Socceroos coach Tony Popovic is keeping his cards close to his chest about who he will start against Turkey on 14 June in Australia’s first World Cup match, after Nestory Irankunda and Connor Metcalfe made strong cases during the 1-1 draw against Switzerland.
Irankunda struck the crossbar and was active even during the long passages the Socceroos were without the ball, while Metcalfe set up the equaliser for debutant Tete Yengi in the second half.
Popovic said the friendly against the formidable Swiss provided the ideal final preparation before the World Cup.
“Conditions were warm, it’s sticky – the pitch – so it’s a good experience for us [against] a wonderful opponent,” he told Paramount+.
“We just had to get through that first part and fortunately we didn’t concede another goal, but [in the] second half we had a good passage of play there where we looked quite good for 20 minutes.”
Metcalfe came on at right wing at half-time for the Socceroos’ other debutant, Cristian Volpato, after a difficult opening period during which Australia were clearly second best.
Popovic said he was happy for Yengi to get his goal after the untried trio of Irankunda, Volpato and Yengi struggled to have an impact.
“Our front three, first time playing together, [were] a little bit disjointed, not really quite sure what to do with and without the ball but they settled in the second half,” he said.
“Nestor got better, Tete got better, I think Connor did really well when he came on and that helped us just build the play a bit better and make better decisions.”
Metcalfe created the goal for Yengi with a run from deep that was met with a long ball from Cam Burgess – another substitute against Switzerland who is competing with 18-year-old Lucas Herrington for the left centre-back spot.
Popovic declined to say after the match whether he had settled on his starting line up.
“This all plays a part in the experience for the players,” he said.
“It’s nice not to have any injuries after this game, I think that was the most important part. Being competitive, we were competitive, and we scored a really nice goal so I’m happy and looking forward to next week.”
Metcalfe is competing with Irankunda and Mat Leckie, who started last week against Mexico, for the two wingers in Popovic’s preferred system behind striker Mo Touré. Volpato, Awer Mabil, Ajdin Hrustic and Nishan Velupillay are also in the mix.
Aiden O’Neill and Jackson Irvine are frontrunners to play in the two central midfield roles, with Jordy Bos and Jacob Italiano the likely fullbacks, Alessandro Circati and Harry Souttar in defence and Maty Ryan in goals.
Yengi, who scored a simple tap-in against Switzerland in front of a largely empty San Diego stadium, will be an option off the bench.
“It’s an amazing feeling to be out here on the pitch one week away from the World Cup,” Yengi said.
“You can only dream of moments like this. I’m so grateful for the opportunity and hopefully we can go into the World Cup now with a positive thought.”
He said Switzerland offered the squad an intense game, and the Socceroos are now prepared for the challenge of Group D, beginning with the match against Turkey in Vancouver at 2pm Sunday 14 June (9pm Saturday 13 June local time).
