Grit. Courage. Composure. The epithets have been flying thick and fast this week for Socceroos defender Harry Souttar.
The towering centre-back has been singled out by many as Australia’s best player of the World Cup campaign. And it’s fair to say that things have been going well for the whole Australia’s defence so far, but they’re about to get Messi.
Socceroos legend Milan Ivanovic, who marshalled the defence when Australia faced Diego Maradona’s Argentina in World Cup qualifying in 1993, thinks Souttar is the man to stop the Lionel Messi-led South Americans this time around.
“He has been unbelievable really,” Ivanovic said. “Regarding Harry, what can you say? Obviously, his presence, what it means for the team, is very strong. When you see someone that big, sometimes you think ‘well he’s good in the air but maybe not so much on the ground’. But he is a cultured player, he is intelligent, he reads the game very well and that gives him that extra metre.”
Coach Graham Arnold is quick to attribute every success to collective spirit, but even he had some special words for the Scottish-born stopper after the Tunisia win.
“There’s just so much belief in that boy,” Arnold said. “I know his mentality is so strong. And I tell you what, if I was a Premier League club I’d be banging on the door real quick. He’s that good.”
Harry Souttar slides in for another tackle against Denmark’s Kasper Dolberg.Credit:AP
The combination of the physical ability to flatten an opponent and the passing range to split open World Cup defences is, to say the least, rare. Usually one or the other alone is enough to make a professional career.
Yet Souttar’s ability to pick a pass was integral to both Australia’s winning goals at the World Cup so far. His ball out of defence against Tunisia found Mitch Duke perfectly, setting up the striker for his surging run to score.
And again against Denmark, it was Souttar’s tackle and then calm distribution from inside the Australian penalty box that started the move which unleashed Mathew Leckie for the breakaway goal.
Souttar’s match statistics were freakish – against Tunisia his pass completion rate was 100 per cent and he won every tackle he attempted – but don’t tell the full story of blocking three goal-bound shots and winning back possession in dangerous areas.
Graham Arnold expects English Premier League clubs to clamouring to sign defender Harry Souttar.Credit:Getty
Then there was “the tackle”. With two minutes left on the clock, Souttar powered across the pitch to cover for fellow centre-back Kye Rowles and cleaned up Tunisian attacker Taha Yassine Khenissi when the striker was through on goal. Was it up there with the greatest moments in Socceroos history?
“It’s hard to say, honestly,” said former Socceroos striker John Aloisi, who has been at the heart of some contending moments himself. “It was great, but then there’s also Mark Schwarzer’s big penalty saves to get us to the World Cup, Timmy’s goals against Japan, Harry’s moment against Croatia. We’ll have to wait until after the tournament to decide.”
For midfielder Jackson Irvine it was “right up there, right up there with the very best defender, midfielder, forward – it’s one of the best individual displays I’ve seen.”
“He’s massive isn’t he? Literally,” said midfielder Riley McGree. “He can move, he can play, he’s such an important player for us.” Jamie Maclaren described him as a “man mountain”.
The game plan against Argentina is a tightly-held secret, but pundits agree on the essential need to hold possession as much as possible.
SBS football analyst Craig Foster told Nine that the key was harrying the Argentines whenever they got the ball.
“When they have it they have unbelievable creative players, not just Messi. Julian Alvarez, plays at Manchester City, came on, scored, did a brilliant job against Poland. So there’s going to be a lot of holes to plug, if you like, and it’s going to be a difficult assignment.
Foster predicted Arnold would tinker with a winning lineup and start an extra defender – likely to be Bailey Wright, who came on in the second half against Denmark and helped to steady the ship as the Danes mounted waves of attacks.
“That’s the way Saudi Arabia beat them in the first game, with a back five, so I expect us to probably set up that way,” Foster said.
Ivanovic is not so sure. “I think I would keep a back four. We stop them in midfield. As long as we don’t sit back too much, we can hold them and maybe beat them. I’m optimistic, to be honest.”
Ivanovic said the short break between the group stage and Sunday morning’s knockout fixture could play into Australian hands.
“In ’93 there was a long preparation period before we played them, we were thinking a lot about it – what their players would do, studying them,” he said. “Now, there is no time left. They can’t think too much about it. They will probably do one tactical session tomorrow, then the game. So they have momentum and I think that could be an advantage.”
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