Socceroos assistant coach Hayden Foxe cited a cautionary tale from four years ago as to why Australia should not be getting ahead of themselves after defeating Turkiye 2-0 in their World Cup opener on Sunday.
Tony Popovic’s side effectively have one foot in the knockout rounds courtesy of having three points in the bank and the new World Cup format.
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The expansion to 48 teams means the top two from each of the 12 groups, plus the eight best third finishers will advance to the Round of 32.
If Australia can pick up more points against the United States in their next game on Saturday morning as well as against Paraguay in their final group game next week, it could give the Socceroos their best chance yet of winning a World Cup knockout match for the first time.
While fans in green and gold in the stands in North America and back home in pubs, at Federation Square or in living rooms dare to dream, Foxe insists the squad are not getting ahead of themselves.
“It’s one game, and you winning the first game doesn’t dictate where you go in the tournament,” he told reporters on Monday.
“There was a good example of Saudi doing that in the past tournament, they beat Argentina first game, and we’re talking about Saudi – ‘how fantastic’ … which is great.
“So it’s a memorable moment, but you forget Saudi didn’t then get through the group stage. They lost their next two games against Poland, Mexico – out of the tournament.
“So you can’t just focus on that win. Fantastic win against Turkey. Memorable, great. Enjoy that moment. Great, excellent.
“Now that’s gone. Now we move on to the US.”
Argentina, of course, went on to win that World Cup and that is proof that is very much early days in this tournament.
Despite that fact, the talk surrounding the Socceroos has intensified after the win against Turkiye.
Australians are understandably excited, while mouthy American pundits are nervously retracting or doubling down on their negative comments towards the Socceroos.
Turkiye’s captain Hakan Calhanoglu lit the fuse on the eve of their meeting with Australia by saying his side “will dominate” because they are “more talented”.
His teammate Arda Guler poured more fuel on the fire in the tunnel before kick off as the Real Madrid star made sure the Australians could hear him say “we are much better than them”.
Countless pre-tournament predictions had Australia finishing last in Group D, while Mike Grella led the chorus of American pundits disrespecting the Socceroos as he said Popovic’s team was a “lay up” for the Americans.
He also said that we had no good players and made fun of Nestory Irankunda for being our X-factor player.
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Irankunda, who scored the opener against Turkiye, said post-game that the comments were used as motivation by the team, and the coaching staff are not going to change that this week in the lead-up to meeting the USA in Seattle.
“We can’t baby them. They’re their own selves, we want them to be their own selves,” Foxe said.
“Social media’s out there, they’re aware of media and the comments and what’s being said.
“But we’re concentrated on us. They’re old enough and mature enough to understand what gets said and what doesn’t get said.”
“If anyone makes any comments, you do get emotional,” Foxe added.
“Part of it’s how you control it – and they’re doing a very good job controlling their emotions, and talking with their actions, which is fantastic.”
As for the make-up of Australia’s starting XI for the next game, Foxe dismissed concerns about striker Mohamed Toure as he pulled up shortly before being subbed off in the second half against Turkiye.
“Just cramp,” he said.
“That’s just because of the workload and how much they were working and running in behind and stretching, and then coming back to defend.
“He got a small cramp in the end but he’s OK.”
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ROCK SOLID SOCCEROOS READY FOR US
One of the standout features of Australia’s win on Sunday was the calmness and composure of the back five.
Turkiye dominated possession and had 20 more shots, but were unable to penetrate the dogged Socceroos defence.
Centre back trio Harry Souttar, Alessandro Circati and Cameron Burgess were too big and strong for their Turkish opponents, dominating aerial contests.
While wing backs Jordan Bos and Jacob Italiano used their electric pace to repel attacks and launch counter-attacks.
“Every game like that, every nation here has their own threats,” Burgess said.
“We’re playing against a host nation with some tremendous talent in their squad – obviously only faced them a few months ago.
“We’re gonna have to be ready for what they can bring, and I guess the same goes for them, they’re gonna have to be ready for we can bring.
“So it’s gonna be a hard fought game, both teams coming off a win as well.
“We’re ready to go to battle, and I’m sure they’ll be the exact same, it’s going to be a pretty big spectacle, hopefully.”
The Socceroos last met the USA in Colorado last October.
The hosts prevailed 2-1 on that occasion with Bos opening the scoring before Haji Wright’s brace secured victory for the Americans in the friendly.
The two sides looked remarkably different in their World Cup openers, however.
Mauricio Pochettino’s USA stunned Paraguay with a three goal first half blitz in a 4-1 win that was set up by their repeated ability to get out the back of the South American nation’s defence with serious pace.
But speed is something the Socceroos have in spades.
Across the opening four days of the tournament, five Australians were in the top ten for top speed with Italiano being the fastest player so far as a result of hitting 35.4km/h against Turkiye.
Burgess, who returned to the starting line up in place of talented teenager Lucas Herrington after playing every minute of the English Championship season for Swansea City, believes the Socceroos’ defence is well-placed to handle whatever the Americans throw at them.
“They’re going to come aggressive and front foot, and we learned that from when we played them before,” Burgess said.
“We’ve got a good few days now to analyse it and be ready for what they’ve got coming, as we did with Turkey.”
At 30 years of age, Burgess was the oldest member of Australia’s starting XI in Vancouver.
Seven of the starting side against Turkiye are aged 23 or under, but Burgess is not concerned by a lack of experience among the exciting group.
“At some point you look around and you have Beachy (Patrick Beach) behind me, Bossy (Jordan Bos) to my left, Paulie Okon in front and Nestor in front of that on my left side,” Burgess said.
“It’s a young group, but the training we do here and the belief they have in themselves – they’re ready to go, there’s nothing they really need to lean on me for.
“Obviously I might have to do that, and I believe that’s a big part of my role in the team – to be the experienced one, and to calm things down at times, and just be a voice as well.
“But those guys are on a good trajectory in their careers, and they showed that (against Turkey) what they can do.”
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‘BE CAREFUL WITH HIM’: GREAT’S ADVICE FOR AUSSIE BOLTER
Goalkeeper Patrick Beach became an overnight sensation in Australia’s victory against Turkiye, but a former Socceroos shot stopper has called for calm surrounding the 22-year-old.
The Melbourne City keeper was a shock selection in place of regular Socceroos captain Mat Ryan, but justified Tony Popovic’s faith as he made eight saves and kept a clean sheet in Vancouver.
The highlight of Beach’s performance was a spectacular diving save shortly before half time that tipped the ball into the post and ensured Australia’s lead stayed intact.
Beach’s display has led to growing calls for him to be picked up by clubs overseas with former Manchester United keeper Mark Bosnich saying his phone has already been blowing up.
“I’ve already had some phone calls from some agents,” Bosnich said on Stan Sport’s Added Time.
“I’ve watched that many games this year …. but I haven’t had a great deal of time to watch the A-League. And people are ringing me going, ‘Patrick Beach’, and I’m like, ‘I haven’t had a great deal of time to watch him, but let me get on to it’.”
Like everyone else, Bosnich was stunned when the starting XI was released a little more than an hour before kick off.
And he could not believe how well Beach handled the occasion.
“To be put in that situation … we never ever speculated it,” Bosnich said.
“We always speculate who might start, but it was never in question who would be the goalkeeper.
“For him to perform like that, you are seeing a star in the making. It was an absolutely fantastic performance and he kept a clean sheet.
“His family and his friends, they must have been so nervous. It was a phenomenal performance. He is a star in the making.
“As a goalkeeper, it is hard to win a football game but what you can do is change the course of it. In the long run, you can say that save was absolutely outstanding.”
It is unlikely that Beach will be replaced by Ryan for Saturday morning’s clash with the USA, so in the meantime, Bosnich stressed that those in the Socceroos camp need to be sheltering the rising star from the noise.
“They have to be careful with him, I’m sure they will be,” he said.
“If I was advising him now, I would say, ‘Listen, Mark Bosnich has said some lovely things about you but can you put your headphones on because I don’t want you to get too ahead of yourself’.”