The road to the WC Finals - now 2022

[bt50]

Scenes in Panama. Unbelievable stuff.

[Blackout]

I bet the Russian hooligans will be disappointed that there will be no American fans to beat up now.

[belaguttman]

Honduras is our least favoured opponent, the logistics are difficult and they are a decent side with a decent coach. Beatable but tough.

I think that the stress is showing in Ange's coaching, its a shadow of the team that won the Asian Cup and he's a shadow of the Cup-winning coach he was then. It also creates some difficulty in appointing a successor as FFA is likely to have been replaced by a FIFA admin committee just before the final qualifier.

I hope Ange is OK

Edited October 11, 2017 by belaguttman

[KSK_47]

Sorry. On phone. Can't copy and paste article text but Ange is quitting in November even if we qualify

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/football/socceroos/socceroos-coach-ange-postecoglou-will-quit-in-november-even-if-australia-qualify-for-world-cup/news-story/ce0e2e07f277f648690da9400c8f36aa

[Tony999]

Good! Buzz off you fat souvlaki! I said it before he even won the Asian Cup that it was a poor decision. I'd get rid of him now before he continues to tarnish football in Australia which means not qualifying either.

[Shahanga]

1 hour ago, rayv36 said:

playing Honduras, panama got the win over costa rica pushing USA to 5th! crazy stuff

I went through all the possibilities in my head last night. I thought this scenario seemed the least likely. Frankly I thought Mexico was smash Honduras and the US similarly T&T.

This is why we love football 

[Shahanga]

As to Ange, I'm bitterly disappointed.

HTFU and stay and finish the job.

[n i k o]

Ange Postecoglou didn’t say anything to us after the game against Syria on Tuesday night about walking away from the Socceroos coaching job.

 

He told the team how proud he was of us. He joked that we were killing him by doing things the hard way. He seemed a little more relieved than usual, but I think that was because the game was such a nail biter.

 

When the report dropped on Wednesday that he could be stepping down from the job after the Honduras games, it caught me by surprise. I was spending the day with family and friends before flying back to England, so I wasn’t on social media or reading any media reports during that time.

 

I didn’t hear about the Ange report until after everyone else.

 

Personally, I’d love Ange to be with us all the way to Russia, assuming we get past Honduras. I’m still thinking he’s going to be there. If Ange or David Gallop tell the players something different, then I’ll know, but otherwise I don’t think we can start thinking about ‘what’s next’.

 

Ange has been with us going back to the last World Cup. I find it hard to imagine that if we get through to next year’s World Cup someone in his position would want to leave the team knowing we’ve qualified.

 

Until we know for sure, I’ll just keep doing what I do.

 

Criticism and praise come and go in football and I don’t pay too much attention to any of that, but Ange has copped a lot of criticism about our tactics and playing style. In my opinion, that’s been unfair.

 

I’ve always loved Ange’s approach, the way he doesn’t see Australia as an underdog and how he asks the question, ‘Why can’t Australia do great things in the football world?’

 

I agree with him. That’s how you’ve got to be. That’s the right attitude.

 

 

image: https://cdn.playersvoice.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/RYAN_PV1_02_a.jpg

 

THREE AT THE BACK

I’ve got full faith in what Ange does and the direction he has taken for us as the national coach.

 

People criticised us when we went to three at the back during our World Cup qualifying campaign. They’re wrong. It’s part of football adjusting to team tactics and obviously a coach requires the team to be adaptable.

 

For teams to be successful you have to be able to adapt to different oppositions and be able to use different systems. If one way isn’t working you must be able to swap to another system on the run. They’re all weapons in your armoury and if you have them you can be successful.

 

You’ve got to try to do what’s asked of you. It’s when we haven’t been able to stick to those principles we’ve applied in practice that we’ve been punished in matches.

 

Criticism and praise come and go in football and I don’t pay too much attention to any of that, but Ange has copped a lot of criticism about our tactics and playing style. In my opinion, that’s been unfair.

 

When we have applied it well we’ve been successful. All that matters is sticking to team principles and trying to build consistency at a high level.

 

That’s how you become successful and that’s been the theme for us.

 

Our 1-1 draw with Chile at the Confederations Cup was the perfect example. They’re one of the best teams in the world and they set up similarly to us.

 

The style we’re playing is designed not just to get us to the World Cup, but to get there and make some noise and be competitive at that level.

 

Perhaps the teams we’re facing in the qualification process don’t have the same approach. Some are prepared to just get there and make up the numbers and not try to take that extra step and be really successful.

 

We’ve always talked about our goal: to make it to the World Cup playing the style of football that we know can match it with the best sides.

 

That’s what everyone saw with that Chile game. That’s the type of football you’ll face playing against the big teams at the World Cup and we’ve shown we can match that.

 

The challenge we face in the qualification process – playing away from home in heat and on dodgy pitches – hinders the brand of football we want to play. But when you get to these big tournaments the pitches are all great. It becomes strictly a football challenge.

 

The style of some of the other teams has contributed to some of our performances not being what we expect of ourselves. That’s unfortunate. But it’s what can happen in qualifiers and it’s an ongoing challenge to learn how to deal with that.

 

 

image: https://cdn.playersvoice.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/RYAN_PV1_03_a.jpg

 

MOOY MAKING A MARK

I know there was a lot of comment about Aaron Mooy being left out of the starting side against Syria but, again, that’s just outside noise. I have faith in Ange’s team selections, because they’re geared towards helping us win.

 

If I started reacting negatively to decisions about who was out I’d be disrespecting my other teammates who come into the team. Then they might doubt they’re capable of doing as good a job as Aaron, or whoever else might not be in the starting side at that time.

 

Whatever the manager says goes and we have that sort of professional approach.

 

Look at the job Aaron did when he came on. He could have easily had a poor attitude after not starting, but the boss always makes the point that just because you’re not starting the game doesn’t mean you’re not capable of making a big impact by doing something special. Aaron was great.

 

You can still go out and produce the best 20, 10 or five minutes of football for your national team possible.

 

Lots of coaches I’ve played under never brought up a point like that and it just makes you think. You can still have an influence.

 

He could have easily had a poor attitude after not starting, but the boss always makes the point that just because you’re not starting the game doesn’t mean you’re not capable of making a big impact by doing something special. Aaron was great.

 

Aaron had that approach. It’s been proven right. Of course everyone likes to start, but it’s what you do when you get out there that matters.

 

If Aaron wasn’t mentally prepared to do his best for the team no matter what, then he wouldn’t have produced the performance that he did. He had the mentality to come on and work hard and make things happen. He fitted straight in and we benefitted as a team.

 

 

SUPER TIM & THE SYRIANS

Tim Cahill. What more you can say about him? The guy’s a freak in the sporting world. His ability, his mentality, he’s like no other player I’ve witnessed.

 

Constantly, throughout his career, he has overcome all the obstacles. Too short. Too old. What rubbish! The guy hasn’t played a lot of football this year and in a vital game he plays 120 minutes and makes the difference with his 49th and 50th international goals.

 

And to see him back in the defensive line on occasions as well was fantastic. Those things are what set him apart from the rest. It’s an absolute pleasure to play with him.

 

I didn’t see a replay of Syria’s goal before flying out. Maybe I could have attacked the goal-scorer a bit more before he took his shot, but I was waiting for him to take a bad touch to enable me to get out closer to him and shut him down. You’re making these decisions in a split second.

 

I didn’t have much else to do in terms of making saves. They were pretty stock standard stops. I had to come out and sweep at the back a bit and that worked well. If I stay back on my line it can become a one-on-one with the striker, so it’s always good to cut things off early.

 

The boss wants the goalkeeper to be good with the ball at his feet, read the game well and help the defensive line whether it’s three, four or five at the back. I just try to do my best each game to stick to those principles.

 

 

THE WOODWORK

Finally, to the Syria free kick that hit the outside of our post late in the game.

 

I think we had one too many people in the wall. That led to my view being blocked from the position I would normally take up in the goal.

 

I was yelling, but my teammates couldn’t hear me because of the crowd noise. The ref blew the whistle so I had to get set as well as I could. I didn’t see the ball until after it had come off his boot.

 

 

image: https://cdn.playersvoice.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/RYAN_PV1_04_a.jpg

 

Whether I would have stopped it or not had the ball looked like squeezing in, I’m not sure. It would have been 50-50. But the football Gods were with us so we don’t have to worry about that one now.

 

We just have to worry about Honduras and two games next month. I don’t know much about them, but we’ll get all the information we need in the lead-up to the games.

 

Syria were desperate and it was a gutsy performance by us to get past them. We showed a lot of grit. We stuck to our principles and did what needed to be done. But we won’t be satisfied until we get ourselves to Russia.

 

Maty Ryan  -  Founding Contributor

GSA is proud to present this content

Read more at https://www.playersvoice.com.au/maty-ryan-my-thoughts-on-ange/#zZTJ0bgpC6fXFzIX.99

[Dylan]

It really does show how far Aus football has to go when people thing the formation is the reason for the defensive frailties and that changing the number at the back will somehow cure everything

[Shahanga]

1 hour ago, Dylan said:

It really does show how far Aus football has to go when people thing the formation is the reason for the defensive frailties and that changing the number at the back will somehow cure everything

When I see things like the AIS being shutdown (because FFA are broke) whilst our rivals are making quantum increases in spending, I get very concerned for our future in the game.

[mus-28]

I don't think it's the fact that he's playing a back 3 that is the major issue, it's playing players out of position to fit into his 3-4-3 that is the issue and the continual changing of players without allowing them to get comfortable in the system that is making him a target of criticism.

 

The wing back positions are the perfect example, we've gone with Smith, Gersbach, Behich and back to Smith, with Smith having easily been the worst of the lot. On the other side he's chopped and changed with Degenek, Leckie, Kruse, McGowan and Risdon all having played on the right. Center back is the same with Sainsbury, Wright, Degenek, McGowan, Milligan, Spiranovic and Jurman all having been in and out of the side and haven't had the opportunity to build the understanding required to play a back 3 succesfully.

 

A majority of the current squad play their club football at clubs playing a 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 and a number are in career best form yet Ange is content with sticking to a formation that has produced a solitary decent performance (v Chile) and we're now heading into a World Cup year and the coach doesn't have the slightest clue as to what his best XI is, the only shoe-in's seem to be Ryan, Sainsbury, Leckie and Milligan. That's deserving of criticism.

[Tony999]

http://www.news.com.au/sport/football/a-league/melbourne-victory/kevin-muscat-dismisses-discussion-around-socceroos-slams-hysteria-around-ange-postecoglou/news-story/ac872a614e81ff9ba6c5d0c82a045587

So here is a bit of an extract:

MELBOURNE Victory coach Kevin Muscat has dismissed discussion around the Socceroos coaching job, saying he’s focused on his A-League role.

Following reports Ange Postecoglou will step down following Australia’s World Cup qualifiers against Honduras, Muscat and Sydney counterpart Graham Arnold shape as two of the leading Australian options as his potential replacement.

[GreenSeater]

1 hour ago, Tony999 said:

http://www.news.com.au/sport/football/a-league/melbourne-victory/kevin-muscat-dismisses-discussion-around-socceroos-slams-hysteria-around-ange-postecoglou/news-story/ac872a614e81ff9ba6c5d0c82a045587

So here is a bit of an extract:

MELBOURNE Victory coach Kevin Muscat has dismissed discussion around the Socceroos coaching job, saying he’s focused on his A-League role.

Following reports Ange Postecoglou will step down following Australia’s World Cup qualifiers against Honduras, Muscat and Sydney counterpart Graham Arnold shape as two of the leading Australian options as his potential replacement.

To be honest, whether we like it or not he probably is one of the frontrunners. Has won a couple of ALeague titles amd is a former Socceroos captain. Fits the bill pretty well tbh. Would hate to see it happen though.

[Shahanga]

11 hours ago, GreenSeater said:

To be honest, whether we like it or not he probably is one of the frontrunners. Has won a couple of ALeague titles amd is a former Socceroos captain. Fits the bill pretty well tbh. Would hate to see it happen though.

In my view he's well short of what's required. Only one Australian has anywhere near the required experience and CV and that's Arnold.

Muscat's CV is fitting to be an assistant at that level and that's it.

My choices:

1. Foreign master (no chance)

2. Arnold

3. Foreign journeyman 

4. Any other A League (current or ex) coach

PS Ange has to stay and finish his fucking job "it's just not about qualifying"

[GreenSeater]

4 hours ago, Shahanga said:

In my view he's well short of what's required. Only one Australian has anywhere near the required experience and CV and that's Arnold.

Muscat's CV is fitting to be an assistant at that level and that's it.

My choices:

1. Foreign master (no chance)

2. Arnold

3. Foreign journeyman 

4. Any other A League (current or ex) coach

PS Ange has to stay and finish his fucking job "it's just not about qualifying"

Totally agree, I think it would be a poor appointment to put Muscat in charge, I’m just saying he’d definitely be in contention.

[japiedog]

So now we know why Ange had Mooy on the bench

Lose the tie to Syria, and he could have started his $3.8million salary straight away......

He knew he had that job to go to

now he has to wait another month

 

[Jovan]

Not 2018 but 1974.

Maybe not Uruguay this time but as more things change the more things stay the same.

Check out the linesman.

Edited October 31, 2017 by Jovan

[n i k o]

By Simon Hill

 

“IT’S up to football people to educate the rest of the country in all this. Not many other sports have to deal with these types of situations in Australia. If we get football people writing this stuff too, then others feed into it. There is nothing here to worry us, nothing different from the norm.”

Those were the words of Ange Postecoglou when asked about the overused headlines in Australia of San Pedro Sula being the “murder capital of the world” – further fuelled by a rather tasteless joke by comedian Peter Helliar on “The Project.”

Helliar’s throwaway line (which I’m not going to repeat here), was intended to be a light-hearted dig, but it’s easy to see why the Hondurans - who have been warm and generous hosts - failed to see the funny side. It’s a timely reminder that humour doesn’t always travel well.

Postecoglou wasn’t about to get involved in the specifics of the row, but he is right on the money in his assessment of the bigger picture.

There is still a cultural misunderstanding among certain elements in Australia, as to just how important these big qualifiers really are. Particularly for countries who showcase themselves through football – a sport which, in this part of the world, comes second only to Catholicism as the national religion.

There remains too, a wilful, almost belligerent ignorance to the opportunities that games such as these present for the promotion of positive Australian values abroad, and how unique football is in providing the extraordinary type of atmosphere you’ll witness through your TV screens on Saturday morning.

Sadly, that’s because the national narrative remains stuck in a parochial loop when it comes to the conversation around sport in general. Into the vacuum comes prejudice, intentional or not, dressed up as humour.

If you’re looking for serious analysis, then the mainstream media finds it far easier to talk about the Ashes, discuss the latest AFL scandal, or examine (with faux earnestness), the made up entities that masquerade as nations at the Rugby League World Cup. These are things “we” can process and understand. The world on our terms.

But qualification for the most loved, most watched (and most lucrative) sporting tournament in the world? Largely an afterthought. Squeezed into side bars in newspapers, relegated into the lower spots in the sports bulletins. A place for merriment at funny-sounding names from faraway places.

Proper discussion? Nah. In the “too hard” basket. We’re no good at the game anyway see, so why bother? Just take the piss, and leave the serious stuff for the real sport. Hey, it’s only bloody “soccer”.

Remember the fabled story of the late Johnny Warren, who was once told by a radio station to keep his report on the World Cup Final short because “it’s been a big day in sport”? Unfortunately, that mindset continues in many places. Yet still, the line that Australia is the world’s greatest sporting nation is peddled with alarming regularity.

In what? Rugby League? AFL? If the competition is the world’s tallest pygmy, then yep, we’re smashing it.

The little public discussion that does take place regarding the national team remains inward looking. Tim Cahill’s ankle, Ange Postecoglou’s future – and while both issues are certainly of interest and importance, there is nothing in Australia to rival the scrutiny the Hondurans have put the Socceroos under.

For example, the local papers here – “Diez” and “El Pais” among many others – have kept a watching brief on the ‘Roos training, their every movement in and out of the hotel, their views on Honduras and yes, even Cahill’s ankle. They pay Australia the courtesy of intense interest. That’s proper respect from a sporting nation.

Yet try to write an article on Australia’s opposition back home (as I, and others, do before every international), and the response is a deafening silence. Few in the media bother to turn up to the opposition press conferences. People simply have zero interest.

Then, if and when the Socceroos struggle, the slant becomes all about national team failings, and/or (inevitably and predictably), the flaws of the sport as a whole - rather than any genuine attempt at understanding how, or why, the opposition might have stolen a march on us. It’s the same with the Olympics.

This introspective thinking was put into even sharper focus by Sam Kerr’s recent elevation into the public consciousness.

After her exploits at the Tournament of Nations, Kerr (and her Matilda’s teammates) became the hot ticket item for a period of time – yet the conversation soon reverted to type. She was continuously referenced as the “sister of Daniel Kerr”, and more than one reporter suggested her next logical move was into the AFLW.

Er, no. It isn’t actually. Why on earth would Kerr give up shots at the Asian Cup, the Women’s World Cup, and the Olympics (all in the space of the next three years), to take part in a six-week hit and giggle-fest on the suburban fields of Melbourne? Or the international acclaim and money she earns playing professionally in the USA?

International football is not, and should never be, a stepping stone to the AFLW.

Yet this is the landscape which we inhabit.

It is a landscape that, as Postecoglou rightly points out, we must try to change. Otherwise, the cheap stereotyping (and cheap shots) will continue, and we will spend our days on these tours answering questions about quips from comedians back home.

https://www.foxsports.com.au/football/socceroos/simon-hill-cultural-misunderstanding-in-australia-about-how-big-the-wc-playoffs-really-are/news-story/bc06cb3c07b230e00831432928a4ac60
 

[Shahanga]

Crunch time.

i must say I never thought that we'd be playing (if we made it) Honduras in this tie. They really struggled in qualification and it was only the last 2 games  ( against qualified opponents) and a shock failure by the seppos that got them here. My gut feeling is that both the seppos and Panama would have seen us off, but I think we gave a red hot chance against Honduras.

Leckie is a big loss of course and Milligan to a lesser degree. I think Jedinak if fit will more than cover for Milligan though.

Not sure what the Timmy story is, like everyone else surprised he's even there. If he can even stand on it he'll want to play though.

As to this media fuss ( which I've completely missed) might play into our hands? If Honduras come out and attack us to "teach us a lesson etc" we've got a lot more chance of winning the game than if they sit back and pick us off. 

Come on boys, get the job done.

[mus-28]

Pretty happy with the line-up. No Rogic which should help us when we don't have the ball.

[KSK_47]

Ow my freakin ears. It's like WC 2010 all over again!

[KSK_47]

Holy shit. How big are their corner flags

[Blackout]

6 minutes ago, KSK_47 said:

Ow my freakin ears. It's like WC 2010 all over again!

I don't understand why people use them. They're basically a counter to any atmosphere.

[Shahanga]

5 minutes ago, Blackout said:

I don't understand why people use them. They're basically a counter to any atmosphere.

Beehive atmosphere 

hete we go pen! Or not.....

wtf?

Edited November 10, 2017 by Shahanga

[Shahanga]

What sort of cattle do the Honduran FA run here during the week? Brahman?

[Young Polak]

Well I'm quite happy with our defending, rarely gave them any opportunity at all.

2 huge chances for us but I'm hoping the team would be fired up as fuck to go and get an away goal advantage in the 2nd half as it looks very achievable 

Edited November 10, 2017 by Young Polak

[kingofhearts]

Tomi juric is fucking hopeless 

[Shahanga]

We are squandering some good chances here.

Got to put these blokes to the sword, they're ripe for the plucking 

[Young Polak]

Mooy has been quite disappointing in the second half delivering balls from set pieces...

 

[Young Polak]

Theres just simply a lack of attacking intelligence

[Shahanga]

We have started playing really poorly the last few minutes 

Just hanging on now

[Shahanga]

You'd have to think that on a football field we can beat these blokes.

[malloy]

1 hour ago, Shahanga said:

Beehive atmosphere 

hete we go pen! Or not.....

wtf?

Why wasn't it given in the end? He wasn't offside from what I could tell?

[belaguttman]

The Melbourne Cup was run on better grass than this pitch. I'll take 0-0 although I'm disappointed that we didn't win against a poor team. It really encapsulated our whole campaign, what we are really missing is a good finisher. Still, our best performance since the Asian Cup and I feel confident about Sydney although we've left ourselves open to the away goal rule

[GreenSeater]

Happy with that performance to be honest. Would have loved an away goal and if Juric was less of a spud we would have had one or two. We looked great defensively, they only had one decent chance all game which Ryan covered pretty easily. Should hopefully be able to run them ragged in Sydney. It's all set up for a Tim Cahill winner at the death isn't it? Also Aziz Behich was great and I hope we never see Brad Smith near the national team again.

[kingofhearts]

4 hours ago, GreenSeater said:

Happy with that performance to be honest. Would have loved an away goal and if Juric was less of a spud we would have had one or two. We looked great defensively, they only had one decent chance all game which Ryan covered pretty easily. Should hopefully be able to run them ragged in Sydney. It's all set up for a Tim Cahill winner at the death isn't it? Also Aziz Behich was great and I hope we never see Brad Smith near the national team again.

How Brad Smith keeps getting picked is beyond me, the bloke is trash, and his name is just as average.

Now aziz beich, thats a name you can set your watch too

Edited November 11, 2017 by kingofhearts

[belaguttman]

30 minutes ago, kingofhearts said:

How Brad Smith keeps getting picked is beyond me, the bloke is trash, and his name is just as average.

Now aziz beich, thats a name you can set your watch too

Well whether  he's trash or not, he's certainly trash whilst he isn't playing any club football

Edited November 11, 2017 by belaguttman

[Dylan]

 

That is a great looking ball. I bet Minecraft will sue

[bt50]

[Dylan]

Im watching the other qualifiers.... Fuck we are dog shit hahah