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Australia national team head coach Ange Postecoglou was surely not completely serious last week when he said that beating England in a friendly is no longer anything to get excited about.
It was, he said, “stuff of a bygone era… I think our football’s progressed since then,” he added. “Hopefully we’re past trying to get feathers in caps in friendlies. A feather in our cap would be to beat a team like England at a World Cup.”
Maybe Australia doesn’t need a new feather in its cap as the one from 2003, when the Socceroos defeated England 3-1 at Upton Park, is still proudly on display. The result against Beckham and co is still talked about at every opportunity, such as the one provided by West Ham’s departure from that stadium.
Australian football has surely progressed in the past 13 years and it should be a great test for the Socceroos. England are always hard to beat, especially at home and there is a suggestion that, given the right selection and tactics, that this more youthful version of Three Lions could surprise a few in France.
But then that is the problem with England these days. In the past, the charge was that the massive burden on the shoulders of England weighed the players down and was a major reason for the team not winning anything of any importance.
These days, however, with expectations are a fraction of what they used to be. There is a danger that the media and fans will start to believe that the lack of pressure means that England can actually win – a bizarre reversal in logic. After the dull fare on offer in the past couple of World Cups, fans would probably be happy with some decent football and entertainment.
Regardless, England should not be playing Australia at this time. It is completely the wrong choice. The home players have just finished another gruelling English Premier League season (though admittedly more gruelling for some than others in the Three Lions’ line-up) and the European Championships kick off less than two weeks after the game at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland.
The problem with Australia is that the players will be desperate to win. Whatever Postecoglou may say, the Socceroos will give everything to repeat the 2003 result – there will be passion, aggression and no quarter given. The feeling is mutual when it comes to rugby and cricket, but in football it is not. What England needs is a gentle warm-up match, not a test against a fierce, committed opponent.
This will be as good as a competitive game for coach Roy Hodgson, and there are times when this kind of test can be very useful. This exceptionally short period after a league season and before a major tournament is not the right time. At this stage a simple knock could spell the end of an unlucky player’s chances of going to France.
I remember talking to Dick Advocaat just before he went to the 2006 World Cup with South Korea. He said that you should always play warm-up games for big tournaments against other teams that have qualified. Then both sides want the same thing – a nice and gentle try out for as many players as possible. No injuries and nothing unexpected.
The Dutchman also talked about the importance of playing teams of a similar style to the opposition they’ll be facing in this tournament. This is why ahead of World Cups, Japan’s opposition try to arrange games with South Korea, and vice-versa. With group rivals Slovakia and Russia looming, a game or two against Eastern European opposition would be preferable, as opposed to an aggressive Aussie team desperate to put another one over on the Three Lions.
This is a mismatch, not in terms of quality, but intentions. Whatever the boss says, Australia would love another feather in the cap from English shores. England has a much bigger prize to aim at and really doesn’t need this kind of distraction This is the fight they didn’t need to take.
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