Young Socceroos all business as U20 World Cup beckons

The Young Socceroos secured Australia's best-ever group stage at this year's U20 Asian Championships but know that will count for little if they can't beat Iraq to secure World Cup qualification

No Young Socceroos outfit had ever won all three of their group stage fixtures at the AFC U20 Championships until this year’s crop, but with a place at the U20 World Cup on the line against Iraq on Saturday, Trevor Morgan’s side knows that will count for little if they’re unable to tame the Cubs of Mesopotamia.

Making nine changes to the XI that had defeated Qatar 3-1, which itself featured five changes from the side that downed the Kyrgyz Republic 5-1, two goals in two minutes from Melbourne City’s Medin Memeti and Perugia’s Louis Agosti steered the Young Socceroos to a 2-1 win over China on Tuesday evening, ensuring they would advance to the quarterfinals as winners of Group A.

In doing so, they surpassed the group stages of the 2008 and 2010 outfits that paired two wins with a draw in their campaigns. Both those sides would go on to qualify for the World Cup, the former going on to lose 3-0 to the United Arab Emirates in the semifinal and the latter downed 3-2 by North Korea in the final.

It has, however, been 12 years since the Young Socceroos last progressed to a World Cup – Jackson Irvine, Jason Geria, Adam Taggart, and Jamie Maclaren all part of that squad – and if this current crop is to take that next step, they’re well aware they cannot afford to look past a Saturday quarterfinal against an Iraqi outfit that though finishing second in Group B, did so without losing a game. Win that, and they’re off to the World Cup in Chile. Lose, and it will be at least 14 years between drinks.

“After the third match, the boys were happy with most of the performance, but at the same time, there wasn't that type of celebration that you might expect,” coach Trevor Morgan said. “They all calmed themselves down pretty quickly because our plan has always been to review the performance, and they know that there were things there they could have been better with. So, we reviewed it the next day and moved on. And we're trying to keep that process going right through.

“[It’s about] managing your emotions when you're about to play a game, obviously all the cliches -- you need to play them the match and the moment in front of you, rather than the occasion. And certainly, the boys will be prepared for that. This team knows clearly who it is and what its style of play is. And then, really, you can chop and change the opponent and the occasion, but the important thing is for them to put their stamp on the match and have confidence that they will bring what they want.

“I'll back us against anybody. We're definitely confident going into the match that we have the quality to win.

“Iraq, they've progressed to the quarter-final, which means they've earned the right to be there. Their games have been challenging for them, and they had to fight to win and to progress. So they're going to take strength out of that, that they're a team that has been through some tests.

“Their playing style is becoming clearer and clearer for us. We tried to watch a broad number of possible opponents, and we're going to focus on them and make sure we're on top of our game plan.”

Beyond setting new marks for group stage wins, Morgan’s Young Socceroos group have also established themselves as one of the most free-scoring groups Australia has ever sent to an Asian Championships, their ten goals trailing only the 2010 and 2023 sides.

Breaking down stubborn defences and taking games by the scruff of the neck long a challenging area for Australian sides, Morgan’s group has drawn particular praise for their fluidity in attack and ability to find a way past opponents – the coaching staff has repeatedly spoken of their desire to see players “express themselves” on the pitch.

And according to their coach, the foundations of this individual flare amongst the group owes a lot to the rapid adaption their development took during COVID, back when this group was between 12 and 15 years old.

“If we go back to COVID times, some of the work we were able to do with young players was actually they had to train by themselves,” Morgan explained. “We were asking them, who's your favourite player? What does that player do? What are the things that you feel an affinity with? And then with this group, trying to get them to have their favourite player and really have a strong feeling of who they are and their responsibility in a match to deliver on those qualities.

“With this group in particular, our focus has been on a combined style of play, a structure where everyone knows what's expected, but especially a lot of confidence to go and take moments as you see them and express yourself if you're a great dribbler, dribble.

“And that's certainly one of the assets, that's why we've been able to use most of the squad in the matches is because we're finding different ways to create a problem for the opponent. This generation, they're close, they really like each other. They certainly have come through coaching before coming to the national team in a very positive way, where people have encouraged them to be brave in their football. And the fact that they're fighting their way into senior football right now shows that they've got a competitive side as well.”