Key occasions
19 Mins: We’re getting an excellent alternative to see what early ideas of play Popovic has seemed to impart, provided that China aren’t displaying a lot impetus to get ahead in any respect.
16 Mins: Not the cleanest little bit of play as Duke drops to obtain the ball however after some miscommunication between he and Irvine virtually turns it over. Australia collect themselves and get ahead.
15 Mins: 1 / 4 of an hour into the Popovic period and the Socceroos look as in the event that they’re taking part in with a bit extra function stepping into the ultimate third – trying to create patterns of play with the wingers drifting inside after which hitting the fullbacks getting ahead.
12 Mins: Route one soccer from China sees attacker Fei Nanduo get in behind however he’s closed down by Rowles earlier than he can get a shot or a go off.
11 Mins: After a brief delay for Miller to go off and get a reduce handled, Goodwin swings in a low free kick that the Australians can’t make correct contact with.
9 Mins: With Goodwin and Irankunda drifting into the half areas from their place on the wings, there’s loads of house for the wingbacks to run into. Miller does so on the proper and wins a free kick.
6 Mins: Socceroos once more seize on the second-phase of the nook by Miller can’t put a shot on track.
5 Mins: The nook falls to O’Neill on the second-phase, who has his shot blocked by Wei Shihao. It’s checked by the VAR however play continues.
4 Mins: Wang Dalei punches clear the free kick. The Socceroos maintain the bal and advance into the world, with Goodwin’s ball in cleared for a nook.
3 Mins: Just as Cornthwaite predicted, Goodwin has began this recreation on the proper. He wins a free kick he can swing in early.
2 Mins: Early press from China because the Socceroos search to play out from the again and the hosts haven’t but been in a position to play by way of it.
Kick Off!
For the primary time since 2017, the Socceroos are in motion in the South Australian capital.
The nationwide anthems have been sung and substitute by generic rock, kickoff is imminent right here on the Adelaide Oval.
The Opta predictor has come out in favour of the Sokkahroos. Prediction.
Against my higher judgment, I’ll let James Paraskevas tempt destiny on the e-mail line.
“I am predicting a comfortable, easy 2-0 victory for Australia. China will pose no problem at all and will barely register a shot on target in the entire game.”
Using one’s head, something like this is a reasonable expectation. But having been in the stands at Gelora Bung Karno as the Socceroos failed to beat an Indonesian outfit they should have beaten, too, I’m a little but gunshy.
Had the chance to chat with Rob Cornthwaite, who played for Popovic at Western Sydney, before the game and he mooted the idea of the new coach having his wingers switch sides during the course of the game – left winger Goodwin moving to the right and Irankunda switching to the left – which would allow them to cut inside – into what are called the half spaces – and shoot on their preferred foot. Will be interesting to follow along.
Also interesting to see Popovic go with Miller in his first game in charge. It will be the right back’s first minutes for the Socceroos since his disastrous appearance off the bench in the Asian Cup quarter-finals, where he gave away the penalty and free kick that saw South Korea equalise and then take the lead against Australia.
The 24-year-old has been seeing the field pretty regularly with Hibernian in Scotland this season, which has perhaps given him the edge over the other natural right back in the side, Jason Geria.
Further up the pitch, it looks like Irvine will be playing a deeper-lying midfield role in front of the three centrebacks, which is a similar role to what he plays as skipper of St Pauli in the Bundesliga. Arnold preferred to use him further up the field in his sides but if he’s capable of doing it week in and week out for current Brighton boss Fabian Hürzeler during St Pauli’s push for promotion and retain that position now that they’re in the top-tier, one would think he’s going to be good at it.
There was always a sense that there was going to be some kind of statement made by Popovic in his first side and going away from Ryan in favour of Gauci is certainly that. The 24-year-old hasn’t played a lot of football himself in recent times (having the best keeper in the world in Emiliano Martínez in front of you will do that) but he did feature in Aston Villa’s 2-1 win over Wycombe in the League Cup late last month.
If Popovic is making a statement about game time and form here – which would appear the most likely explanation – Izzo’s late arrival into camp may have come back to bite him, given he’s playing every minute of every game with Randers.
And speaking of home support, four of the seven South Australians in the squad start for the Socceroos tonight: Deng, Irankunda, Goodwin, and Gauci.
As one would possibly count on, an enormous cheer goes up from the group when Irankunda, who left Adelaide United to affix Bayern Munich in the offseason, is launched.
Tony Popovic speaking on the coverage, asked about the speed and dynamism he’s promised to bring to the side.
“We’ve been working off few things in training, in terms of being a bit more dynamic with the ball going forward. But [also] not losing those special traits that Australians always have in being hard to beat and working hard for each other.
“We’ve already spoken as a group, and I think the players are well aware of what it means to play for Australia. And you know, I want the players to enjoy the occasion as well. There’s always expectation and pressure applied when you play for your country, but we also have to make sure that we enjoy these moments in front of great support.”
Starting XIs
A huge call from Popovic and new goalkeeping coach Frank Juirc in their first starting XI, dropping skipper Mat Ryan in favour of Adelaide local Joe Gauci. The veteran custodian has been an unquestioned number one under Arnold but hasn’t played a competitive minute at club level since making the move to Serie A side Roma and this appears to have cost him his starting role.
It also looks to be a change in shape for the Socceroos, moving away from the four-man defensive front in favour of what looks to be a back-five. Thomas Deng accompanies Harry Souttar and Kye Rowles in the centreback positions, while Lewis Miller and Aziz Behich occupy the flanks. Aiden O’Neill and Jackson Irvine – who wears the armband in Ryan’s absence – occupy the midfield slots while Nestory Irankunda, Craig Goodwin – two South Australians – and Mitch Duke lead the line.
On the Chinese side, Ivanković will be without longtime stalwart Wu Lei for the clash after the 32-year-old withdrew with injury. Jiang Guangtai, who represented China at their MD-1 press conference yesterday, also starts; the 30-year-old was born in Liverpool to a mother of Cantonese Chinese descent and represented the Three Lions at youth level before switching to represent the land of his heritage. He’s also one of three players in the Chinese squad that play for Kevin Muscat at Shanghai Port, jokingly saying yesterday that, deep down, he was sure the former Socceroo would be rooting for him tonight.
Before we get into a deeper look at what to expect from Popovic, it’s worth looking at the overall bigger picture at play for the Socceroos.
After the opening two games of the third phase of Asian qualification, Australia finds themselves sitting second-bottom of Group C after the opening two fixtures – a position that would obviously see them fail to advance to the 2026 FIFA World Cup if qualification ended today but also fail to progress to the added rounds of qualification that have accompanied the World Cup’s expansion from 32 to 48 teams.
Thus, a win tonight is critical. Especially with a game against Japan in Saitama waiting next week, the three points on offer against China will be vital if the Socceroos to make up ground on the Samurai Blue, who top the group with six points, and second-placed Saudi Arabia and their four points.
Son saves Korea Republic. 🦸
Japan stay perfect. 💯
Ten-man Saudi Arabia battles back. 💪Here's a rundown of all the latest AFC #FIFAWorldCup qualifiers.
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) September 11, 2024
The Saudis will play back-to-back video games in Jeddah this month, in opposition to Japan this night after which Bahrain subsequent week. And provided that Roberto Mancini’s facet haven’t seemed all-too-convincing themselves to date – held to a draw with Indonesia at residence in their opening recreation – and might want to journey to Melbourne to face Australia in November, Popovic’s facet may abruptly start to ratchet up the strain on them in a rush in the event that they took care of enterprise tonight.
Of course, past the machinations and situations that include the nerd stuff, the Socceroos may actually use a chance to shift the narrative. A win over China with an excellent efficiency – the margin of victory, as soon as secured, most likely second to that efficiency – wouldn't solely function a rally across the flag second for the Australian public in the brand new Popovic period but in addition give the gamers a much-needed morale enhance after a troublesome few weeks.
Fortunately for them, tonight’s opponent in China is the one nation that sits decrease than they in the group, languishing in sixth after being hammered 7-0 on the highway in Japan in their opening fixture earlier than then happening 2-1 to a ten-player Saudi Arabia in Liaoning in the next days.
That outcome in opposition to the Samurai Blue noticed the workforce savaged at residence, with Shanghai-based outlet The Paper saying that the workforce had hit “rock-bottom” in the “disastrous defeat” and that the “incompetence” of coach Branko Ivanković had been a “contributing factor to this crushing defeat.” Fans on Weibo went even additional, with some even going so far as to say that the workforce must be disbanded, writing “there is no point in spending the most money on this useless project.”
Preamble
Hello from Adelaide Oval, everybody, as we put together not simply to observe what shapes as a significant World Cup qualifier for Australia’s males as they tackle China, but in addition put a book-end on a month in Australian soccer that feels prefer it’s had about six week’s value of developments packed into it.
I’m Joey Lynch, and right here’s the essential rundown of what’s occurred. Deep breath.
Exactly a month in the past a blunt Socceroos outfit was being held to a 0-0 draw with Indonesia on the Gelora Bung Karno, days after they'd been consigned to a shock 1-0 defeat in opposition to Bahrain on the Gold Coast – simply the workforce’s second defeat in a “live” residence World Cup qualifier since 1981. Ten days later got here the announcement that Graham Arnold was resigning as coach of the facet and 4 days after that, Tony Popovic was being unveiled as the brand new mentor. Across the weeks that adopted the previous Socceroos defender staged a cleanout of the facet’s help employees to deliver in his personal individuals – highlighted by assistants Hayden Foxe and Paul Okon – after which named his first 26-player squad for this month’s qualifiers in opposition to China and Japan, which can happen in Saitama subsequent week.
Since then, Popovic has been pressured to grapple with some new challenges that include transferring from the home to the worldwide realm. Connor Metcalfe and Massimo Luongo dropped out of the 26 after selecting up accidents with their golf equipment, changed by Luke Brattan and Patrick Yazbek. Those in the squad have been arriving in dribs and drabs throughout latest days – goalkeeper Paul Izzo solely touching down in Adelaide yesterday morning after confronting delays in his journey from Danish membership Randers – limiting the period of time that could possibly be spent on the coaching monitor and in the movie room instilling new ways and concepts.
But now, 20 days since he was launched as Socceroos boss, the Popovic epoch can correctly start. Exhale.
