Harry Souttar: Big in Japan and looking ahead to a big few months

SAITAMA, Japan – After anchoring a rearguard action that took an unlikely point off Japan, Harry Souttar has paid tribute to the collective defensive performance of his teammates in Saitama, as well as the immediate impact of new Socceroo assistant coach Hayden Foxe. 

Despite coming under siege, the Australian back three of Souttar, Cameron Burgess, and Jason Geria were able to frustrate, stymie, and ultimately secure an unlikely point in their World Cup qualifier against the Samurai Blue on Tuesday evening, with the host’s restricted to three shots on target throughout.

Neither side was ultimately able to find a way past the other themselves on the evening, with it taking own goals from Sint-Truiden defender Shogo Taniguchi and Burgess to put each side on the scoreboard – the first time in 8,543 World Cup qualifiers around the globe that a game had finished 1-1 after two own-goals.   

Not only did the stalemate earn the Socceroos a vital point in their efforts to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup but it was the first time that Japan had dropped points or conceded during their qualification campaign, as well as serving as the first time they’d failed to score multiple games since a 1-0 win over North Korea in March. 

“The whole collective unit was really good,” said Souttar, whose nine clearances on the evening were the most in a single game for Australia since 2018. “We defended pretty well because we had to; they're a really good team with really good players. 

“We worked a lot on that during the week, [Hayden Foxe] has been great since he came in with stuff about body shape and moving your feet. And we had to do that tonight, because, like I said, they're a good team. 

“But it doesn't start with just us three at the back, or the five at the back and the goalkeeper. It starts in the front and the front, and the lads always put in an unbelievable shift. They work so hard for the team.

“It's kind of our job, really. When the ball comes into the box, we’ve got to defend it. And I thought we've done that really, really well.”

With Tony Popovic’s new 3-4-2-1 formation shifting into iron tortoise mode for the contest, combined with Australia’s frequent turnovers under Japanese pressure, striker Mitch Duke was at the forefront of these efforts to defend from the front. 

And while the striker continues to be frustrated by an international goalscoring drought that now stands at 11 games, he did play a key role in Australia’s 58th-minute opener: knocking the ball down for his teammates to gather before turning and busting a gut to get into the box and provide the inferred threat on Lewis Miller’s cross that put doubt in Taniguchi’s mind.

“It wasn't pretty,” said Duke. “We knew we had to bunker in and do the defensive and dirty work and really match it physically. We could have been a lot better on the ball but we know the quality that Japan has. They're obviously very, very good; with their record, and the form that they've been in, they're probably one of the best national teams going around at the moment. 

“For us to hold them to just an own goal after putting them down 1-0, it shows the graft and the mentality that we've got moving forward. 

“With the new boss being in only for such a short time, and bringing in new faces, and a new style of play, I think the boys handled things really, really really well, especially to be able to get a point away to Japan.”

Coming out of the October international window in second place in Group C – a placing that carries with it direct qualification for the World Cup – the November international window has become an even bigger one for the Socceroos. 

Level on points with both Saudi Arabia and Bahrain – who drew in Jeddah on Tuesday evening – Australia will face off with those two nations on November 14 and November 19 – the first against the Saudis in Melbourne before travelling to face Ghawaseen Al-Lulu in Riffa. 

Take maximum points from both of those games and all of a sudden their position is looking significantly stronger than anyone would have thought possible at this time last month when the side was coming off a loss to Bahrain on the Gold Coast and a 0-0 draw with Indonesia in Jakarta. 

“Every game from here on is going to get bigger,” said Souttar, who missed a significant chunk of the last qualification campaign with an ACL injury. “The ones in November are going to be massive and then the ones in March [against China and Indonesia] -- it's just going to get bigger and bigger and bigger.

“I've been speaking to the boys that have done this stage before -- there's only really a handful of them in the squad -- and drawing on their experiences. [They’re] helping the lads that have gone through it for the first time and what it's like. 

“It's another tough test, November. But they’re games we need to win. And I'm sure the lads will go, go back to the clubs and try and do all they can to get into the squad.”

Header Image: Football Australia / Aleksandar Jason