The door remains open. That is the message from Tony Popovic this week ahead of the final international window before he has to name his squad for this year’s FIFA World Cup squad.
While some coaches look to use this window to consolidate what they have, Popovic isn’t one of those, calling into camp three uncapped players in Deni Juric, Ante Suto and Lucas Herrington as he keeps his options open at both ends of the park.
It’s an environment designed to keep every player on their toes. The former Socceroos’ defender has made it abundantly clear from day one that no player should take for granted playing for the national team, and whether you are playing cap 68 or making your debut, the same standards are expected and the same feeling of privilege should apply.
No player should ever feel comfortable in their position, which was underlined when Popovic dropped captain Mat Ryan in favour of Joe Gauci in his first game in charge.
While that is a great theory to have, in any squad there are always players that, unless they decide to suddenly go through the motions, are locks to feature.
That doesn’t guarantee a spot in the starting XI, but assuming a full bill of health expect guys like Ryan, Jackson Irvine, Alessandro Circati and Jordy Bos to be on the plane to North America. It’s still up to them to make their case for a starting berth, but it’s hard to imagine a world in which they don’t feature in the 26-man squad.
Other positions, however, are less guaranteed. So, as he casts his eye over his squad in Sydney and Melbourne this week, for matches against Cameroon and Curacao, what questions is he wanting answered and what is he looking to get out of the FIFA Series?
Strike Power
Not since the days of Josh Kennedy has Australia had certainty over the No.9 position. Tim Cahill played that role with distinction, but wasn’t a traditional striker by trade.
Then came Mitch Duke, who more than held his own at the point of the attack, albeit without the rate of goals you’d want from someone in that position; just four goals in 26 games post-Qatar.
While there was more to Duke than just his goals, ultimately that is what a striker is judged upon and no player could ever quite nail down that role. Jamie Maclaren was tried, as were Kusini Yengi, Adam Taggart and Brandon Borrello among others.
Then came along Mohamed Toure. It wasn’t as if the former Adelaide United product appeared overnight. We were first alerted to his talent back in his days with Adelaide United, but he was never seriously in the national team frame until the last 12 months, when his impressive form in Denmark earned him a move to Norwich City, where he started life like a house on fire with four goals and an assist in his first three games.
Suddenly, the answer was obvious. Since scoring a brace against New Zealand, he has had a firm grip on that position. But an untimely injury has opened the door for others to shine and has also posed the question, if not Toure then who?
Yengi, who recently completed a move to Cerezo Osaka in Japan, has been struck down with injury himself. Taggart and Borrello have been off the radar for a while, while Duke is doing his best to impress back at Macarthur but was not named in this squad.
So, the answer as to who fills the void is still wide open, and it was instructive that of the three uncapped players Popovic called into the squad, two were strikers – Juric and Suto.
Both are bolters in every sense of the word. Suto only came onto the radar in recent months after his move to Hibernian in Scotland, where he has three goals and an assist in 266 minutes of football, mostly as an impact sub off the bench.
Juric, the younger brother of 2015 Asian Cup hero Tomi, has had a nomadic career across Europe, mostly in Croatia, but also with stopovers in Slovenia and, most recently, Poland, where he has shown impressive form for Wisła Płock, who are pushing for a European spot just one point behind the Conference League positions, with five goals from 13 appearances.
A World Cup berth for either of them probably appeared a long way off just a few months ago, now they have it in their hands. Can either of them grasp the opportunity?
Right back to square one
Similar to the striker position, the position of right back has also been a bit of a revolving door over the past decade.
From Ivan Franjic, Josh Risdon, Fran Karacic, Nathaniel Atkinson, and even Milos Degenek at times, plenty have tried but no one has really been able to stamp their authority on that position.
No one, that is, until Lewis Miller.
Bouncing back from the ignominy of conceding a last minute penalty against Korea Republic at the last Asian Cup, a mistake that ultimately cost Australia their spot at the tournament, Miller had made himself indispensable under Popovic.
In fact, since Popovic took charge no player had played more minutes in green and gold over the final eight qualifiers than Miller. That was partly a reward for form, but also because Australia had so few options in that position.
So when Miller went down with an Achilles injury in February that ruled him out for the World Cup, not only did it shatter his dreams, it also left a gaping void in Australia’s defensive structure with no obvious candidate to fill it.
Popovic’s preference to operate with wing backs, rather than traditional full backs, further complicated matters. While there are options who could fill a more traditional right-back role, someone like Jason Geria, for example, the wing-back role requires a slightly different skill set; someone who can offer something both ways.
Karacic was possibly a front runner for the position, but his cursed run in green and gold has continued, forced to withdraw from the squad on the eve of the Cameroon game with a foot injury; the third time he’s had to withdraw with injury after being named in a Socceroos squad.
That opens the door for 24-year-old Jacob Italiano, who only recently returned from his own injury concerns with Grazer AK in Austria and would’ve been vying with Karacic for that position before the latter’s cruel injury blow. Bagging a hattrick in a Man of the Match performance in his final game before jetting to Australia certainly doesn’t hurt, either.
While no one ever wants to see a teammate injured, the harsh reality of football means the heartbreak for one player – or two, in the case of Miller and Karacic – provides an opportunity to another, and this might be just the break needed for Italiano.
Midfield Make Up
If we assume for a second, which is always dangerous when trying to read the mind of Tony Popovic, that Jackson Irvine is a lock in the starting XI if he is fully fit, how the rest of the midfield looks around him is a great area for debate.
The former Western Sydney, Perth Glory and Melbourne Victory coach has shown a preference for inverted wingers across his 18 months in charge. One of those is almost certain to go to fit-again Riley McGree. The other is less certain.
Will he go for the x-factor of a Nestory Irankunda, or would he prefer to utilise his speed and game changing ability off the bench?
Ajdin Hrustic is back to his best in the Netherlands, and while not a natural winger, the inverted nature of the role puts him more centrally where he does his best work.
Central midfield is even more up in the air. Aiden O’Neill featured prominently throughout qualifying, usually alongside Irvine, and might have the inside running, but Popovic has other options as well.
Patrick Yazbek has been making a strong case with his form for Nashville in MLS, while Paul Okon-Engstler, son of former Socceroos’ great Paul Okon, has been the standout player for Sydney FC this season. At just 21, however, is he ready for the cut and thrust of the World Cup? Could this window be the time to find out having made his debut in the November window?
Then there is Alex Robertson, who is back in the Socceroos squad after a barely explained absence since making his debut back in 2023. While the rumour mill suggested he was about to turn his back on Australia, possibly for Peru, he insisted this week that was never the case and was simply a paperwork issue; although what exactly that was has never been fully explained.
Playing regularly for Cardiff City in League One, with five goals and two assists, he is another option for Popovic to consider, one that perhaps offers a slightly different profile not to mention a goal scoring threat.
He has options, and which way he goes in these two games will give us an insight into what he is looking for as he closes in on naming his squad in just two months’ time.
Listen to Episode 268 of The Asian Game Podcast
