The Socceroos finished their preparations for the final phase of World Cup qualification with a single win and two losses to England and Greece. There were highlights and lowlights of the friendlies which will provide Ange Postecoglou with some clarity over future selections.
The inclusion of uncapped and inexperienced players signified Postecoglou’s mindset heading into the friendlies. Overall, the play from Australia was positive with Postecoglou’s philosophy developing and improving with each match.
The three games featured a number of key takeaways pivotal to the future of the Socceroos and international football.
Mile Jedinak is Australia’s most valuable player
Socceroos skipper Mile Jedinak watched on from the sidelines as Australia struggled mightily against Greece in their 2-1 loss. The Socceroos missed the composure, strength and passing of Jedinak as their midfield collapsed under the immense pressure of the Greeks.
The final friendly personified the importance of Jedinak in the midfield. Mark Milligan, Aaron Mooy and Tom Rogic did not seem comfortable playing out from the back – a rare sign – and this was all due to the absence of Jedinak. His worth was proven here as even Bailey Wright and Trent Sainsbury looked uncomfortable in trusting Milligan as their holding midfielder.
Similarly, Australia’s defence was penetrated consistently. The tall stature of Jedinak was replaced with Milligan in the middle and caused a lack of physicality and presence which the back four needed.
In comparison, the other two friendlies Jedinak started in, Australia’s defence look stout. The confidence he gives the back four and his partnering midfielders is significant and as we move forward in our qualifications it’s become ever more obvious that Mile is a must.
Brad Smith is Australia’s future at left back
Since Postecoglou’s appointment, the left back position has been up for grabs. Jason Davidson, Aziz Behich, Curtis Good, Brad Smith and most recently Alex Gersbach have all had the chance to claim the spot with injuries, inconsistent performances and style going against Davdison, Behich and Good.
Smith’s emergence this season has sealed his spot as Australia’s left back. The pace and crossing aptitude he exudes is the prototypical fullback Postecoglou wants to play with.
The recent friendlies have shown he is capable of competing at the highest level, and with Postecoglou looking to solidify his staring side, Smith looks like the direction the Socceroos should go in.
The midfield conundrum
Jedinak is the only Australian pencilled into the midfield three for every crucial game – the two other spots are as open as ever. Massimo Luongo, Mark Milligan, Aron Mooy, Tom Rogic and Matt McKay are all viable options.
Postecoglou has tried multiple combinations over the three games with Mooy and Rogic being the standouts. However, in recent history Luongo has been the key midfield threat, with his versatility and passing making him a lethal player.
Of late, Postecoglou has employed him as a winger. The experiment has been unsuccessful to date due to Luongo’s inability to play wide. Instead, he floats infield, clogging up passing lanes for the other three midfielders.
While there is no set solution for this conundrum, Postecoglou is best off going with players that match up well with their opponents. Players like Rogic shine against teams that sit further back whereas he struggles against teams that play high pressure.
No Timmy, no goals
Three goals in three games would be good for a single player, not an international team. A header from a corner, a long shot and an own goal were the types of goals scored as Australia continued to struggle up front.
Only Tim Cahill provides a constant threat up front with Apostolos Giannou yet to break his duck. Cahill’s aerial threat sets him apart from every Socceroos striker. His positioning and potency is unmatched and currently the Socceroos face the dilemma where the drop off between Cahill and the second choice striker is significant.
Jamie McClaren was brought into the squad to make his debut against England and was out of his depth. Chris Ikonomidis has potential written all over him, he just needs time to develop. Giannou has shown to have nice touches around the 18 yard box with deft touches and skilful turns but his finishing is questionable.
Other than that, the Socceroos have used Tomi Juric as a striker. His two goals in 16 caps is encouraging but isn’t the result the Socceroos would be looking for.
Overall the Socceroos provided positive moments through their friendlies. The 2-1 loss to England and 1-0 win over Greece showcased the stylistic changes Postecoglou has instilled in the players. Heading into the final phase of the World Cup qualifiers, the Socceroos will look to build on these results and inevitably qualify for their third consecutive FIFA World Cup.
Barca4life
Guest
Its more than that its about how we are identifying our talent but also developing them too, right now the attacking stocks are quite light.
Peter Cotton
Guest
"It has long been recognised that to break down a packed defence one of the main aims has to be getting behind the back line and turning those defenders to face their own goal. This can be achieved by using fast players out wide where they can outstrip fullbacks and get into a position to supply dangerous cut-backs or crosses." I have quoted you here jb. Exactly what my coach Arthur Smith (1950's Australian international) told me in the 1960's when I attempted to play seriously. I was his right footed left winger. Hopeless but fast. Some things simply don't change. Have your opposition defenders facing their own goal, a la Eric Dier a couple of weeks ago!
j binnie
Guest
Peter - Yes, did read that post about using our fast players more efficiently and can't say I disagree. We are told constantly that we have the Bundesliga's fastest player playing with us in Leckie but I cannot honestly say I have seen this lad pop up in a position where his speed would be a distinct asset, in fact watching him and Kruse against Greece one got the distinct impression that they themselves didn't.fully comprehend where they were supposed to be playing and what they were expected to do.While it is all very well in modern football to have players popping up all over the field there is the distinct possibility that their main assets could get "lost in traffic" when they are in constantly changing positions. It has long been recognised that to break down a packed defence one of the main aims has to be getting behind the back line and turning those defenders to face their own goal.This can be achieved by using fast players out wide where they can outstrip fullbacks and get into a position to supply dangerous cut-backs or crosses Not at any time in the Greek "loss" did we see Leckie get the opportunity to use that valuable asset and so we were left to wonder. I did see Kruse manage a few runs late in the game but to no avail. Cheers jb.
Peter Cotton
Guest
Some good points jb. I will add a comment Ange made in a post match on pitch interview following the last gasp win in the first match versus Greece. Ange was satisfied that the game plan "to wear down the opposition" had been successful. "Wear down the opposition"? I first started following The Roar about the time Mick Mulvey took charge, and only because my daughter bought me a season ticket. But I can see the similarity; 60%+ possession, and the winning goal quite often in the last 10 minutes. My take on the situation was Roar boring their opposition to death before going for the jugular. I believe many fans also found this style boring. At the A League level however, this tactic was successful. Watching The Socceroos in the first match against Greece reminded me of The Roar when Mulvey took charge. The second match against Greece was very revealing,was it not? Regardless of who played, who didn't play, etc., the Greeks did their homework and devised a game plan that negated our tactics. The stronger our opponents (Greece about 20 places higher in FIFA ratings than us, whether we like it or not), the more difficult wearing down the opposition becomes. We need a plan B, and possibly a plan C. An earlier poster mentioned using our faster players in a counter attacking style. I have to agree. Ange needs to be flexible, and be able to react quickly when an opponent adopts unexpected tactics.
Caltex & SBS support Australian Football
Guest
The front third is the only part of the team that under performs in my view---at times when you think Ange has solved the conundrum we slip back into a front third that can't find their way. Take out the old timer Cahill and we don't have any player anyone can feel confident enough to get on the score sheet on a regular basis. Perhaps the FFA should look at sending some of our best of the best 16yr old strikers on a sabbatical to Spain's best academies to teach them and us, how to produce these top strikers for Australian Football, because we continually fail to produce any here in Australia.
Griffo
Roar Guru
Given the large amount of experimentation in these games I am not concerned by the lack of goals, given the teams performance in the Asian Cup. Speed of distribution has been a problem in the past but agree this has improved. WCQ's will be telling. I think if anything the experimentation may hinder or slow our start to qualification along with the off-season.
Punter
Guest
We need to be patient I agree!!! This may mean some losses here & there, especially when we are playing better quality players/teams. However, the world has moved on from the hoof & hope play that was very much the Australian way for a long time. These kids need to see their national team playing ANge's way, to ensure that in years to come maybe we may produce a true star or 2.
j binnie
Guest
Some very good points put forward in this discussion but one question remains unanswered and that is if we are to play a style of football based on that played by Barcelona a few years ago where are we going to get the players good enough to carry out that aim.? That is the "Achilles heel " in the aims of Ange for if you want to play like the best then you must have the personnel to do that This in no way is meant to denigrate Ange's vision for our international football team but what it does need is patience and understanding from the fans for you don't necessarily get a Lionel Messi out of playing a promising "lower standard" player in a few international matches .This has become Ange's problem,we can all admire what he is trying to achieve with our national team but the blunt truth is that our "grassroots system" is not yet producing the type of player that will make Ange's dream reach it's ultimate fruition. It is good to read differing opinions on how that can be achieved but a simple analysis on where each player is playing his football is not a bad way of assessing that player's standard of achievment in the larger scheme of things. Ange has already "conquered" Asia with his teams, but now, in coming months, his charges are going to come up against teams where the players are regularly playing in a standard of football, if not higher than ALL of our players, most certainly is higher than the majority of our players. It is that differential in standard that is at the root of Ange's problems and it is not a problem that is going to disappear overnight, we are going to have to be patient. Cheers jb
Midfielder
Guest
For everyones information. SBS have a Football doco on the 2006 WC tomorrow at 4:30 i.e Sunday 4:30 .... should be worth watching.
Vance Abreu
Roar Rookie
Thanks to everyone for the comments. You all have brought up very good points that will help me in the future so I appreciate that immensely
Punter
Guest
When has Australia ever produced a player like Payet. Now Barca4life, with your name I know I'm preaching to the preached, but we need to keep heading in this right direction, where we get more & more of our players under pressure, but instead of just pumping it forward, back themselves to play themselves out of the predicament. The more players we have that are comfortable on the ball, the more it's encouraged at the junior levels, the better chance that one or two of these will also be blessed by the Gods like Payet.
Waz
Guest
Faddida - that's kind of my point, we could have played any team and playing the same way we won't create many chances. The England keeper made one save in 90 minutes. Against Greece in the first game we weren't much better. The speed of play moving forward is too slow, it's not who we play that's causing the lack of goal scoring, it's how we are playing. Ange will have learned a lot out of these three games
Fadida
Guest
Agree, agree and agree. Hoping to see more of Degenek at CB
Fadida
Guest
Underrated or overrated? His last 6 months for the NT have been much better. Prior to that his status as a premier league player inflated his stocks and he was in Milligan's shadow. My opinion of course
Fadida
Guest
Away to England missing half a team? We should have scored four v Greece in game 1, a better barometer of progress. Game 2 was an exception, a poor performance, hampered by too many changes
Fadida
Guest
Agree, first line in particular. It's a pleasant change to have a mature discussion on tactics and systems of play rather than sensationalist headlines and inflammatory responses
Waz
Guest
Fadida - against England they only created one clear cut opportunity ... the rest were all half chances, blocked shots, or efforts from range. That's not good enough
Barca4life
Guest
Good analysis but you forgot the influence of Aaron Mooy has had, apart from last tuesday night where everyone was off par he was probably our best against England and against Greece in sydney last weekend. Also don't rule out Gersbach, he is still young and will get better with more experience. The team seriously is lacking in front third quality, if only we had a Dimitri Payet this morning...ah well :D But that part of the pitch is where is my major concern, where are the goals are going to come from and who in the final line can put in consistent better final passes in the box, where are our young wingers or attackers coming through? Also there is still question marks in defence, i like Sainsbury but i'm not convinced with Bailey Wright as his partner he looks uncomfortable as the left sider stopper especially on his passing. Anyway the team is going in the right direction in terms of style of play but we need to work on that quality in those key areas.
Smoky_Newcastle
Guest
Agree, agree. Perhaps there needs to be a counterattack plan B, with balls through to fast paced players like Leckie and Robbie Kruse.
Fadida
Guest
No penetration? They created ample opportunities v England and vGreece game1.