Much-loved football veteran Mathew Leckie and Jacob Italiano's World Cups are over, with the injured duo departing Socceroos camp as their teammates eagerly await news on their round-of-32 opponent.
Australia Advances After Draw
Australia sealed second place in Group D, and with it, progression to the round of 32 in Dallas next week, with a 0-0 draw with Paraguay at Levi's Stadium on Thursday night (Friday AEST). But the Socceroos won't know who their next opponents, the runner-up in Group G, are until Friday night.
Egypt (four points) will play Iran (two points) in Seattle at the same time Belgium (two points) face New Zealand (one point) in Vancouver - at 8pm local time (1pm Saturday AEST).
Injuries Force Departures
Leckie (hamstring) and Italiano (groin) were both on hand, but inactive, for the Paraguay clash and departed on Friday morning for Melbourne and Austria respectively, leaving Australia with a 24-strong squad. Italiano was injured at training after playing full group matches against Turkey and the United States while Leckie pulled up sore in the defeat to the US.
It's a brutal end to Leckie's campaign, who had struggled through the A-League season with recurring soft-tissue injuries. And it's now highly unlikely the 35-year-old will get another chance to play in a World Cup ... or even represent Australia again.
“I'm gutted for him,” said Leckie's Melbourne City teammate Aziz Behich. “I saw first-hand this year what he had to do to get back on that pitch for us at Melbourne City and then what he did in Sarasota (the Socceroos pre-tournament training camp). He left no stone unturned and it's a credit to him, it's not easy, not just physically but also mentally at his age. We're all gutted for him because we want him to stick around because we know what he can give us as a team and even when he's not playing.”
Possible Opponents and Team Morale
There are storylines everywhere - the obvious Australia-New Zealand rivalry or the prospect of facing Iran for the first time since they dealt the Socceroos MCG heartbreak in 1997. “We'll be watching closely, of course, but no preference,” veteran midfielder Jackson Irvine said. “They're all top nations with their own threats. I've watched just about every game so far, I've seen them all play already, but I'll be watching again tomorrow to see who we end up with.”
First, the Socceroos will soak up qualifying for the knockout phase at successive World Cups for the first time. “The group deserves it,” Irvine said. “They put a lot of work in to get to this moment, and it's another step forward and now we've got to go and break that next barrier and be the first team to win a knockout game.”
Recovery Time Advantage
Finishing second comes with another bonus: additional recovery time for a young squad. Australia won't play again until July 3 in Dallas, and won't need to relocate from their Bay Area base until July 1, while third-placed Paraguay will hit the road as early as Sunday. “We've got eight days to recover, which helps our younger players to get over this euphoria of the win - and then we need to work hard, and we're a chance,” coach Tony Popovic said. “There'll be a lot of recovery for these younger players. We only think that's three games and six days between each one, but the intensity and the level of these games, our players are not accustomed to. So we get the benefit, maybe more than bigger nations where they can back up every three or four days. For us, these eight days not only prepare us for that game, but if we can somehow get through, we may be able to be ready for a shorter turnaround following that.”
Irvine will certainly be using it all for recovery. “When I think about the last World Cup, how quick that turnaround was, and you had no time to process it - this is going to be much different, a lot of time for physical recovery,” he said.
Silencing Doubters
Then, the Socceroos are ready to silence some more doubters. “They can keep writing,” veteran attacker Ajdin Hrustic said. “We did our job, we made the country proud and we're going to enjoy this moment and go as far as possible.”
