Seattle: The Socceroos are a better team now than the last time they faced the United States, eight months ago, coach Tony Popovic has declared โ but concedes they will need to be better still to account for the World Cup co-hosts and take a stranglehold on Group D.
The bruising friendly match played in Colorado last October has clearly coloured the perception of Popovicโs team in this part of the world.
Australia lost 2-1, the first defeat for Popovic as national team coach, but few Americans have forgotten about some of the bone-rattling challenges made by Socceroos players, and how a tackle from defender Jason Geria left their star player Christian Pulisic injured for a month.
But a lot has happened since. Only six players who began that match for Australia also started in last weekโs 2-0 win over Turkey, and three others did not even make Popovicโs 26-man World Cup Squad.
And while it remains to be seen whether the rematch will be similarly physical โ though, given the sporting character of both nations, it does seem likely โ Popovic is treating it more like a useful, carefully controlled experiment than a meaningful reference point for what awaits both teams.
โWe wanted to experience playing in the US,โ Popovic said.
โWe experienced playing in altitude. We tested ourselves with travel. I can only speak for us … we got what we wanted out of that game. We had a fantastic hit-out against a very good opponent. Weโre pleased with that.
โSince then, we feel weโve improved. Weโre a better team now than what we were in October. Iโm sure the US is as well, so it should be a really good game tomorrow.โ
Popovicโs meticulous preparation for the World Cup also included two carefully selected warm-up matches on American soil, the benefits of which should be about to come to fruition for the Socceroos.
The clash against co-hosts Mexico at the famous Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California was about exposing his players to a huge partisan crowd, and the challenges associated with communication between players in such a deafening environment; the stadium in Seattle is said to be one of the loudest in all of America.
And when Australia faced Switzerland in San Diego a week later, it was all about logistics: that match, like this one, was set for a midday kick-off, which has a range of implications for how the team and the players prepare, and even what they eat the night before and when they wake up.
โIt was a great dress rehearsal,โ Popovic said.
โBoth games were โฆ the Mexico game, playing in front of almost 80,000 people, pretty much everyone against you in the stadium. That was a good little test for us.
โAnd in the Switzerland game, playing at 12, we tested logistically how that would look for us for this match. We got some learnings from that, and we put them in place for this game.โ
The United States are flying high after a 4-1 win over Paraguay in their World Cup opener, which has been talked about as one of their best-ever performances at the tournament.
But the same could be said of the Socceroosโ display against Turkey; Popovic fielded the youngest team of the entire first round of matches at the World Cup, with an average age of 24.6, and those players stepped up in the biggest moment of their careers to put the Socceroos on the cusp of qualification for the knockout stage.
โ[Since] we started this journey together … weโve seen the evolution of the team, the growth of the team,โ Popovic said.
โWeโre seeing players maturing individually, but also being able to act collectively as one. Itโs been building, and that was a game that it all came together in terms of the belief being present in the moment, understanding itโs a World Cup for a lot of the boys for the first time, but playing as if they belong there.
โAnd weโll need that again tomorrow because itโs a wonderful opportunity … we know that we will need to be better than we were against Turkey to get the result we want.โ
The Americans will present a different challenge, Popovic said, to Turkeyโs โmore European styleโ of possession dominance and slower build-up play, which will require a different approach.
As it pertains to personnel, as per usual, itโs anyoneโs guess what Popovic will do.
Every member of Australiaโs squad is fit and available, giving him plenty of scope to spring another selection surprise or two and keep his opposite number Mauricio Pochettino on his toes.
Defender Harry Souttar, who wore the captainโs armband in the shock absence of Maty Ryan from the starting line-up against Turkey, will happily wear it again if asked, but paid a glowing tribute to the man he took it from.
โObviously, [I was] following in the footsteps of Maty Ryan, who I regard as the best captain that Iโve ever played for, in terms of what he does on the pitch and off the pitch with the lads,โ Souttar said.
โFor me to take some of that from him, little bits of knowledge, and just try and do it my own way โฆ obviously, everyoneโs different. Whether you speak more, speak less, thereโs different ways of doing it. It was certainly the greatest honour of my career.โ
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