The Australia head coach insists the time is now for the emerging side to rise above expectations and ‘go very far’ at a men’s World Cup

With his recondite absence from the Socceroos ended, coach boss Tony Popovic says that adding a player such as Alex Robertson to his potential World Cup options ‘excites him’.

Socceroos coach Tony Popovic says he won’t allow a potential place in pot two of the FIFA World Cup draw to affect how he coaches in upcoming friendlies against Venezuela and Colombia.

The Australia head coach insists the time is now for the emerging side to rise above expectations and ‘go very far’ at a men’s World Cup When Tony Popovic was finally able to assemble his first Socceroos squad, the new coach laid out a series of expectations. Most were clear and to the point – ideal given the upheaval surrounding his sudden arrival, following Graham Arnold’s resignation, and with less than three weeks to prepare for crucial 2026 World Cup qualifiers against China and Japan. Popovic insisted that any player who aspired to pull on a Socceroos shirt would need to adopt an “elite” mentality to earn, or continue to earn, that honour. But there was another message. Less a demand and more an evocation – and one that has been brought sharper into focus with every step taken on the road towards the World Cup in North America. Continue reading...

After more than a year of treading water the scale of the challenge facing Australia coach Joe Montemurro has been laid bare There were plenty of themes to the Matildas’ 3-0 defeat to England, a reverse in which the margin perhaps flattered the control the hosts demonstrated at Pride Park, and few of the narratives on the night were positive for Australia. The Lionesses hardly got out of third gear but still looked like they were largely toying with their opponents, who struggled to get the ball out of their own half even before Alanna Kennedy received a straight red card for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity in just the 19th minute. Kennedy’s lapse in judgement and resulting sacrifice was punished when Lucy Bronze redirected the rebound of Aggie Beever-Jones’s resulting free kick back to the Chelsea forward, who lasered an effort into the top corner. A deserved two-goal margin (three or potentially even more would not have been all that unreasonable) was delivered just before half-time when Bronze used the one-player advantage to ghost into a mile of space and comfortably dispatch a through ball beyond Mackenzie Arnold, ending a move in which England ripped through their Australian backline with a casual ease. Adding some salt to wounds, late VAR intervention awarded England a 98th-minute penalty for a Katrina Gorry foul, one easily dispatched by Georgia Stanway. Continue reading...

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After more than a year of treading water the scale of the challenge facing Australia coach Joe Montemurro has been laid bare

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