Opportunity beckons as Popovic targets improved Curaçao performance
As the race for the 26-places at the World Cup narrows, Tony Popovic wants to see his side carry the momentum from their win over Cameroon into a full 90-minute performance against Curaçao.
MELBOURNE, Australia – Socceroos boss Tony Popovic doesn’t need to tell his players what just could be at stake in their clash with Curaçao on Tuesday evening. And after watching as his side finished over the top of Cameroon to secure a 1-0 win in Sydney last week, the coach wants to see that same level brought straight from the kickoff in Melbourne.
Stirred to life by a series of halftime adjustments and second-half substitutions, Jordy Bos’ 85th-minute goal helped the Socceroos snap a three-game losing run against the Indomitable Lions at Stadium Australia last Friday, as well as scoring their first goal since he netted in an eventual 2-1 loss to the United States last October.
Nonetheless, while the collective performance across the 90 minutes indicated that the side remains a work-in-progress heading into the World Cup in June, a strong defensive performance – Maty Ryan was hardly troubled in the Australia goal – and individual performances from the likes of Jacob Italiano, Riley McGree, Ajdin Hrustić, and Awer Mabil all provided building blocks.
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And with debutant Lucas Herrington also putting his best foot forward, 21-year-old Paul Okon-Engstler involved in the goal, and teenage phenom Nestory Irankunda helping to provide the spark, competition for places that may have felt settled as recently as six months ago is raging. Just how the coach wants it.
“It’s a World Cup, and anyone who’s here now feels they’re so close,” said Popovic. “They’re in the final camp before we go to the World Cup to prepare. So you have to believe, as a player, you’re in the mix. Then they have to obviously try and perform to their maximum and really show that they deserve to be on that plane.
“But it’s not a message that we really have to reiterate. I think the message is clear by how we choose the players: every camp, there are new players. Every window, a new player is playing, or there’s a new debut.
“So the players can see for themselves that anything’s possible. And that should give them a lot of confidence and belief that they could be one of those players who go.”
Reflecting in the immediate aftermath of the win over Cameroon, Popovic said that he felt his side settled into the game as it wore on, shedding nerves, finding their spacing, and being more patient with their build-up play in the final third.
Principles of possession have been one of the major focuses of the Socceroos during this international window, with Popovic explaining that, amongst other things, the side has been working on “decision making, playing the moments better, reading the game better, and knowing what the next play should be.”
Limited time together means more progress will come on that front when they have an extended camp in Florida ahead of the World Cup (the March window being played in Australia, rather than Europe or North America, effectively adds an extra day of travel for players), but the coach does want to see progress on Tuesday.
“It’s to continue where we finished in the second half against Cameroon,” said Popovic. “We played well in the second half. I thought overall, the whole game, we defended very well, but with the ball, we looked dangerous, and we showed a lot of patience [in the second half].
“Especially with a goal. We started deep in our half, and over ten passes later, we scored a really nice goal. Can we build on that? I think that’s the important part. And I think it’s also exciting to play a different opponent, a different style, a real football team, they want to play. So they’ll give us different challenges. And, you know, I want to see how we can overcome that.
“It’s all a success for me. In all the games, I’ve learned something positive from each match. We learned a lot on Friday, with the new players coming in, and seeing how the team grew in the second half was really positive.
“Hopefully, we can continue on from where we finished. Obviously, it’s a different opponent, so it’ll be a different type of game, but you know, if we can continue on from that performance on Friday, it’d be a nice way to finish before we go to the States.”
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After not featuring in the win over the Indomitable Lions, Ante Šuto and Nishan Velupillay will be hoping to be given their chance to lead the line against Curaçao, while midfielder Alex Robertson will also look to press his claim for minutes.
As the only two players to play the full 90 minutes against Cameroon, meanwhile, Bos and Herrington will likely have their loads managed by Popovic — they both have games on the weekend — with Aziz Behich likely to feature on the left in some capacity.
Australia, for their part, represents the antepenultimate opponent that Curaçao will face ahead of the World Cup, with games against Scotland and Aruba to come before they commence their first-ever World Cup campaign.
The tiny Caribbean nation, with a population of approximately 180k, will open its tournament against Germany in Houston on June 14, before then facing Ecuador on June 20, and Côte d’Ivoire on June 25.
And while the task ahead of them is a huge one, one only compounded by the sudden resignation of the coach that guided them to the World Cup, Dick Advocaat, due to family reasons, his replacement, Fred Rutten, knows the magic that permeates the Copa Mundial means anything can happen.
“There’s always an ability to do that [shock the world],” he said on Monday. “We have three chances, the first chance is against Germany, the second game and then the third game. So for us, it’s not over in the first game. And generally, if it’s the World Cup or a European Championship, there are always surprises. Why not this year for us?
“As a small island, when you come to a World Cup, you have to be proud. And the pride is still there, but also the happiness. And I try to use the happiness and the pride to do something that nobody expects; that’s my challenge.”
Header Image: Football Australia