The Socceroos hype train has been building at a slow and steady pace over the past few months. In Houston, however, a problem emerged. It’s not a new one, and it is a big one. Tony Popovic’s predecessors never managed to crack it. And with the World Cup fast approaching, he, too, might be running out of time to find a solution to the team’s ongoing woes in possession.
Popovic has created a team that is very hard to beat, but sometimes equally hard to watch. They are good at absorbing pressure, but not applying it to their opponents, and never comfortable being the protagonists in a match. The achievement of direct World Cup qualification papered over these cracks – but now that Australia have suffered back-to-back defeats for the first time in the coach’s tenure, they are being properly, belatedly exposed.
Historically, the Socceroos have always struggled against teams from South America; in 48 previous battles with CONMEBOL nations, they had tasted victory just nine times. Saturday’s (AEDT) clash with Venezuela, who are ranked No.50 in the world by FIFA and have never qualified for the World Cup, was an important test of wits given the likelihood that they could be drawn with a similar side at next month’s draw.
What made their 1-0 defeat so bitterly disappointing was that they never really had a go.
Passive with both their positional and passing play and timid in the duels, the Socceroos had the game taken to them, rather than the other way around. Restricted to just 34 per cent of possession, their opponents enjoyed more than double the amount of completed passes in their forward half.
Good moments in attack were not only few and far between, but hardly the result of any systematic play. They arrived only on the back of individuals; early on, Mohamed Toure’s clever movement crafted space for two good shots, but only one of them tested Venezuela’s goalkeeper, while Riley McGree provided a similar spark when he came off the bench in the second half.
Their efforts aside, and except for set pieces, the Socceroos didn’t create anything at all. Nestory Irankunda, the team’s ballistic weapon, didn’t get a sniff.
Speaking post-match, Popovic appeared to put it all down to the lack of international experience in the team he fielded, which is true; they are mostly learning on the job. Popovic fielded only five members of what we presume would be his first-choice XI. But 20 members of Venezela’s squad have had two caps or fewer, and they seemed to manage much better. Nobody’s expecting perfection, but they have every right to expect better than this.
Popovic has done plenty of experimentation with his selections - maybe too much - but he has not tinkered with his formation. He seems wedded to this 3-4-3 system, but its attacking productivity hinges on the selection of his two central midfielders, and no combination yet has provided the dual sensations of security and fluidity that Australia requires.
Time is running out: there are only three matches left until Popovic has to name his squad for the World Cup, and their next one is against Colombia, the world’s 13th-ranked side, a serious step up in class from Venezuela. A repeat performance would be more severely punished.
So the major question remains unsolved, but at least we got clear answers to some smaller ones. Such as: the time to experiment with Craig Goodwin as a left wing-back was a few years ago, not now that his 33-year-old legs don’t move as fast as they once did.
Named there in the injury-enforced absence of Jordan Bos and Aziz Behich, the Adelaide United veteran was caught out of position for the goal, allowing Ender Echenique to bolt down the right, cut inside Kai Trewin then play a cutback for Jesus Ramirez to tap home from point-blank range.
If Popovic was looking for compelling evidence that Goodwin could fill in at a pinch, he didn’t get it; if he goes to the World Cup, it has to be as a specialist winger only.
Patrick Beach, meanwhile, was by far the pick of the debutants. The Melbourne City goalkeeper immediately transferred his strong club form to the international arena, and if it wasn’t for his quality reaction saves, it would have been an even dirtier day for the Socceroos.