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Opinion
The dust has barely settled on Australia’s stunning 1-0 win over Tunisia but already Socceroos fans are dreaming of Thursday morning and the chance to see off Denmark.
“To sleep, perchance to dream,” isn’t that what Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, once said?
A first World Cup win in 12 years and already Socceroos fans are dreaming of the knock-out stage on the back of Mitch Duke’s superb first-half header and an incredible defensive performance on Saturday.
Duke’s goal was richly deserved – not least because he cops an unwarranted amount of criticism from fans on social media who can’t understand how the Japanese second division is a step up in quality from the A-League Men.
More importantly, it was a timely reminder of exactly what the Socceroos can do when they play a positive, attacking brand of football.
Duke’s first-time touch to release Riley McGree in midfield was sublime, but it was the fact he busted a lung to get on the end of Craig Goodwin’s deflected cross that proved decisive.
(Photo by Mike Hewitt – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
His glancing header was a work of art as well, and Duke’s man-of-the-match performance should silence the doubters who continue to question his position in the starting side.
Mind you, if Duke made all the difference in attack, it was Harry Souttar who helped the Socceroos keep their first clean sheet at a World Cup since 1974 at the other end.
After all the talk around whether the Stoke City defender would be fit following his return from a knee reconstruction, the 198-centimetre man mountain made it clear he’s not just in Qatar to make up the numbers.
Souttar was immense in Australia’s strange-looking ‘obsidian blue’ jersey, pulling off potentially goal-saving tackles in either half and proving an absolute colossus at the heart of defence.
He was unlucky not to be named man-of-the-match himself and gave Australia’s back four real confidence against a Tunisian attack that huffed and puffed without much end product.
And he needed to in the end, given that right back Fran Karacic looked all at sea in a dire 75-minute performance.
How much of a problem is the right back position becoming for the Socceroos? Karacic looked well short of international quality in a display which saw him give the ball away on multiple occasions, frequently get dragged out of position and offer nothing going forward.
And while no one wants to single players out – particularly on the back of an historic win – surely Graham Arnold will consider shuffling the deck once more and starting Milos Degenek against the Danes?
Speaking of Arnie, he deserves congratulations as the first-ever Australian-born coach to win a game at the men’s World Cup finals.
He has his detractors and that won’t change regardless of the result on Thursday morning, but the long-time servant of Australian football has earned his moment in the spotlight.
More than during his long-serving reigns as Central Coast Mariners and Sydney FC coach, we’ve seen with the Socceroos how much Arnie relies on player motivation and old-fashioned team spirit to will his sides to victory.
It feels like an anachronism in an age when football departments work with data and an array of tactical variations to influence the outcome of matches, and some of Arnie’s decision-making on Saturday once again raised eyebrows.
A couple of Socceroos looked dead on their feet as the Tunisians launched wave after wave of attacks – Mat Leckie practically ran himself into the ground – and it will be interesting to see whether Arnie once again sticks with the same players who got the job done on Saturday.
What is worth noting is that our passive second-half performance could have cost us dearly.
But for once, the football gods smiled upon us. Kylian Mbappe’s late winner in France’s 2-1 win over Denmark did us another huge favour and capped a memorable night.
But we’ll need a complete 90-minute performance and not just luck to knock out the canny Danes, lest we’re left pondering what dreams may come in the desolate sleep of death.