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Socceroos vs Egypt - 2026 World Cup R32 - Sat 4th of July 4am AEST

Decentric said:
Belgium have historically been one of the many UEFA teams who underperform outside UEFA.

I was quite keen to have a crack at them.

The Roos are a battle hardened team of plodders used to playing in tough conditions, whilst Belgium have many big stars in UEFA who have underperformed in South A ( if they qualified), Brazil and Qatar, and maybe in USA/Canada/Mexico WC?
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Belgium would be too strong for us. We got quite lucky they finally woke up against NZ.

I wouldn’t characterise our team as “plodders”. That underrates us and is unnecessarily insulting.
 
derider said:
Belgium would be too strong for us. We got quite lucky they finally woke up against NZ.

I wouldn’t characterise our team as “plodders”. That underrates us and is unnecessarily insulting.
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I’m deliberately understating the individuals who comprise the Roos, Derider.

I’m sure Belgium would be too strong in Belgium, but outside UEFA countries Aus is far more experienced, and, battle hardened by playing more WCQ games across Asia.

Welcome back too, after a long absence.

The tactical nous, game sense, ability to follow sophisticated game plans, mental strength, unity of purpose, makes the Roos a far greater team unit than the individuals who comprise the team in terms of technical skill. Ostensibly, we have very low transfer market value relative to most other teams.

Turkey worth $750 million
USA worth $650 million
Paraguay $ 250 million
Aus $127 million;


demonstrates lower technical, athletic quality compared to our opponents, according to big UEFA clubs and leagues, plus talent scouts. That young Barca/ Real Madrid player who plays for Turkey and is worth $ 148 million, is worth more than the entire Aus team!

I often read foreign media to evaluate accurate appraisal of Aus teams. Those in the know, coaching staff, players, from Paraguay, USA, the Swiss, Cameroon, Curacao, et al, have lauded Aus team strengths - compact organised defence, resilience, very well coached, mental strength and extreme pace in counter attacks.

Haven’t bothered to look for Turkish media. The team and coaching staff underestimated the Roos and Paraguay - to their peril!
 
Decentric said:
That young Barca/ Real Madrid player who plays for Turkey and is worth $ 148 million, is worth more than the entire Aus team!
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That young player is not worth it though - and Australians are historically undervalued. Put that together with a well-drilled and well-organised team and we should should not be dismissed purely on valuations.

To use one of our own as an example Okon jr lost the ball for Sydney against Newcastle and ambled back allowing Eli Adams to score unchallenged against Sydney in the ALM semi-final. In the Australia Turkey game - Guler lost the ball and had a sook and urged his team mates to tackle the Australian with the ball. Not sure that it led to a goal but it certainly led to an Australian raid.

It doesn't matter how high you are rated - you have to do the work.
 
SpongeBobFC said:
Im ok with Bos on the right again after last game.
We know Behich will do his defensive job on the left and that should allow Nesta to push on a bit more.
I think that would be the best balance with who's available.
I was really happy with Italiano's efforts and i expect Miller to come back in when fit.
Its nice knowing the right side is looking good going forward.
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And hopefully our young fella at Man U, James Overy keeps progressing - he impressed with the Young Socceroos
 
Decentric said:
McGree has been a big loss. We’ve missed him in the WC. Very good all round skills when they have the ball, and when we have the ball. Terrific player!

Given Rowles who has been highly competent hasn’t been able to gain a berth as a defender, with plenty of tough competition and depth, whilst Hrustic gains an attacking mid position, tends to display the Roos strengths. Also, Mabil isn’t as effective a forward as any of the defenders, despite scoring a cracker against Curacao.
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McGree is skilled and does stuff in build up but his scorer points and chance creation is atrocious for Australia. The only way for this to improve is to start him every game and dust things off. He's been injured to much or part of silly random position and combination rotations that stifle any consistency.

It's a different era but Mabil still has a solid record and is hard to defend against because of his unpredictable movement.

Rowles as a LWB is only fine against a conservative opponent.
 
Belgium are only warming up now so I'd have been very nervous to face them. There's something about some teams where they're just so hard to play because their system is set and they move the ball and defend with ease.

We can see how Popovic wants us to move the ball but a lot is still ad hoc.
 
Early weather forecast for Arlington is 35-39 degrees Celsius, with 50% chance of thunderstorms and lightning.

Just your typical Queensland A-League match then 😅

We might prioritise the fast and fit over the more technical players.
 
patjennings said:
Under an injury cloud

Mohamed Salah (Forward / Captain)

Status: Compromised but likely to push through.

The Issue: Salah was substituted in the 57th minute against Iran with heavy medical strapping applied to his left leg. While coach Hossam Hassan publicly voiced optimism that the injury is minor, the medical staff is working round-the-clock to manage what is feared to be a left knee issue or hamstring strain
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Mo Salah confirmed to have a posterior muscle strain per the injury update provided by Egypt's national team doctor following scans and has started his treatment program ahead of their round of 32 match against the Socceroos.
 
JS96 said:
Football 360 following the stories and questions that matter.

Treatment program means he'll play. There's no way they're going to forgo him. He'll play on one leg.
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If Salah is actually injured that could be good for us. Hobbling around with a muscle injury is gonna be hard in a game as intense as a WC knockout game.
 
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