Be interesting to see how different the squad is for the upcoming games ... the Tajikistan game could be a chance for some fringe players to make a stake before the crux game against Jordan! Will Apostolos Giannou get a call up??? Is it warranted?? We definitely seem thin on attacking options, with Juric's injury, Oar not playing ... Ruka is scoring consistently in the Israel league, so could be another option to consider. Maclaren has to get a crack too I would think!
Giannou is certainly in form, and the story of wanting to play for Australia must have come from somewhere. I think he will get a chance for the Socceroos. Hopefully he can get plenty of game time and continue the form now with the move to China. It's also hard to gauge the quality in Israel, to know if Ruka is worth another chance.
McDonald wants back in too! http://www.foxsports.com.au/footbal...s/news-story/5d8975f446ea4ef11847b7fa155b7a7b
I am a big fan of McDonald and definitely would like to see him get another stint, however our current setup probably doesn't really suit him (we still need that talisman forward more so than a poacher).
New squad: Terry ANTONIS PAOK, GREECE 3 (0) Nathan BURNS F.C. Tokyo, JAPAN 18 (1) Tim CAHILL Hangzhou Greentown F.C., CHINA 88 (45) Adam FEDERICI A.F.C. Bournemouth, ENGLAND 15 (0) Jason GERIA Melbourne Victory FC, AUSTRALIA - Alex GERSBACH Rosenborg BK, NORWAY - Apostolos GIANNOU Guangzhou R&F F.C., CHINA - Chris IKONOMIDIS U.S. Salernitana 1919, ITALY 2 (0) Mile JEDINAK Crystal Palace F.C, ENGLAND 61 (11) Robbie KRUSE Bayer 04 Leverkusen, GERMANY 38 (4) Mitchell LANGERAK VfB Stuttgart, GERMANY 6 (0) Mathew LECKIE FC Ingolstadt 04, GERMANY 28 (2) Massimo LUONGO Queens Park Rangers F.C., ENGLAND 17 (2) Ryan MCGOWAN Henan Jianye F.C., CHINA 14 (0) Mark MILLIGAN Baniyas F.C., UAE 44 (4) Aaron MOOY Melbourne City F.C, AUSTRALIA 11 (4) Josh RISDON Perth Glory FC, AUSTRALIA 1 (0) Tommy ROGIC Celtic FC, SCOTLAND 13 (2) Mathew RYAN Valencia CF, SPAIN 21 (0) Trent SAINSBURY Jiangsu Suning F.C., CHINA 12 (1) Brad SMITH Liverpool FC, ENGLAND 4 (0) Matthew SPIRANOVIC Hangzhou Greentown F.C., CHINA 30 (0) Bailey WRIGHT Preston North End F.C, ENGLAND 8 (1)
Caltex Socceroo 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers - Match Details Australia v Tajikistan 24 March 2016 Adelaide Oval, Adelaide Kick off 7.30pm (8pm AEDT) Australia v Jordan 29 March 2016 Allianz Stadium, Sydney 8pm kick off (AEDT) Read more at http://www.socceroos.com.au/article...ugo266ko1a3f1kyefzk3dclvt#zk2ms2FiLFygykRQ.99
Not a bad line up at all. Thought Maclaren would have been given a chance, although I think Ange wants a good look at Giannou (and that ties him to the Socceroos too then)
That format's hard to read though- here's an easier one! GOALKEEPERS Adam Federici (Bournemouth), Mitch Langerak (Stuttgart), Mat Ryan (Valencia) DEFENDERS Jason Geria (Melbourne Victory), Alex Gersbach (Rosenborg), Ryan McGowan (Henan Jianye FC), Josh Risdon (Perth Glory), Trent Sainsbury (Jiangsu Suning), Brad Smith (Liverpool), Matthew Spiranovic (Hangzhou Greentown), Bailey Wright (Preston North End) MIDFIELDERS Terry Antonis (PAOK), Chris Ikonomidis (U.S. Salernitana 1919), Mile Jedinak (Crystal Palace), Massimo Luongo (Queens Park Rangers), Mark Milligan (Baniyas FC), Aaron Mooy (Melbourne City), Tom Rogic (Celtic) ATTACK Nathan Burns (FC Tokyo), Tim Cahill (Hangzhou Greentown), Aspostolos Giannou (Guanghzhou R&F), Robbie Kruse (Bayer Leverkusen), Mathew Leckie (FC Ingolstadt 04)
Elrich I think could still make a come back ... although not getting any younger. Davidson to me has never looked up to speed to pull on a national shirt, and think he'll struggle to play beyond a lowly placed Championship side. His defensive frailties would see him struggle in most A-League teams. Behich I think doesn't play the style that Ange is looking for ... so nothing to do with form (as he is probably the best performing left back and getting the most game time out of any of the left backs). Franjic hasn't recaptured his previous form, and is being eclipsed by Risdon, Geira, and probably at least another three right backs in the A-League alone!
Can anybody say about pitch condition in Tajikistan when you played your match there? There is a possibility for Iranian clubs to have their home matches play there against Saudi teams per AFC request.
It was an artificial pitch in Dushanbe when the Socceroos played there. So it’s good conditional and perfectly flat. The Australians struggled a bit because not many of them are used to the artificial turf, with many over-hit crosses and long balls. It seems quite unfair that the Iranian clubs have to shift their games as well, they’re willing to accept the Saudi clubs right? If it wasn’t as far to travel the Iranian clubs should bring their games to Australia. Plenty of Iranian support out here as seen at the Asian Cup, and very little love for Saudi clubs especially Al Hilal after the Champions League debacle against Western Sydney.
Thanks for the info I am fed up already! We have been dealing with this kinda BS for 30 years now. It won't help. In 1986 WCQs we refused to play in neutral venue in West Asian world cup qualifiers because the so called neutral venue was not entirely neutral, Iraq accepted and advanced from Arab dominated group to the world cup without playing against Eastern Asian teams or Iran. Story of dealing with teams such as Bahrian, Qatar and Saudi Arabia and their BS is a long story for us. You just tasted a portion of what we have been through these years when they wanted to boycott Australian team to cover up their own national teams short comings in WCQs. What they are doing is purely political and not related to the football. Their government doesn't want to let Iranian teams to travel to Saudi Arabia and even prevent their own clubs to come to our country, so they pressured AFC Bahraini head Salman to give them a free pass forcing Iranian clubs to change venue. It is pure BS and biased decision made by AFC. It is not the first and won't be the last decision they make against Iran. If we could break this negative and destructive coalition they have in AFC, it would help Asian football much more. I think nations like Australia, Uzbekistan, Iran, Jordan, S.Korea, Japan and China should gather and choose a less biased and more presentable head for AFC in future. There were talks to boycott ACL if AFC gives in to Saudi demands because it will cause any other country to demand for such special treatment in future against Iranian teams or our National team. Qatar and UAE tried it (right after Saudi Arabia) in AFC but AFC rejected their demands. Now I am not sure what will happen, IFF has not decided what to do because IFF head election is due in less than two weeks! So the current head of IFF won't be around to do anything and other candidates have not been elected yet to come up with a solution. There are some talks to negotiate with AFC and at the same time be prepare to have our home match being played in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan or Oman! It is really annoying. It is impossible to travel anywhere that far. If it was up to me I would decide to play in Tel Aviv for that matter. It would be very amazing to see how they perform in such a venue. I saw that shameless Saudi player spitting on your football player and all shenanigans. We have to deal with that a lot playing against them every year in ACL.
It seems that Saudi Arabia is going to choose Qatar or Uae for their home games against Iran but not sure about us yet. I just heard from media that Iranian clubs will most likely choose one of these three countries Tajikstan, Uzbekistan, or Turkmenistan for their home games against Saudi Arabia clubs if they have to choose a neutral ground for home games against Saudi Arabia clubs. It is amazing that there are many Iranians in Australia. Iran national team can count on Australia for home game against Saudi Arabia if both Iran and Saudi Arabia ends up in the same WCQ group. I wish we could be in East Asia instead of West Asia.
Apparently your football association turned down IFF's suggestion of a friendly match for this summer. It could be a good match.
Yes I know. And we have a friendly against Croatia in end of may and another vs Macedonia in June second. Both of our teams will be in Balkan in same week, so the idea of another friendly possibly in Austria could be great. We usually play some of our European friendlies in Austria because we have a big crowed in Germany, Sweden, Austria and Hungary who travel there to cheer for the team.
Jordan 8-0 Bangladesh: Harry Redknapp starts reign with a win to set up World Cup qualifier showdown against Australia Harry Redknapp was appointed as Jordan manager for a two-match stint In his first game the ex-Spurs boss picked up a big win over Bangladesh Should Jordan beat Australia they progress to the next qualification round Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...showdown-against-Australia.html#ixzz43tNTNduH
The matches worth to follow will be Australia vs Jordan Iran vs Oman Japan vs Syria What is your prediction regarding them? I think Australia 2-0 Jordan Iran 2-1 Oman Japan 1-0 Syria
Australia has a chance to make next round easier for all teams involved by knocking out Jordan. Although its hard to determine whether UAE or Jordan would be the bigger headache next round.
Was anybody else disappointed in the game against Tajikistan? Sure, we won 7-0, but the way we played was terrible. The fact that we had a whopping 38 opportunities to score, we would miss the vast majority of those shots, and terribly. We would simply not get a high amount of opportunities like that at the World Cup, and we would not be playing against minnows such as Tajikistan, so we need to be taking advantage of every opportunity we have to score and not half-ass it. I was surprised we were only up 2-0 at half time. Looking forward to a much better game against Jordan next week.
Coming up to a World Cup. the team would be better prepared with numerous friendlies beforehand to get their shit together. It was their first game for a while, and with anew boy up front- I'm not that worried, we'll be better for the run in the second game against 'Arry.