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Socceroos vs USA 2026 World Cup match thread 🇦🇺 🇺🇸

I'd like see Ryan get a chance at redemption but it could go very wrong. See how long and accurate Beach's kicks are? 70m!

I really think this is the game to start Devlin.
It could go very wrong with Beach. He is not the most consistent. His long kicks were mostly not accurate.

That said you can't drop him after that clean sheet especially if we will be playing so deep and Maty's sweeping comes into play. Maybe Paraguay. Beach has a habit of overcommiting when sweeping.
 
It could go very wrong with Beach. He is not the most consistent. His long kicks were mostly not accurate.

That said you can't drop him after that clean sheet especially if we will be playing so deep and Maty's sweeping doesn't comes into play. Maybe Paraguay. Beach has a habit of over-commiting when sweeping.
 
Think we're getting an Irankunda free kick goal in this first half. Why do I think that? Just vibes man.
Funnily enough I had imagined the type of goal Irankunda scored. Some kind of run with a brief chance to shoot. I also scored something similar with Bos on FIFA 26 world cup mode.

We need to win free kicks in the right area. I think we'll have a bit more ball than the Turkey game.
 
Zwayer is likeable for me if you're disciplined and don't start shit. He can turn pretty quickly if you push him.

Probably meaningless but I wonder if Irvine, Metcalfe and Degenek can endear themselves with a little German language?
 
Kinda funny listening to everyone talk about us as a physical team. As defensively as we played against Turkey, there were less crunching tackles or cynical fouls by us than most competitive games we play. Physically dominant and big, sure, but there were a lot of clean tackles, composure and discipline.

I reckon the USA will target and push Irankunda to blow up as soon as he’s on the park. I’m surprised the Turks didn’t.
 
Kinda funny listening to everyone talk about us as a physical team. As defensively as we played against Turkey, there were less crunching tackles or cynical fouls by us than most competitive games we play. Physically dominant and big, sure, but there were a lot of clean tackles, composure and discipline.

I reckon the USA will target and push Irankunda to blow up as soon as he’s on the park. I’m surprised the Turks didn’t.
It was the most defensively composed performance I've ever seen from us. The discipline to jockey and not jump in was exceptional. That said we did win a lot of clean tackles too. Okon and Italiano were fantastic with their timing.
 
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I reckon the USA will target and push Irankunda to blow up as soon as he’s on the park. I’m surprised the Turks didn’t.
If the United States are targeting and pushing Nestory Irankunda to blow up as soon as he takes the field then he needs to lock in and keep his head level right from the get-go because we cannot afford to have poor discipline leading to players being sent off.
 
If the United States are targeting and pushing Nestory Irankunda to blow up as soon as he takes the field then he needs to lock in and keep his head level right from the get-go because we cannot afford to have poor discipline leading to players being sent off.
For this game I wouldn't be opposed to Poppa reverting to using Irankunda as a 60th minute sub. In the Turkey game we saw that neither him or Toure had the legs for 90 minutes and in this one there will be heat to contend with also, heat that will also affect the defenders who will have to try and chase them.
I imagine if we started with something like Volpato, Metcalfe and Yengi up front with Volpato playing more centrally and allowing Bos to play on the left it would provide a different attacking profile to what the US is prepared for as well as protecting Irankunda.
 
Zwayer is likeable for me if you're disciplined and don't start shit. He can turn pretty quickly if you push him.

Probably meaningless but I wonder if Irvine, Metcalfe and Degenek can endear themselves with a little German language?
Nestory can't. Famously said he couldn't be arsed learning the language when he was with Bayern.
 
I'd be interested in a flat midfield 3 of Trewin, Devlin and Metcalfe and forgo the RWB and have any of these 3 roam and rotate around that area Metcalfe and Italiano had a great position partnership.
I think we have to play a RWB.

It has been a specific target area for teams against us and if we have 3 players sort of drifting around they will either all go or no one will go and we will get mixed up.

We need a dedicated defender who knows it is their job to limit the attacks there and the players around him know they have to cover him when he can't stop it clean. No different to marking Mbappe - you have to dedicate someone to the position and also recognise he is going to get past some time.

For Italiano v Geria, I would have Italiano if he has the legs. We can't afford to build a team of defenders without the attacking side. If we sacrifice our attacking options we will concede the defensive strength of having cohesive attacking options ready to counter and we will get picked apart and squashed. Generally speaking (across the park), we have to keep some of the US players with a mind on defending too more than us just having a few players forward. Make them play 5 players with a defensive focus out of fear of what we might construct on top of a long ball to speedsters.
 
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