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World reacts to Socceroos progressing past Syria in World Cup qualification

A SOCCEROOS star has made his anger towards Ange Postecoglou public in a dispute with dangerous consequences, an Aussie football great says.

Tyson OttoTyson Otto
@tottodtsport
5 min read
October 11, 2017 - 10:03AM
Not happy Ange.
Not happy Ange.

AUSTRALIA has progressed through to a final World Cup 2018 playoff against Panama, Honduras or the United States of America after a nail-biting extra-time win over Syria on Tuesday night.

Australia will play away in the first leg on November 5 before hosting the fourth-ranked CONCACAF country on November 14.

Here are all the talking points from Tim Cahill’s two-goal masterclass.

MOOY AND ANGE PUSHED TO BREAKING POINT

Lasting consequences.
Lasting consequences.

ANGE Postecoglou has defended his decision to drop star Aaron Mooy to the bench, pointing to the 2-1 result as justification for his shock call.

He’s forgetting the consequences of his omission of the Huddersfield midfield maestro stretch far beyond the 120 minutes of Tuesday night’s second leg win over Syria.

Socceroos great Robbie Slater told Fox Sports after the game that Mooy is just as likely to be jaded by Postecoglou’s move than he is to feel motivated to cement his spot in the starting 11.

Slater has slammed Postecoglou’s decision as a pointless gamble that has the potential to cause irreversible damage to Mooy’s relationship with his national team manager.

“To drop your best player for this kind of game is a massive risk,” Slater told Fox Sports.

“It’s a mistake for the future with his (Postecoglou’s) relationship with Aaron Mooy.

“Aaron Mooy won’t be happy with it and it will definitely cause problems for the future.”

Mooy admitted after the game he was not happy about his demotion, despite Postecoglou appearing to cave on his tough stance of benching his key creator when Brad Smith was forced from the field after 10 minutes.

“You’ve just got to get on with it, I don’t make the decisions,” Mooy said.

“I have to try my best when I play. Of course I was angry I wasn’t playing but every player should be angry if they’re not.”

The Australian reports Mooy bristled when asked if Postecoglou’s move had stoked his motivational levels: “Not at all”.

Socceroos great Mark Bosnich said at half time that Postecoglou’s decision was made to look foolish after seeing the immediate improvement in the Aussie side after Mooy’s injection into the game.

“The irresponsibility of not picking him was laid bare,” he told Fox Sports.

“He did more in his first 10 minutes than anyone had done in that time.”

THE SENSATIONAL SAVIOUR

Stop it.
Stop it.

IF IT wasn’t certain already, Tim Cahill has cemented his position as Australia’s greatest ever footballer after his heroics against Syria.

His two goals have been the focus of Australia’s jubilant reaction to winning through to a final playoff.

His 50th goal in a Socceroos jumper has seen him celebrated as a freak of football all over the world.

Ange Postecoglou saved special praise for Cahill’s stubborn determination to play on for the full 120 minutes despite his limited conditioning at the age of 37.

“He’s just a freak. I’d hazard to think when the last time he played 90 minutes was, let alone 120,’’ Postecoglou said.

“He’s just got real belief in himself, a real unique and extraordinary individual and he led from the front.

“I think Timmy would’ve belted me if I took him off. We haven’t flogged him, we’ve used him when we needed to.”

Cahill is also the envy of some of the biggest names in Australian sport across rival codes.

THE UNDER-FIRE COACH

Tim Cahill saved more than one career on Tuesday night.
Tim Cahill saved more than one career on Tuesday night.

ANGE Postecoglou remains in the firing line after admitting his tenure as Socceroos coach won’t survive a failed World Cup qualification campaign.

The boss admitted on Monday that Australia’s second-leg against Syria would have been his last in charge if the men in gold were eliminated.

His situation hasn’t improved much heading into another playoff tie against the fourth-ranked nation in the CONCACAF region.

While the result ultimately vindicated Postecoglou’s tactical shift during the qualification campaign and his highly-criticised selection gambles, many football commentators are yet to be convinced the former Brisbane Roar and Melbourne Victory manager would still have Australia on track to Russia next year without Tim Cahill’s individual brilliance.

Goalkeeping great Mark Bosnich questioned Postecoglou’s team’s failure to give Cahill any meaningful chances in the air during the game and said the Socceroos’ failure to chance their arm with high balls into the box suggests it was a tactical failure.

“We know what Tim Cahill’s strengths are,” he told Fox Sports.

“The whole of Asia, the whole of the world knows.

“The reluctance to cross in certain situations, I think I can say on behalf of all Australians, does our head in.

“You’ve got arguably one of the best in the world in the last 10 years out there on the park and you put in maybe one cross every 15 minutes.”

THE VANQUISHED FOE

Syria Coach Ayman Al Hakim getting his point across.
Syria Coach Ayman Al Hakim getting his point across.

THEIR unlikely World Cup hopes cruelly ended, Syria’s coach was visibly seething.

The anger in Ayman Al Hakim was bubbling well before Tim Cahill’s head finally put their ambitions to bed in the 109th minute.

It started with Mahmoud Al Mawas’ second yellow card for a challenge on Robbie Kruse, reducing Syria to 10 men for most of extra-time.

For the next 30 minutes Al Hakim fumed in his technical area until the full-time whistle blew and he was free to let loose on Ange Postecoglou. He could be seen remonstrating with the Socceroos coach, who gave a bit of lip back and then waved away the complaints, which came five days after Australia were dealt a dubious penalty that cost them a first-leg victory over Syria in Malaysia.

“He was complaining about the referee, which I thought was a bit rich coming after the first game,” Postecoglou said afterwards.

“So I wished him well and away he went.” Syria’s quest for a maiden World Cup berth has been both remarkable and controversial.

The team, which has achieved so much with so little, is accused of acting as a propaganda tool for dictator Bashar al-Assad in the country’s brutal civil war. In other ways, it has been viewed as a uniting force when there are seemingly so few others.

Before the match, Al Hakim described the feat as a miracle.

After it, he was disappointed yet full of praise.

“I am very proud of my boys with what they have achieved,” al-Hakim said. “At the end there are mistakes in soccer.

“The players followed instructions very, very well, but the Australian goal happens because of the pressure of the Socceroos.”

— AAP

Originally published as World reacts to Socceroos progressing past Syria in World Cup qualification

Original URL: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/football/world-reacts-to-socceroos-progressing-past-syria-in-world-cup-qualification/news-story/af9df88df41fef3a0a12295902c57414