The Socceroos went to “South American school” against Ecuador on Tuesday night and as they turn their focus to their next World Cup qualifying campaign, veteran defender Milos Degenek hopes his side takes some lessons from the physical affair.
Coming off a 3-1 loss in Sydney, Ecuador were a much-tougher and robust side at Marvel Stadium on Tuesday night recovering from a shaky first 20 minutes to eventually jostle, bump and assert themselves on the contest and claim a 2-1 win in a game which was more like a South American World Cup qualifier than a friendly.
Degenek, a two-time World Cup Socceroo, was clear on what his side needed to heed from the Ecuadorians and playmakers like Kevin Rodriguez who repeatedly challenged the home side.
“They showed they have that experience, that street knowledge from that South American school, which gets them through games – it’s only a matter of time until we learn from this,” Degenek said.
“I don’t think they gave us too many headaches, there were just times we had a little too much respect for him [Rodriguez] when they should have been kicking him a few times more.
“It’s funny [to say] but it’s what we [defenders] do, when a player becomes a bit dominant, we give him a kick and let him know he’s not going to have all the fun he thinks he is going to have.”
Milos Degenek exchanges heated words with Ecuador’s Xavier Arreaga.Credit:Getty Images
Socceroos coach Graham Arnold was without Leicester City defender Harry Souttar and used a younger side for much of the night although stalwarts Aziz Behich, Jackson Irvine, Craig Goodwin and Degenek started the match.
Arnold declared his side had “won” the friendly series on 4-3 on goal difference but more importantly he wants the bumps and frustrations from Tuesday’s contest to driving his side through the difficulty of the 2026 World Cup campaign starting later this year and January’s Asia Cup in Qatar.
“We could have played a weaker team and won 6-0, 5-0 but what would we have learned?” Arnold said.
“It was about finding some players and getting some players ready. It has been a win-win.”
Adelaide United goal-keeper Joe Gauci made his debut and Arnold praised his “brilliant” debut which included two world-class saves in the first half, along with the form showed by Jordan Bos, Aiden O’Neill and Alexander Robertson who all made strong impressions over the two games.
Western Sydney striker Brandon Borrello scored the opening goal and pressured impressively on Tuesday night while Scotland-based midfielder Cameron Devlin battled strongly on the night until he was replaced in the second half.
Arnold also explained he didn’t hand 17-year-old striker Nestory Irankunda a debut as he wanted him to use this camp as a learning experience for the teenager. He isn’t rushing the Adelaide United striker whom he wants to focus on the junior national team program.
“We brought him into camp to learn and experience what it is like to be a part of the Socceroos and what it takes to be a top player and I do believe he will be,” Arnold said.
Joe Gauci on debut for the Socceroos.Credit:Getty Images
The Socceroos coach also sent a message to all the players pressing for call-ups and that was to be playing 90 minutes at their clubs, “not 15 minutes off the bench”, and he will be watching closely as the A-League and overseas seasons come to a conclusion.
Gauci was proud to live his dream of becoming a Socceroo and while captain Mat Ryan, Andrew Redmayne and several other keepers are all in the mix for game time, Gauci shapes as a long-time member of the squad.
“I know his family is extremely proud and he should be too as this was a fantastic debut and one that will put him in good stead for the future,” Arnold said.
“He feels like he belongs.”
In the post-game press conference, Arnold prompted the 22-year-old to repeat what he told his coach soon after play ended on Tuesday night.
“In the A-League I get five frantic minutes at the start of the game and tonight it felt like that for 90 minutes,” Gauci said.
“It didn’t really stop until the final whistle.”
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