Because there’s a World Cup coming up, and these players are crucial to their national team and their clubs have a singular game left, why not give younger players a chance when there’s nothing left to play for? It's normal for teams to bench their best players in the final games of the seasons once things have concluded.
And before people ask why someone like Robin van Persie coaching Feyenoord would care about Australia’s World Cup preparation, well, he literally allowed two Japanese players to leave the squad early a few days ago so they could avoid injury and properly prepare for the tournament. Obviously that request came from Japan, but it’s also something Football Australia should be closely managing, especially with our key players.
We’re not like some bigger nations where if one top player goes down, there are two equally good replacements ready to step in. If someone like Bos got injured, our chances of a successful World Cup campaign would drop significantly.
And it’s not like the last decade, where most of the Socceroos squad was on a relatively similar level. This time, we genuinely have a core group of good players who should be managed differently. That means load-managing them during camps and friendlies, more rest days, carefully managed minutes, and a more strategic approach overall. Our World Cup success probably depends on six or seven players performing at their best.
