Confederations Cup 2017: Socceroos must fire early against Cameroon, says Mat Ryan

WHEN Australia meet Cameroon in St Petersburg, goalkeeper Mat Ryan says the Socceroos must be ready to fire from the first whistle.

Ryan knows the Socceroos must be consistent. AFP Photo

WHEN the Socceroos meet Cameroon in St Petersburg on Friday morning (AEST), they will need to fire from the first whistle or risk an early elimination from the Confederations Cup, admits goalkeeper Mat Ryan.

For the second match in a row frailties in Australia’s game were ruthlessly exploited by high-calibre opponents, leaving them chasing the game with less than five minutes on the clock.

It took Germany longer than the 12 seconds needed for Brazil to register on the scoreboard as the world champions completely dominated the first half in Sochi. But not by much.

The scoreline was held to a semi-respectable 3-2 loss only thanks to a gutsy revival after the break and some crucial first-half saves from Ryan when Australia were under siege.

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Ryan knows the Socceroos must be consistent. AFP Photo

Regardless of the positive response to early adversity, the defeat leaves Ange Postecoglou’s side with no room for error when they face the African champions, with a challenging fixture against Chile rounding out their group matches.

“If we can start the game a bit better, a bit more relaxed, like we did in the second half (against Germany) and patches in the first half, we can find more of that play in us for perhaps longer periods of the game,” Ryan said.

“At the start of the game we can give a better account of ourselves and give ourselves a better chance of winning games.”

Despite promising signs in spells in recent matches, Australia are yet to put together a full 90-minute performance since switching to a bold, attacking formation with three at the back and roving wing backs.

There was much to like in the performance against Germany. AFP Photo

The last time they controlled a game from start to finish, in fact, was back in September when winning in the UAE, before the tactical switch designed to make the most of Australia’s strength in central midfield was deployed.

“I guess if you had the answer to [why Australia fail to click for periods in matches] you’d be a pretty good coach, eh? You’d be coaching one of the best teams in the world if you knew the answer to that.

“It is frustrating, knowing that we can do it but aren’t doing it as consistently as we need to be doing at this level. But that isn’t going to stop us striving for that and working towards it.

“I think communication wise we were maybe a little bit quiet [against Germany], and weren’t getting organised in defence. We didn’t get that sorted until well in to the game. That’s not good enough at this level.

“We took too long to find our straps I think, in the beginning, and they punished us. Plenty of courage to get back in to the game, [but] I think we shot ourself in the foot a little bit there.”

Defeat to Cameroon will send the Socceroos heading home at the first hurdle. Even a draw would make things difficult, requiring victory over a rampant Chile to reach the semi-finals.

“The second half, we pressed high and kept the ball and got in behind a few times,” said Postecoglou. “We’ll go back to the training park and focus on Cameroon.

“We believe in the way we play and the system we play. It doesn’t matter who we’re against.

“We’ve got to travel now and we’ve got a day less rest than Cameroon [who lost to Chile on Monday morning (AEST)].

“We’ve got to make sure everyone recovers well. I don’t think there are any injuries at this stage. We’ll make some decisions [on team selection] in the next 48 hours.”

Robbie Kruse gave the Socceroos more bite up front. AFP Photo

One player unlikely to feature is QPR midfielder Massimo Luongo. Restored to the side against Germany, he looked out of his depth throughout a tortuous 45 minutes on the park, and gave away the penalty for Germany’s second goal with a clumsy foul.

With Australia more assured once Robbie Kruse was introduced at the break and Aaron Mooy dropped to a deeper role where he was able to dictate proceedings more effectively, it seems almost certain the midfield combination that started the second period against Germany will now take the field against Cameroon.