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World Cup 2026 Australia thread

erogenouszone said:
I'd have Duke in the squad, he flings his body at anything in the air in the box and the way we play with alot of crosses in general he comes in handy. I've been watching him ever sense he started Macarthur mid season and has impressed, he really wants to go.
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I'm sure Duke is going to play his heart out but I wonder about guys like Sapsford or Tete Yengi hassling put opponent too.
 
Leckie really in the spotlight now and the experience is invaluable but it pains me we've reverted back to this.

The shackles of the older bunch need to be taken off so the new group aren't as raw.
 
Watching the highlight of Socceroos 2-3 The Netherlands world cup 2014

Why ta hell did Tommy Oar decide to pass instead of having a go??? And his pass was very high for Leckie. Worse panic decision making. Imagine if this is Irankunda
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And Jason Davidson? The other 2 CB were pushing up why is he not going with them? That's so dumb to keep Van Persie onside
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mkxx said:
Watching the highlight of Socceroos 2-3 The Netherlands world cup 2014

Why ta hell didTommy Oar decide to pass instead of having a go??? And his pass was very high. Worse panic decision making. Imagine if this is Irankunda
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And Jason Davidson? The other 2 CB were pushing forward why is he not going with them? That's so dumb
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The offaide trap was davidsons biggest weakness throughout his career. Stopped him reaching a higher level and he just never got better at it for some reason
 
mkxx said:
Watching the highlight of Socceroos 2-3 The Netherlands world cup 2014

Why ta hell did Tommy Oar decide to pass instead of having a go??? And his pass was very high for Leckie. Worse panic decision making. Imagine if this is Irankunda
View attachment 6719

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And Jason Davidson? The other 2 CB were pushing up why is he not going with them? That's so dumb to keep Van Persie onside
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Thanks for reminding me. Brings back memory yelling at the TV how can a pro not know to stay in front of his CBs.
 
melbcityguy said:
I'm going to be disappointed if kuol doesn't make the squad I think he has a x factor about him
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I agree - but I'm already resigned that he won't be. This is the problem we have with Popovic. He plays one way. He will pick starters to play his way and subs to play his way. This is a tournament where you need to be more nuanced. You are not picking a squad to play 2 games in a window. You need a 'squad for all occasions'.

We need players that offer something different in a tournament. Say you start a game with Irankunda and Toure and are leading 2-0 but one is noticeably tiring. That is probably when Popovic brings on duke to defend from the front.

But then flip that - we are behind 0-1 needing a win or a draw to progress. Koul as a chaos agent may not score or assist against the tiring defence but he will pull people out of shape and attract fouls and possibly penalties. Importantly disrupting the defence creates holes for others to exploit even if he doesn't get a goal contribution himself.
 
patjennings said:
I agree - but I'm already resigned that he won't be. This is the problem we have with Popovic. He plays one way. He will pick starters to play his way and subs to play his way. This is a tournament where you need to be more nuanced. You are not picking a squad to play 2 games in a window. You need a 'squad for all occasions'.

We need players that offer something different in a tournament. Say you start a game with Irankunda and Toure and are leading 2-0 but one is noticeably tiring. That is probably when Popovic brings on duke to defend from the front.

But then flip that - we are behind 0-1 needing a win or a draw to progress. Koul as a chaos agent may not score or assist against the tiring defence but he will pull people out of shape and attract fouls and possibly penalties. Importantly disrupting the defence creates holes for others to exploit even if he doesn't get a goal contribution himself.
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I see someone plays FM. You're bang on I'd say kuol is a huge threat with his dribbling way better then our other wingers his biggest problem is finding the right club
 
melbcityguy said:
I see someone plays FM. You're bang on I'd say kuol is a huge threat with his dribbling way better then our other wingers his biggest problem is finding the right club
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No i don't - I've watched him since academy sides. To paraphrase Nick Montgomery. We always had him on the team sheet as a RM in a 4-4-2 - but in reality or always drifted in and played as either a CAM or pointedly as a second striker.

The only place that have used him that way is the Newcastle U21 manager. In reality when player that role he was way more effective than Irankunda at the ALM level - and then showed at Newcastle U21 last season it was seen again. He is not an normal player, he does not play like normal, that is why he is so dangerous an why he creates chaos when deployed correctly. I watched he and Toure play together in some lower national team tournament camp internal game on youtube - they were unstoppable together.
 
JS96 said:
Leckie really in the spotlight now and the experience is invaluable but it pains me we've reverted back to this.

The shackles of the older bunch need to be taken off so the new group aren't as raw.
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You feel like after this WC there will be selection of the older "experienced" cohort that will hang up the boots. It's just unfortunate that it takes a retirement for Popa to not select them.
 
No live site a Fed Square this time around. Those responsible Staten the flares from last time were damaging. Bet the AFL has lobbied too.
 
grazorblade said:

Quite a stat

I think kutleshi and leonard have the chance to be better, as does his younger brother g okon. Stkll he is limely to play a lot of us the next few years
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So - he did this in a league rated 54th and going backwards in the world. Pity we don't have anyone performing well in higher rated leagues. oh wait ...
 
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