Maty Ryan and Riley McGree are in line to start the Socceroos’ Asian Cup opener as coach Graham Arnold signalled his intent to go full-strength in a bid to avoid a repeat of their first-up failure five years ago.
Ryan, the team’s captain and first-choice goalkeeper, did not play in Australia’s warm-up match against Bahrain as he continued his recovery from a broken cheekbone sustained while on duty for his Dutch club AZ Alkmaar.
But the 31-year-old has returned to full training along with McGree, the Middlesbrough star who has not played since October 3 because of a foot injury. Arnold says his plan is to field his strongest possible XI on Saturday night against India, their first Group B opponent, to hopefully set the tone for a successful month ahead.
At the last Asian Cup in 2019 – the first major assignment for Arnold in his second stint as Australian coach – the Socceroos were shocked 1-0 by Jordan, a portent of a poor overall campaign which ended in a feeble quarter-final defeat to host nation the UAE.
This is Arnold’s third Asian Cup, having also overseen the disaster of 2007, when Australia’s golden generation won just one match in the group stage and then crashed out against Japan in the first knockout round.
“You learn from past experiences in different tournaments, and obviously I learned a hell of a lot back in 2007 all the way through,” Arnold said.
Maty Ryan will wear a protective mask during the Asian Cup.Credit: Getty
The clash with India will be played at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Doha, Qatar, where Australia beat Peru on penalties to qualify for the 2022 World Cup and then were eliminated by eventual champions Argentina in a thrilling round-of-16 encounter.
Only half of Arnold’s World Cup squad has been retained and just three players who took the field in the 2019 Asian Cup-opening loss to Jordan have survived, but there is more than enough talent in the current 26-man selection for Australia to contend for a second continental title if things fall their way.
Arnold acknowledged the challenge this time around is much different to what they faced 12 months ago in Doha: in the Asian Cup, the Socceroos will be expected to make the play against lesser-ranked opponents, instead of being able to sit back and play on the counterattack as they did to great effect against Tunisia and Denmark.
Breaking down a low defensive block has proved a difficult task for Arnold’s Australian teams in the past but he is hopeful his players will draw lessons from their scrappy 2-0 friendly win over Bahrain, which he described as the ideal preparation.
The lowdown: Australia vs India
Kick-off: 10.30pm Saturday (AEDT)
TV: Live on Network 10 and Paramount+
PROJECTED SOCCEROOS STARTING TEAM (4-3-3): Ryan; Miller, Souttar, Rowles, Behich; Irvine, Baccus, McGree; Boyle, Duke, Goodwin.
THREE BURNING QUESTIONS
Will Arnold shake things up? There are a few positions up for grabs in this Australian team – Arnold has four good centre-backs, plenty of midfield options and an in-form and hungry striker in Bruno Fornaroli banging the door down. But Arnold is a pretty conservative coach, at the end of the day, so expect him to revert to a team that has experience playing in big tournaments.
Will the crowd be a factor? Asian Cups don’t tend to pull in huge crowds – particularly in the Middle East – but this match could be an exception. There are plenty of Indian migrant workers in Doha and they are likely to pack out the stands and create an intimidating atmosphere for the Socceroos to deal with.
How will this team deal with expectation? Anything short of a multiple-goal win is probably a disaster for the Socceroos, who have thrived over the last 18 months in situations where little has been expected of them. The dynamics are completely different now.
“That’s what we get when nations will sit back and try to frustrate us,” he said.
“It’s important that we don’t get that type of thing in our brains. It’s important that we’re patient, and we stick to what we’re good at, and that’s retaining the ball, moving the ball quickly, penetrating in behind and the boys showing individual skill in one-v-one situations is hugely important against this type of opposition. I do believe we’ve got the players here to do that.”
One who falls into that category is McGree, one of Australia’s shining lights at the World Cup whose season at English Championship side Middlesbrough was on an encouraging trajectory until he was sidelined.
There are only two players in the Socceroos’ squad with double-digit goal tallies in international football – striker Mitch Duke and central defender Harry Souttar, who has dined out at set pieces against Asian opposition – and Arnold sees McGree as a player who can help fill that void.
“That’s something that I’m pushing at Riley, and talking to him about, is getting him in positions in the box to score,” he said. “I do believe he has that quality to score goals. Once he gets that into his game, you’ll see him go to a higher level, potentially at club football as well. Riley’s fit and he’s ready to go. If anything, that injury that he had just gave him a bit of a break. He’s freshened up and he looks fantastic.”
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