A close look at the Socceroos deep midfield

The formation Ange Postecoglou is propagating at the national level is a big, complex machine, and one that can only thrum cleanly through its revolutions if the parts are hand-crafted and fitted perfectly.

The players must not only be suited to their roles but must also execute them in a way that supports and mobilises the rest of the team. Crucial to the functionality of the back three system are the roles and play of the two central midfielders, and they’re likewise critical in attack.

Tn tandem they must support their defenders while also in an entirely different way support their attackers. It’s a difficult brief, and luckily two of our most versatile and intelligent footballers – Mark Milligan and Aaron Mooy – can fill these twin roles.

Early on, within a minute and a half, we saw the virtues of a well-supported back-three blossom into view.

The ball, held steadily and patiently by the Roos, was worked around the deep midfield, shunted out to the wings and returned back to the centre backs.

Milligan and Mooy – exactly as they are supposed to – were sitting barely in front of their defence, acting as immediate, safe passing options for the centre backs. Additionally, this positioning, in theory, is supposed to lubricate the way forward for Trent Sainsbury, who is a fine ball-playing defender – with Milligan in such close proximity, Sainsbury can be comforted by the assurance that Milligan will slide into his vacant position if he’s to suddenly stride out of defence.

Theory was put beautifully into practice, and Sainsbury glided right up the middle of the Cameroonian team, taking them by surprise, and initiating a promising early attack. You can see Milligan linger dutifully back in defence, safeguarding Sainsbury’s territory while also allowing for the other centre backs to spread, which in turn urges the wing-backs to skip forward and join the attack. Gersbach, evidently, was successfully urged, crossing dangerously.

Of course it’s the defensive side of things that has over the last handful of matches become the more pressing concern when it comes to the back three system. Cameroon are a team well-equipped to suddenly charge out on the break, and we saw within five minutes how damaging their counter-attacking threat could be.

A foul on Robbie Kruse is not called, and from Australia’s slightly scattered situation you can see both Mooy and Milligan allowing themselves to be drawn out of position, both of them inching up with the scent of an available ball in their nostrils. Both are too high and are leaving vacant space behind them in front of the back three.

The Cameroonians work the ball out to the near side, and with Gersbach drawn up toward the man in possession, all it takes is a simple pass inside into the space Mooy should be occupying and suddenly a one-on-one between Bailey Wright and Christian Bassogog – a heavy missmatch – has been arranged.

Bassogog, the Africa Cup of Nations player of the tournament, easily scorches Wright but shoots weakly. There are a horde of yellow shirts in the box covering crossing options well, but the penetration so easily made by Bassogog is of great concern.

Also take a look at the edge of the box when Bassogog shoots: any Cameroonian sharpshooter might have wandered into the yawning track of land available there, with all the Roos drawn well inside the penalty area.

There is a reason why quasi-centre-backs are often played in these flanking centre-back positions in back-three formations – Cesar Azpilicueta at Chelsea, for instance. These combo-defenders are more comfortable stepping out to meet wingers on the flanks when needed. Wright, forced into this position by the original indiscipline of Mooy and Milligan, looked anything but comfortable.

It’s vital that Mooy and Milligan hinge back and forth in counterweighted unison. One must not be caught roaming forward while the other is roaming up there in the rarefied air as well.

Mile Jedinak is injured and as a result is absent from this tournament. As far as his place in the pecking order goes, it’s difficult to see him being a better choice than either Milligan or Mooy for either midfield spot. Take this moment, just before the 20-minute mark.

Again the ball is worked back to the centre-backs, with Mooy and Milligan flitting supportively ahead of them. The ball is flicked out ahead of Mooy, who taps it back to Milligan. The pass Milligan then makes, effectively spanked between two Cameroon rovers and past a third, speared into the feet of Rogic, is not one I would trust Jedinak to make. Neither is this pass Milligan makes in the second half under heavy pressure.

The on-the-ball skill set, the footspeed and the agility required to fill these two midfield roles is one that few would argue Jedinak has a firm grasp on, let alone can being able to carry out at a higher level than either Mooy or Milligan. He simply is not as good a passer, nor can he take and redistribute the ball under pressure as quickly as Mooy and Milligan can.

This sequence in the final ten minutes of the match perhaps best displays the mastery both Milligan and Mooy have over the ball, and then – in rather well-timed fashion – the lack thereof of some other starting Roos, here the unfortunate Leckie. Perhaps Jedinak would better used as part of the back three than in the midfield.

The goal Australia conceded a few moments before half time was largely the fault of Mat Ryan, who came sauntering out into no man’s land and was duly chipped. A direct long-ball punt had created the chance – you’d have thought it was Cameroon’s manager Hugo Broos’ fantasy version of the Socceroos that had scored it.

By and large though, the first half saw Mooy and Milligan carry out their varied duties sensibly, only rarely suffering dangerous lapses. That the indomitable Lions’ goal had to come via a complete bypass of the Roos’ midfield is a small testament to that.

The second half, with Australia chasing parity, saw Mooy take more risks – justifiably – surging forward to join the advanced midfield when attacking. He is the more offensively capable of the two midfielders, and his hustle and energy means he can affect the game defensively from a higher field position. Still, he can’t let a game-chasing situation – one Australia will find themselves in a lot in major tournaments – disrupt his defensive instincts in the critical areas of his own half. Take the following example.

The Cameroonians work the ball swiftly and with intent across the belt of the pitch. We can see Mooy noticing exactly which man he has to pick up: Arnaud Sutchuin-Djoum, number 17, drifting between the lines. Mooy has to be aware that in this situation, if Djoum is allowed to turn and pass freely, he can set up another of those perilous one-on-one battles between a Cameroonian winger and an Australian centre-back.

Mooy had to close down Djoum quickly, but doesn’t, and a simple inside pass catches Wright ice-cold, with a Bassogog streaking in behind. The moment should have given the game its second goal, but wayward finishing saves Australia. A few minutes later Milligan slots in a penalty equaliser; these are all impossibly fine moments, teetering on an unseen balance.

Mooy’s freed attacking inhibitions were utilised in a positive way, too.

After the goal, with Australia ahead of the whitewater in a surge of momentum, Mooy and Milligan again combine in a deeper area, with the latter eventually setting up Matt Leckie, who then releases Robbie Kruse. You can see when Milligan makes his pass to Leckie that he and Mooy are virtually level. Later in the attack, though, when Leckie’s attempted jink is denied, it’s Mooy who springs forth, high up the pitch now, to revive the attack, making a sharp interception and pass.

Mooy’s agility and his ability to read the intentions of opposing attackers – he was a leading interceptor in the Championship last season – allows him to assist the advanced attack in a way Milligan can’t.

Again, a few minutes later, he showed off his playmaking skills as well. These excursions weren’t just the result of Mooy’s own personal attacking inclinations; Tom Rogic was being suffocated, oppressively man-marked by Djoum in the second half, and Mooy had to step in and offer some attacking invention while Rogic was tied up.

Cameroon had more than enough chances to win this game, on the counter mostly, in the second half. Australia had a few of their own as well. It’s also worth mentioning this was far from a full strength Lions squad, with multiple Cameroonians – most of them playing in France and England’s first divisions – absent from the team.

Postecoglu, the admirable idealist, seems to be steadfastly sticking with his tactical approach, and so instead of railing against the formation, we now have hope for needed adjustments to be made within the parameters of the system.

The midfield pairing is so crucial, and this 1-1 draw with the African champions showed perfectly how – and by whom – these roles need to be played, where it functions successfully, and where improvements are needed.