonymous with The Game in their country.
Stevo
Roar Rookie
"Australia have some of the best young talent in the world" The only player mentioned in this top 100 list of young players in the world is Awer Mabil. Take it or leave it. http://outsideoftheboot.com/100-best-young-players-to-watch-in-2015-full-list/