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U20 WC 2025 Australia match thread

Having watched both games it is clear that this team is not in the class of Italy and Argentina.That is not surprising given the football culture and history that these countries bring to the table.Lots of effort and some good lead up play in both games but technical deficiencies were shown up when compared to our opponents.
A tough group to be in and giving up those late goals in the Argentina game have pretty well ruined our chance of progressing.In fact Cuba getting the draw against Italy possibly might consign us to last place in the group unless we can knock them over.
Hall is a good keeper though needs to work on his distribution.Esposito is obviously troubled by quick and clever strikes like Sarco and he has been disappointing.Overy started well against Argentina but found the going hard as the game went on.Bennie certainly works hard but his decision making and some of his passing was substandard.Okon Jnr looked good in the first game but some of his defensive work against Argentina was shoddy.Badolato looked very good in the Asian games but has been innocuous in these games.
Toure's first touch was often poor and he was heavily marked by both the Italian and Argentine defenders and subjected to niggly fouls.Jovanovic put in some really good corners and free kicks when he came on.
I cannot see any of these players being ready for the step up to the senior team for the 2026 WC.However with more game time and experience some should be involved for the next WC cycle.Trevor Morgan has done a good job with this squad getting them to the finals and seems to have the management skills to help young players.
 
And yet we have beaten Argentina twice in previous WYCs.
Kosta Salapasides, who went on to be only a moderate NSL player and was never capped at senior level, scored four goals in a 4-3 win in 1997.
And we beat them 2-1 in 1981 when i think Sydney Olympic's Mark Koussas was a goal scorer.
Present day Australian youth players don't seem to have that same hunger.
 
ashtongate said:
And yet we have beaten Argentina twice in previous WYCs.
Kosta Salapasides, who went on to be only a moderate NSL player and was never capped at senior level, scored four goals in a 4-3 win in 1997.
And we beat them 2-1 in 1981 when i think Sydney Olympic's Mark Koussas was a goal scorer.
Present day Australian youth players don't seem to have that same hunger.
Click to expand...
I dont disagree that there is a bigger gap today between oz u20 and argentina u20, but what makes you think hunger is the issue?
 
ashtongate said:
And yet we have beaten Argentina twice in previous WYCs.
Kosta Salapasides, who went on to be only a moderate NSL player and was never capped at senior level, scored four goals in a 4-3 win in 1997.
And we beat them 2-1 in 1981 when i think Sydney Olympic's Mark Koussas was a goal scorer.
Present day Australian youth players don't seem to have that same hunger.
Click to expand...
In the past we played hoofball which realistically got us nowhere in the long run. These days we actually get our youth to play football against these sides
 
Pasquali said:
In the past we played hoofball which realistically got us nowhere in the long run. These days we actually get our youth to play football against these sides
Click to expand...
97 and 99 were arguably our strongest squads on paper (with the benefit of hindsight)

will watch the match to see how hoofy we were

Here is the link for those interested
footballia.eu

Argentina vs. Australia

Watch the 1997 Argentina vs. Australia U-20 World Cup Group stage, matchday 3 full match held at Sarawak Stadium (Kuching) on Footballia
footballia.eu footballia.eu
 
The4MW said:
I’d agree with that, thought Bennie mostly held his own. Toure, it’s harsh, but wow the inability to turn with the ball or get his body in the correct position to get a pass off was embarrassing, killed the majority of our moves going forward.
Click to expand...
Toure still did some useful work, but does not have his older brother's close ball control with his back to goal or shielding the ball ATM.

Welcome to the forum, 4MW.
 
Pasquali said:
In the past we played hoofball which realistically got us nowhere in the long run. These days we actually get our youth to play football against these sides
Click to expand...
Oh some people gets a little touchy about the fact Australia played a more robust game back then relying on the Physicality more than skill.
 
grazorblade said:
97 and 99 were arguably our strongest squads on paper (with the benefit of hindsight)

will watch the match to see how hoofy we were

Here is the link for those interested
footballia.eu

Argentina vs. Australia

Watch the 1997 Argentina vs. Australia U-20 World Cup Group stage, matchday 3 full match held at Sarawak Stadium (Kuching) on Footballia
footballia.eu footballia.eu
Click to expand...
I'll have a look at the replay too.

I thought what killed Aus, wasn't technique disparity, like in the past, but structure and tactics against arguably the most consistent powerhouse in the world ATM from seniors down to underage national teams.

Whereas tactically Popa keeping the distance between the DM and back three is paramount, hence the senior Roos rarely have to turn around and chase opponents running towards their own goal, Morgan had the U20 team committing numbers forward.

In the Defensive Transitions ( the few secs they lost possession) Aus couldn't reconfigure the defensive shape quickly enough.

Conversely, in Argentina's Attacking Transitions, they were more effective and more organised at committing numbers forward in this Main Moment of the Game.

4-1 flattered Argentina. Close ref calls all went their way, but they deserved to win by a smaller margin. They had more shots at goal and better chances. A few times Sarco showed Aus defenders up by beating 1 or 2, which is appalling, but he is obviously a world class striker.
 
Pasquali said:
In the past we played hoofball which realistically got us nowhere in the long run. These days we actually get our youth to play football against these sides
Click to expand...
Well said.

I was privy to heaps of discussions with football luminaries , within the FFA coach education structure in National Conferences and coaching courses 17- 11 years ago and how the hoofball performances at youth level didn't get us far as senior footballers.

Aus didn't produce entire teams of technicians like the current U20s are.

We've had 1 bad loss - on the scoreboard, not the overall performance - but it doesn't mean Aus should rip up an entire curriculum because of one poor underage result.

In those close decisions, when Sarco's first goal was allowed, and Quintal's wasn't, plus that pen shout was quashed in the second half, the game was close at that stage. Aus could have been in front.
 
booney52 said:
Having watched both games it is clear that this team is not in the class of Italy and Argentina.That is not surprising given the football culture and history that these countries bring to the table.Lots of effort and some good lead up play in both games but technical deficiencies were shown up when compared to our opponents.
A tough group to be in and giving up those late goals in the Argentina game have pretty well ruined our chance of progressing.In fact Cuba getting the draw against Italy possibly might consign us to last place in the group unless we can knock them over.
Hall is a good keeper though needs to work on his distribution.Esposito is obviously troubled by quick and clever strikes like Sarco and he has been disappointing.Overy started well against Argentina but found the going hard as the game went on.Bennie certainly works hard but his decision making and some of his passing was substandard.Okon Jnr looked good in the first game but some of his defensive work against Argentina was shoddy.Badolato looked very good in the Asian games but has been innocuous in these games.
Toure's first touch was often poor and he was heavily marked by both the Italian and Argentine defenders and subjected to niggly fouls.Jovanovic put in some really good corners and free kicks when he came on.
I cannot see any of these players being ready for the step up to the senior team for the 2026 WC.However with more game time and experience some should be involved for the next WC cycle.Trevor Morgan has done a good job with this squad getting them to the finals and seems to have the management skills to help young players.
Click to expand...
Some good points made in your post, Booney.

There was a lot of good stuff for Aus too.

One issue was team organisation was inferior to Argentina's under pressure. They seem more tournament fit. They made less team unit mistakes. Underage players make more mistakes then seniors, but Argentina made less mistakes than us. However, Aus took the game up to them, and there wasn't much difference in technique overall.

Esposito did many good things - tackles, heading duels, blocks, intercepts, and reasonable distrubtion. He also tackles off the wrong foot at times, like many senior players.

Okon also did well most of the time, despite being isolated in Defensive Transitions, which was a whole team unit issue.

Toure did a lot of good off the ball work.

Youlley and Badolato - both did good things whilst on the pitch.

Hall made some superb saves.

With the end to end stuff as the distance between the lines stretched in the second half, there was some quality football on show from both teams.
 
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grazorblade said:
I dont disagree that there is a bigger gap today between oz u20 and argentina u20, but what makes you think hunger is the issue?
Click to expand...
Hungry players can score goals. Present day young aussie players seem to find it hard. Coaching issue?
 
Pasquali said:
In the past we played hoofball which realistically got us nowhere in the long run. These days we actually get our youth to play football against these sides
Click to expand...
But can't score goals and don't win the games that matter.
 
Decentric said:
Toure still did some useful work, but does not have his older brother's close ball control with his back to goal or shielding the ball ATM.

Welcome to the forum, 4MW.
Click to expand...

Cheers mate, been here since day dot, just haven’t been enthused enough to post.

He did do some good things, but he was so much more effective in the Asian Cup at holding up the play.. It was frustrating, because we all know he’s much better than what he showed! Hopefully with less pressure he can do this against Cuba.
 
Probably way too hard to predict now, but obviously a solid win vs Cuba is required to progress, but what else needs to happen? (Other than luck!)
 
scooterw said:
Probably way too hard to predict now, but obviously a solid win vs Cuba is required to progress, but what else needs to happen? (Other than luck!)
Click to expand...
Need to win 2-0 or higher against Cuba and draws for several of the other teams to go through as one of the 3rd place finishers.
 
ashtongate said:
Hungry players can score goals. Present day young aussie players seem to find it hard. Coaching issue?
Click to expand...
When i look at hunger i look at effort areas

If players arent scoring i usually think its a different mental issie - maybe being overawed. Not qualifying for ages is very likely a factor
 
Pasquali said:
In the past we played hoofball which realistically got us nowhere in the long run. These days we actually get our youth to play football against these sides
Click to expand...
The distinction needs to be made of difference between hoofball and the longball game. I have noticed the last few years that some of the best teams have ditched the tika taka and leaned towards a more direct style. The trouble is, it's very hard to play the long ball game unless you do it all the time or are very talented, neither of which applies to the A league
 
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