Irankunda, Izzo star as Socceroos knock off World Cup co-hosts

The other thing he is known for, of course, is his occasionally short temper – and he almost lost it in the final minutes as Canada’s niggling treatment of him continued with a short push-and-shove session. He copped a yellow card, and was dragged away from the situation by Popovic, who took him off in what he said was a pre-planned substitution.

Popovic would not say what he told Irankunda in that moment.

“That’s something more for me and him, that we shared,” he said.

“I’m just proud of his contribution. He’s a young man that has so much growth to come. In the last two games, he’s scored goals for Australia. That’s part of football, and he doesn’t back down.”

We also knew, before this match, that Kye Rowles is a left-sided centre-back, not a left-back or a left wing-back. And we know it even harder now. Friendlies are for experimentation, but surely there is enough proof now that Rowles doesn’t have the qualities needed for that specific wide position in this specific system – which is not to say that he can’t be a massive contributor at the World Cup.

After a pretty dire first half, in which the Socceroos didn’t register a shot on target, Canada targeted Rowles’ side of the pitch and Tajon Buchanan threatened regularly. When Jordan Bos came on for Rowles early in the second half, the complexion of the match shifted almost instantly. Bos and his explosive pace, power and directness made it easier for Australia to dig themselves out of holes, and helped set up the far more impressive period that followed.

As for Paul Izzo, we had a sneaking suspicion that he was an international-standard goalkeeper. Well, now we definitely know. He was the clear man of the match; but for the eight saves he made, Popovic’s unbeaten record would be in tatters.

Izzo, 30, was chosen ahead of Maty Ryan, who has returned to the squad this window after linking up with La Liga side Levante.

Popovic said pre-match that it was a “little different psychologically” for Izzo to be picked over Ryan, rather than picked in his absence, and that he wanted to see how he handled it.

“I think he answered the question with his performance,” he said.

Ryan remains Australia’s clear No.1, but he has strong competition clipping at his heels, and Izzo’s performance was reflective of an overall resilience in defence possessed by this team.

Finally: we were aware that the Socceroos need to improve how they play with the ball. That remains a work-in-progress, and one that Popovic warned would take a while to iron out.

“It wasn’t our intention to let them have that much ball. But in certain areas of the park they’re very strong,” he said.

“When you look at where the players of Canada play ... how many games they’ve played this season, how many games they’ve played last season, you compare it to us, there’s a big difference there. We want to close that gap and get our players into the bigger leagues where the training is more intense, the competition is harder. We’re in the process of getting that. But we have to start somewhere.

“Would I have liked us to do more with the ball? Yes. But that 20 minutes in the second half was excellent for us. Our challenge is how do we sustain that for longer periods. I think once we start getting players playing regularly in higher-level competition, I think that will happen naturally.”

After Irankunda and Mohamed Toure starred against New Zealand, they vindicated Popovic’s decision to start them at Montreal’s Stade Saputo.

The Socceroos are now unbeaten in their 11 matches under Popovic.

Throughout the first half, the Socceroos struggled to get on the ball or to keep possession.

Canada’s Tajon Buchanan caused makeshift left wing-back Rowles plenty of issues down the right flank. But otherwise, world No.26 Canada struggled to break down the Socceroos’ organised defence, or Izzo.

Australia had just one shot to Canada’s seven at the break but came out of the break with more energy and impetus.

Two minutes into the second half, Irankunda went on a wonderful run, beating Derek Cornelius and driving the ball into the near post, where Toure scuffed his shot.

The introduction of Bos and Miller in the 57th minute delivered immediate energy.

In the 59th minute, Irankunda pounced on a deflected Canada pass, burst forward and picked out Toure, who shot off target.

Then, Miller put a lovely ball in for Yazbek, who backheeled towards Alessandro Circati, but the skipper blasted over the bar.

The ball pinballed around the Socceroos’ defensive area in the 70th minute before they cleared it to safety.

Then, Connor Metcalfe released Toure on the right and the striker cut the ball back into a dangerous area.

As Canada defender Nico Sigur dithered in taking possession, Irankunda slid in from the blind side to score his third international goal.

The Socceroos couldn’t find a second goal and Izzo came to their rescue late.

Tempers flared and Popovic substituted Irankunda when the youngster got a yellow card amid an injury-time scuffle.

In a spiteful final few minutes, the Socceroos’ defence and Izzo held firm.