How Australia Can Shock The World

WORDS BY ZAC ASSOUNI

It was a day to remember in Vancouver. Millions cheering on the Socceroos back home, being rewarded with a perfect Sunday afternoon timeslot instead of the early hours of the morning as we’ve become accustomed to. It was a game with so much speculation as Turkey came into the tournament with a squad that on paper is absolutely good enough to win group d. Australia also came in with confidence boasting a young, hungry and above all else a talented squad which once the whistle blew, showed the world who they are.

It all started from the whiteboard, Tony Popovic knew exactly how to win this game and what we saw was an Australian team that was so well disciplined and so well driven that despite Turkiye having the majority of possession it didn’t really feel as though they were in fact the ‘dominant’ side.

Speaking of Tony Popovic, there were certainly some pregame calls that were met with raised eyebrows by the wider Australian fanbase with Melbourne City shot stopper Patrick Beach favoured ahead of longtime starter Matt Ryan as well as youngster Paul Okon-Engstler favoured ahead of Jackson Irvine. Although these changes were undoubtedly a surprise for many, the chances given to not only these youngsters but so many across this socceroos side was inevitably a masterstroke.

It was a game with tense opening stages. Australia compact as ever in defence until Nestory Irankunda made a run that would write himself into socceroos World Cup folklore. This is a man that seems to truly be putting it all together, a man who took a gamble on himself by leaving Bayern Munich and a man that is the attacking spark of this young side. Irankunda’s raw pace as well as his aggression and strength was something that Turkiye simply couldn’t contain even with the Aussies only producing such few attacking chances.

Fast forward to the second half where the importance of having a truly deep squad showed as Connor Metcalfe stunningly struck low and hard into the bottom right-hand corner to put the socceroos 2-0 up and send the Vancouver into raptures. It was a spirited performance by so many young individuals who came together into one team that was united and relentless in their organisation. This is a team of players who quite simply know their role and with what we saw on Sunday, played them perfectly.

The socceroos now face the United States in what was already fiercely anticipated even before both sides came out with impressive opening performances. If the socceroos can replicate not only their danger in attack but their rock-solid defence, it might not just be group d that has to worry.