The Australian National Football Team General Discussion*OFFICIAL*


The Australian National Football Team General Discussion*OFFICIAL*

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Bowden
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Qatar Asian Cup moving to Jan 2024 isn’t official yet but has been reported by all the in-the-know Asian football journalists I follow on Twitter.

Edited
3 Years Ago by Bowden
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I’m all for the move to Jan 2024 as it helps us expedite the changing of the guard after the World Cup. 

There are 6 FIFA windows in 2023, giving us ample time to expose the next generation to the Socceroos ahead of our next big tournament:

- March 2023
- June 2023
- July 2023
- September 2023
- October 2023
- November 2023
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There’s also a ton of under age tournaments next year that are another opportunity to expose players to international football. Ok it’s not the same as being a Socceroo, but these under age national team environments would offer some level of familiarity to players.

March 2023: AFC U20 Asian Cup
May 2023: AFC U17 Asian Cup
May 2023: FIFA U20 World Cup
September 2023: AFC U23 Asian Cup Qualification
October 2023: FIFA U17 World Cup
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Bowden - 9 Nov 2022 8:38 AM
There’s also a ton of under age tournaments next year that are another opportunity to expose players to international football. Ok it’s not the same as being a Socceroo, but these under age national team environments would offer some level of familiarity to players.

March 2023: AFC U20 Asian Cup
May 2023: AFC U17 Asian Cup
May 2023: FIFA U20 World Cup
September 2023: AFC U23 Asian Cup Qualification
October 2023: FIFA U17 World Cup

The sooner younger players get that Asia away exposure the better. The last U23 Asian cup was a great experience to show what could come if the become full internationals. 
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Yep agree - it’s very relevant experience for these young players. 
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Socceroos FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ squad numbers:1 – Mat Ryan
– Milos Degenek
3 – Nathaniel Atkinson
4 – Kye Rowles
5 – Fran Karacic
6 – Martin Boyle
7 – Mathew Leckie
8 – Bailey Wright
– Jamie Maclaren
10 – Ajdin Hrustic
11 – Awer Mabil
12 – Andrew Redmayne
13 – Aaron Mooy
14 – Riley McGree
15 – Mitch Duke
16 – Aziz Behich
17 – Cameron Devlin
18 – Danny Vukovic
19 – Harry Souttar
20 – Thomas Deng
21 – Garang Kuol
22 – Jackson Irvine
23 – Craig Goodwin
24 – Joel King
25 – Jason Cummings
26 – Keanu Baccus


Some interesting notes. Deng takes the Sainsbury 20. Rowles in th famous Cahill 4. Wright in 8 as a CB is uncommon. Souttar in 19 no after having 4 and 23 in previous windows. 19 was his last 'omen.' Is it just me or does 23 see a good left footer in many teams? Goodwin and Rogic.
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The way Yengi has been playing lately at WSW, I wouldn't mind investing more in him. Sam Silvera looks a treat too.

Rene Mulenstein invented a program that developed the attacking awareness of Rashford. Why cant we give him such a project?
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Who are Australia’s #1, #2, #3 keepers post WC?

Ryan may move to #2 or #3.

Gauci?
Thomas?
Glover?
who else
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johnszasz - 23 Nov 2022 8:42 AM
The way Yengi has been playing lately at WSW, I wouldn't mind investing more in him. Sam Silvera looks a treat too.

Rene Mulenstein invented a program that developed the attacking awareness of Rashford. Why cant we give him such a project?

Both Yengi brothers might have a future with the Socceroos. It surely will be time for some new blood after the world cup, time for Duke and Maclaren to be replaced.



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chondro - 23 Nov 2022 9:35 AM
Who are Australia’s #1, #2, #3 keepers post WC?

Ryan may move to #2 or #3.

Gauci?
Thomas?
Glover?
who else

AMB


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chondro - 23 Nov 2022 9:35 AM
Who are Australia’s #1, #2, #3 keepers post WC?

Ryan may move to #2 or #3.

Gauci?
Thomas?
Glover?
who else

I am not sure. Ryan perhaps would still be #1 but we need two younger keepers in the squads with him.
Gauci certainly is young option but certainly not ready to replace Ryan yet.
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Over a 4 year cycle he could.
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chondro - 23 Nov 2022 9:35 AM
Who are Australia’s #1, #2, #3 keepers post WC?

Ryan may move to #2 or #3.

Gauci?
Thomas?
Glover?
who else

Langerak been J league keeper on yr last 2 yrs I believe.. should actually have been our keeper for the last 8 yrs at least 
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Alfred - 23 Nov 2022 9:40 AM
chondro - 23 Nov 2022 9:35 AM

I am not sure. Ryan perhaps would still be #1 but we need two younger keepers in the squads with him.
Gauci certainly is young option but certainly not ready to replace Ryan yet.

Gauci has a LOT to work on but I can't think of one game situation in the last 2 years where he wouldn't do at least as well as Ryan.

I think only Glover would inspire less confidence than ryan.

Nothing to do with this morning btw. I just can't remember even one cross that ryan has come out for.
When you're under the pump you want your 6"4 keeper coming to claim all crosses
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Davide82 - 23 Nov 2022 10:02 AM
Alfred - 23 Nov 2022 9:40 AM

Gauci has a LOT to work on but I can't think of one game situation in the last 2 years where he wouldn't do at least as well as Ryan.

I think only Glover would inspire less confidence than ryan.

Nothing to do with this morning btw. I just can't remember even one cross that ryan has come out for.
When you're under the pump you want your 6"4 keeper coming to claim all crosses

From reading the Brighton forums, that was the main complaint the fans had about him i.e. that he doesn't command his area well.
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Davide82 - 23 Nov 2022 10:02 AM
Alfred - 23 Nov 2022 9:40 AM

Gauci has a LOT to work on but I can't think of one game situation in the last 2 years where he wouldn't do at least as well as Ryan.

I think only Glover would inspire less confidence than ryan.

Nothing to do with this morning btw. I just can't remember even one cross that ryan has come out for.
When you're under the pump you want your 6"4 keeper coming to claim all crosses

I agree about Gauci, to me he would be a perfect young third goalkeeper in squads.
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Hindsight is 20 20 but wright and souttar probably would defend aerial crosses better, karacic should have replaced atkinson earlier just to see if he handles mbappe better and our wingers should have double teamed more rather than letting the fb het isolated.

there was a bit of a gulf in class though, just like against spain 2014 and germany 2010. 

It is a bit disheartening when you think about how far it seems we are from the top and how long it will take to get there (unless we are lucky with another golden generation). 

A national second division probably improves the quality 10 percent by increasing the player pool and giving more game time to youth and isnt due till 2024. It probably wont have much impact until the 2030 world cup

expansion of the a league probably increases the quality another ten percent by making the talent pool at the top a bit bigger and making the season longer. Making a longer season means less silly mistakes, less concentration lapses and better fitness. Most plausible path is through promotion from nsd, franchise expansion is possible too. Hard to see that happen before the end of the decade

moving to winter football probably helps another 10 percent by increasing the speed of ball movement. In this case we have hard data that winter football is ten percent faster than summer football measured in passes per minute. Ive heard some vague murmerings of moving to winter but no idea when

 p and r probably helps another ten percent by rewarding the clubs that efficiently use their resources. I doubt that happens before a period of consodilation for the nsd followed by a period of promotion without relegation. So probably 2034 ish which i think is also when the liscences run out. The benefit is more long term and benefits probably arent seen till the mid 2040s. In fact in the short term it might make things worse if a big club goes down for a season

finally, the cost of playing youth football probably helps another 10 percent by stopping our best players going to afl. According to okon, the massive cost just breaks even, clubs arent actually making money off the players. I think this probably gets fixed one club at a time once p and r gets introduced. I doubt we see a rosier picture before the end of the next decade and i doubt that makes much difference till near 2050

You put all that together and we probably have a pathway to compete with the top nations consistently by the middle of the century. That is also if everything goes to plan, making changes as quickly as they are sustainable to do so. That is soooo far away but i just dont see a quicker path there.

Can anyone else make a more optimistic story? On the plus side there is a time table for some of those steps to happen


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From the penalties given so far, it's pretty clear that Graham Arnold made a big mistake in leaving Daniel Arzani behind. It doesn't even really matter any more if a player hasn't got a great goalscoring record (and on that note, I think Arzani is passable).

All that matters is that the player is good at 1 vs 1. They basically turn the penalty box into a minefield and eventually they're likely to win a penalty.

Given Arzani's form in taking people on (even just in the A-League), he'd be a huge asset against Tunisia and Denmark. When he was brought on against Denmark last WC, he began to give the Danish defenders real headaches very quickly. Even post injury, I reckon he could have done the same again.

This was a poor selection decision from Arnie.
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quickflick - 25 Nov 2022 6:44 PM
From the penalties given so far, it's pretty clear that Graham Arnold made a big mistake in leaving Daniel Arzani behind. It doesn't even really matter any more if a player hasn't got a great goalscoring record (and on that note, I think Arzani is passable).

All that matters is that the player is good at 1 vs 1. They basically turn the penalty box into a minefield and eventually they're likely to win a penalty.

Given Arzani's form in taking people on (even just in the A-League), he'd be a huge asset against Tunisia and Denmark. When he was brought on against Denmark last WC, he began to give the Danish defenders real headaches very quickly. Even post injury, I reckon he could have done the same again.

This was a poor selection decision from Arnie.

It's an underrated attribute. I remember seeing a stat a while back that Robbie Kruse drew the most fouls in the 2.Bundesliga for Dusseldorf, then for Leverkusen in the Bundesliga. If we had VAR back then, he'd have won us a bucket of penalties 
Edited
3 Years Ago by angusozi
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Qatar the worst but we follow a close second. I suspect Iran had other things on their mind. Watching Japan, Korea and Saudi Arabia it was the energy these teams showed that was most impressive. Don't care that we lost just the manner in which we lost. I really hope they can turn it around in the next game. 
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Georgeg - 25 Nov 2022 8:48 PM
Qatar the worst but we follow a close second. I suspect Iran had other things on their mind. Watching Japan, Korea and Saudi Arabia it was the energy these teams showed that was most impressive. Don't care that we lost just the manner in which we lost. I really hope they can turn it around in the next game. 

We’re worse than Costa Rica???
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quickflick - 25 Nov 2022 6:44 PM
From the penalties given so far, it's pretty clear that Graham Arnold made a big mistake in leaving Daniel Arzani behind. It doesn't even really matter any more if a player hasn't got a great goalscoring record (and on that note, I think Arzani is passable).

All that matters is that the player is good at 1 vs 1. They basically turn the penalty box into a minefield and eventually they're likely to win a penalty.

Given Arzani's form in taking people on (even just in the A-League), he'd be a huge asset against Tunisia and Denmark. When he was brought on against Denmark last WC, he began to give the Danish defenders real headaches very quickly. Even post injury, I reckon he could have done the same again.

This was a poor selection decision from Arnie.

You are making the very optimistic assumption that we would get the ball to him near or in the penalty area against the level of opposition we are facing.
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angusozi - 25 Nov 2022 8:31 PM
quickflick - 25 Nov 2022 6:44 PM

It's an underrated attribute. I remember seeing a stat a while back that Robbie Kruse drew the most fouls in the 2.Bundesliga for Dusseldorf, then for Leverkusen in the Bundesliga. If we had VAR back then, he'd have won us a bucket of penalties 

That's the thing. It's anything but diving rather using your body to the defenders flaws and then have the ref on your side. With so much football on you can see ow players use contact to their advantage. I highly doubt it but what if Atkinson had screamed out and fallen to the left the moment he lost the ball to Rabiot?
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Derider - 25 Nov 2022 8:56 PM
Georgeg - 25 Nov 2022 8:48 PM

We’re worse than Costa Rica???

Was only thinking of Asian teams but yeah Costa Rica would be marginally worse than us
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Are we being a bit premature comparing our team against teams that haven't played upper echelon countries yet?  France and England looked a class above most teams so far.
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Flytox - 25 Nov 2022 8:59 PM
quickflick - 25 Nov 2022 6:44 PM

You are making the very optimistic assumption that we would get the ball to him near or in the penalty area against the level of opposition we are facing.

Why bother bringing any attacking players at all then?

I recall Arzani getting into the Danish penalty area last WC. He's got the dribbling skill. If he gets the ball in the final third, he's a handful for defenders (of any level).

Admittedly, an Arzani inclusion may appear unorthodox (given his lack of mins playing. But he's indispensable to our NT. The only other player with that kind of 1 vs 1 ability is Garang Kuol.

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Leaving out Mitch Langerak was the patently idiotic selection decision. It goes without saying you bring your best goalkeeper and you forget about the politics, favouritism. But leaving Arzani behind was also dumb.

It's almost as if they've decided - how do we make things as difficult for ourselves as possible?
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angusozi - 25 Nov 2022 8:31 PM
quickflick - 25 Nov 2022 6:44 PM

It's an underrated attribute. I remember seeing a stat a while back that Robbie Kruse drew the most fouls in the 2.Bundesliga for Dusseldorf, then for Leverkusen in the Bundesliga. If we had VAR back then, he'd have won us a bucket of penalties 

Exactly!!
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quickflick - 25 Nov 2022 6:44 PM
From the penalties given so far, it's pretty clear that Graham Arnold made a big mistake in leaving Daniel Arzani behind. It doesn't even really matter any more if a player hasn't got a great goalscoring record (and on that note, I think Arzani is passable).

All that matters is that the player is good at 1 vs 1. They basically turn the penalty box into a minefield and eventually they're likely to win a penalty.

Given Arzani's form in taking people on (even just in the A-League), he'd be a huge asset against Tunisia and Denmark. When he was brought on against Denmark last WC, he began to give the Danish defenders real headaches very quickly. Even post injury, I reckon he could have done the same again.

This was a poor selection decision from Arnie.

It's the worst decision of the lot.
Yes, he was short on game time (but are so are plenty of the squad), but he showed 4 years ago that he belongs at this level.  There's no one in the squad that comes close to what he can do.

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Flytox - 25 Nov 2022 9:30 PM
Are we being a bit premature comparing our team against teams that haven't played upper echelon countries yet?  France and England looked a class above most teams so far.

In fairness, Germany looked like an elite team - that's why Japan's come from behind win was so impressive.
In fact, extraordinarily, Germany had the highest xG of any team so far this world cup (which underlines how brilliant the Japanese keeper was, perhaps the best individual performance to date).

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