Very rarely in international football is one afforded a painless path forward. In a world governed by limited time and communication with squads, rapid turnarounds, extensive travel, and a talent pool ending at your nation’s borders, it’s not about doing things perfectly but instead finding a way to go close. For Tony Popovic, one of these crossroads moments arrived after the Socceroos punched their tickets for the World Cup back in June, when the stress of chasing qualification was replaced with ensuring Australia’s men were put in the best position to succeed at the tournament proper.
With four windows – eight games – between qualification and the announcement of his 26-man World Cup squad, would he zero in on his preferred unit as soon as possible, seeking to build cohesion and momentum? Or would he cast the net as wide as possible, examining the talent out there and seeing who might emerge as a genuine World Cup chance? In the end, he went with the latter and was duly rewarded with the likes of Paul Izzo, Nestory Irankunda, Mo Touré, Max Balard, Jacob Italiano and more, all emerging as genuine contributors at this level. “We may lose a little bit of balance, or maybe relationships on the park … the key is that come June, that we’re ready,” he said earlier this week.
But to work in international management is to be placed under a microscope and second-guessed every step of the way. In the wake of his sickly team’s 3-0 loss to Colombia in New York and a 1-0 loss to Venezuela in Houston – making it three straight defeats for Australia’s men for the first time in a decade – disquiet is increasingly mounting.
Despite the greater margin, the loss in Queens actually represented a much improved performance from the side’s meek display in Texas. For 75 minutes, the Socceroos were able to hold out one of South America’s most potent attacks, demonstrated less panic on the ball (even if they weren’t too incisive with it), and generally proved far more up for the contest. Popovic revealed post-game that the players and several staff had been left bedridden by a virus just 48 hours prior, adding a new dimension to this resolute display and helping explain the sudden late collapse that saw the margin blow out. The combination of a highly contentious penalty forced a group of players reaching the end of their tether to come out and chase the game, leaving them open and exposed to conceding two more soft goals.
Yet Tuesday’s game also exists in the broader context of the Socceroos’ road to 2026. It continued a blunt attacking trend in this regard, outshot 16 to two by the South Americans and managing just one shot, from a Riley McGree free-kick, on target. Across their last 270 minutes of football, against three well-credentialled opponents, Australia have been able to score just a single goal. While they’ve demonstrated that they’re capable of mounting a rearguard against pretty much anyone, a hammer to go along with this anvil – a reliable means of moving the ball through the midfield and and then creating consistent open looks on goal – has yet to be forged.
None of this is new, of course. And for all the continued trends, this 2026 unit, as demonstrated by wins over common opponents such as Japan, Saudi Arabia and China, would appear to have a higher floor than the 2022 one. But unlocking the attack is now Popovic’s job. And with just seven months and four games remaining until the World Cup commences, the current run of performances means that increased scrutiny, which the coach has welcomed, will only swell.
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Do the players that emerged across the past three months, as well as those that have been blooded with an eye to 2027’s Asian Cup and beyond, justify the missed opportunities to hone a best XI? Does the defensively-minded Popovic have a plan to add greater attacking inspiration to his approach and, if so, can it be put in place before June? “I mean, it’s easy just to say that you just flick your fingers and you can score a goal,” he said after the Colombia game. “We’ve got some young boys there that we’re trying to get experience with. You’ve just got to get better when we get in that front third [so] we can turn that good play into a good chance on goal, and then we’ll just keep working on that.”
Ultimately, only time will tell if the Socceroos can pair their grit and defensive fortitude with enough of an attacking edge to do some damage next June. But time is also something that’s rapidly running out.
