The Socceroos return to residence soil this week for his or her first matches since this historic success in Qatar final 12 months, going through fellow World Cup contributors Ecuador in a pair of friendlies on Friday and Tuesday.
Heralded because the ‘Welcome Home’ collection, it is a chance to rejoice Australia’s most interesting males’s World Cup displaying, in addition to the daybreak of a brand new World Cup cycle – an opportunity for younger gamers to stake their declare within the subsequent iteration of the Socceroos.
Here are the largest questions forward of the 2 blockbuster clashes.
JUST HOW BOLD WILL ARNIE BE?
This query can simply be reframed as such: Will coach Graham Arnold prioritise the subsequent technology or rejoice these gamers who starred in Qatar?
It shall be a tough balancing act, made more durable by the exceptional depth at his disposal.
20 Aussies acquired match minutes on the World Cup, and 15 of them have been named to this squad. Add to {that a} handful of others named to this squad (like defender Thomas Deng, midfielder Cameron Devlin, and attacker Marco Tilio) who had been on the World Cup however didn’t take to the pitch.
His choice complications may be made somewhat simpler by injury-forced absences of a quartet of Mat Leckie, Ajdin Hrustic, Aaron Mooy, and Jamie Maclaren. That’s 4 World Cup heroes who Arnold nearly needed to play in some unspecified time in the future on this pair of video games. Instead, he has the prospect to present minutes to different gamers – that means extra probabilities for recent faces.
And there’s no scarcity of recent faces. In truth, there are 5 doable debutants within the 27-man squad: Jordan Bos, Joe Gauci, Aiden O’Neill, and Alexander Robertson, plus train-on participant Nestory Irankunda – who Arnold stated was in with a robust likelihood of constructing the squad for the second recreation.
“He’s in there as a train-on at this second, however there are two video games, (and) that the back-up (between) the video games may be very quick.
“We play Friday (then) Tuesday, and there’ll be a great likelihood for the second recreation particularly that he’ll be within the squad.”
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With the 4 aforementioned veterans dominated out, the squad is tilted in direction of youth. The common age of the 26-man squad (thus excluding the 17-year-old train-on Irankunda) is 25.8 years. Besides the 5 doable debutants, 12 different gamers have seven caps or fewer.
Youth and worldwide inexperience is partly what makes this collection so thrilling. Will Arnold hand out debuts to all the thrilling quartet of kids at his disposal, together with the teenager sensation Irankunda? If so, who misses out?
Those kinds of difficult questions face each place. Assuming locked-in first-choice goalkeeper and skipper Mat Ryan performs one of many matches, does Arnold reward veteran Andrew Redmayne – the ‘Grey Wiggle’ – for his heroics within the World Cup play-offs by giving him a recreation?
Or does Arnold look to the long run (and reward superior membership type) by giving younger Adelaide FC gloveman Joe Gauci a debut between the sticks?
At least a few debuts are a veritable certainty this collection. But who begins, and simply how a lot Arnold is keen to roll the cube on youth, shall be one of many massive issues to look out for.
“It’s a clean sheet of paper, and these guys have been given the primary likelihood,” Arnold stated.
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TACTICAL TINKERING OR REVOLUTION?
Graham Arnold has remained largely constant in his tactical strategy all through his Socceroos reign. Typically that sees him deploy a 4-3-3 formation with roaming inverted fullbacks to assist an emphasis on huge play, and a willingness to play lengthy balls to stretch defences or to a holdup attacker.
Combined with an emphasis on physicality, workrate, and dogged willpower – the ‘Aussie DNA’ he champions – it has confirmed remarkably profitable, notably in backs-to-the-wall conditions in opposition to extra vaunted opposition on the World Cup.
But with the Asian Cup not till January 2024, and the more durable phases of World Cup qualifying additional down the observe, Arnold now has a chance to revolutionise or at the very least revamp his strategy.
Will we see a brand new formation? A brand new focus or model in assault?
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While the World Cup was our greatest-ever, important issues confronted the Socceroos by way of their gruelling slog to qualify for Qatar. The deal with huge play and bombing balls into the field proved ineffective in opposition to well-marshalled defences resembling Japan and Saudi Arabia, the 2 prime rivals in Asian qualifying final outing.
But the distinctive skill-sets and attributes of the youthful technology additionally presents Arnold room to alter his strategy. Australia is blessed with a raft of extraordinarily proficient rising stars, resembling Melbourne City’s 20-year-old left-back Jordan Bos.
He presents a very completely different BLAH to the incumbent Aziz Behich, the 32-year-old who has 57 caps over a decade.
“He’s a very completely different participant to Aziz Behich as a left fullback,” Arnold stated.
“I don’t assume I’ve seen one like this one since Scott Chipperfield. I hate to place a reputation on it, however he’s a really, very comparable participant to Scotty.
“He offers you that additional method that we are able to play, that perhaps we don’t must play with an inverted full again now.
“We can play with a fullback that may be excessive and huge and provides us one thing completely different.
“During a recreation, for instance, if we’re taking part in with that inverted fullback, we are able to change our model and alter our method with one substitution.
“That’s what he brings to us now.”
Australia’s depth in central defence – Harry Souttar and Kye Rowles performed each recreation in Qatar, however Thomas Deng, Milos Degenek, and Bailey Wright are nonetheless beating down the door – might even tempt Arnold to maneuver to a three-man line of defense.
Jordan Bos of Melbourne City has been in chic type of late.Source: Getty Images
NO MOOY IN BIG MIDFIELD CHANCE
Tom Rogic, Aaron Mooy, and Jackson Irvine. For nearly a decade, Australia’s midfield has been largely dominated by three males, every of whom have performed over 50 instances for the nationwide group. But Rogic missed the World Cup – having pulled out of the Socceroos earlier final 12 months in mysterious circumstances – and a scarcity of recreation time at West Brom in England’s second tier means he hasn’t earned a recall. Mooy pulled out of this collection resulting from a again damage, that means Irvine is the only real midfield veteran within the squad.
Ajdin Hrustic, Australia’s finest participant within the earlier World Cup qualification cycle, can be out with damage.
Irvine, in beautiful type at St Pauli in Germany’s second division, will play a key position within the midfield this collection. But Mooy’s absence throws up some fascinating questions.
Mooy has performed largely as a six – a deep-lying playmaker or defensive midfielder – for the Socceroos lately. For Celtic, nevertheless, he usually performs in a extra attacking position, the place he has added loads of objectives to his distinctive passing and creativity.
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Arnold strongly steered he had deliberate to deploy Mooy this collection in the same position to his membership place, resulting from each the absence of playmaker Hrustic and the larger depth of defensive midfielders within the present squad – specifically Keanu Baccus and Cameron Devlin.
The recalled Connor Metcalfe, an unfortunate omission from Qatar, gives a extra box-to-box possibility alongside potential debutant Aiden O’Neill, who has been in sensational type for Melbourne City.
Another potential debutant is Manchester City midfielder Alexander Robertson, a real quantity eight who has big expectations on his younger shoulders.
Arnold usually deploys three midfielders – both two holding midfielders in a double-pivot, or one holding midfielder and two additional ahead. Irvine will take a kind of positions in at the very least one of many two matches, whereas Riley McGree could possibly be shifted from his regular position on the flanks to an attacking midfield position normally reserved for Hrustic.
But who Arnold faucets to fill the opposite areas – or whether or not he shifts formation to drop from three to 2 midfielders – might give a giant trace as to the long run.
FULL SOCCEROOS SQUAD FOR ECUADOR FRIENDLIES
GOALKEEPERS
Mat Ryan
Andrew Redmayne
Joe Gauci
DEFENDERS
Nathaniel Atkinson
Aziz Behich
Jordy Bos
Milos Degenek
Thomas Deng
Harry Souttar
Bailey Wright
Kye Rowles
Ryan Strain
MIDFIELDERS
Keanu Baccus
Cameron Devlin
Jackson Irvine
Connor Metcalfe
Aiden O’Neill
Alexander Robertson
Riley McGree
FORWARDS
Brandon Borrello
Jason Cummings
Mitchell Duke
Craig Goodwin
Garang Kuol
Awer Mabil
Marco Tilio
Nestory Irankunda (train-on)
