World Cup 2022: Robbie Slater on Australia’s must-win game against Tunisia

When you look at Australia’s World Cup game with Tunisia the simple answer is: we can’t win. We are the team every other nation expects to beat - that is the reality, writes Robbie Slater.

Every team in our group eyes the Socceroos as three points, despite what everyone in Australia thinks.

That is the reality. We are the team every other nation expects to beat.

So when you look at Saturday night’s FIFA World Cup game with Tunisia the simple answer is: we can’t win.

We have to turn that around. We have to change the way the rest of the world views Australia.

We need the three points against Tunisia or our tournament is over.

But to do that, you can’t be stupid. In respect to tactics it’s not as easy as saying, “Oh we need three points let’s abandon ship and just attack”.

Mathew Leckie and Jackson Irvine during Australia’s loss to France. Picture: Stu Forster/Getty Images

It does not work that way and in spite of what some people will say, that is not the way Australia should go about it and it’s not the way coach Graham Arnold will go about it.

The people who say we need to attack, they don’t even know how to explain what they want.

They’re just empty words. What Australia needs to do is to avoid some of the mistakes we made against France on Wednesday.

The one thing that happened against France, which can’t happen again, is we got stretched.

We lost our shape and when France took control we really started to get stretched across the park and we were comprehensively beaten in one-on-one situations.

Luckily for Australia, we won’t have the same quality of players against us this time around.

I’m not saying the Tunisians are not good, but they’re not Dembele, Mbappe, Griezmann and Giroud.

They’ve got some real threats in Issam Jebali and Wahbi Khazri, who missed the draw with Denmark but I would expect will come straight in.

Both are very attacking players and you know the Tunisians will be hunting a win as that could be enough to see them progress to the round of 16.

We have to back ourselves, win those one-on-one battles and most importantly – not lose our shape.

Tunisia's Issam Jebali is a real threat. Picture: Miguel MEDINA/AFP

POTENTIAL CHANGES

Australia can’t change the whole team. We don’t have the depth plus you need to keep some semblance of a first XI.

Personally I’d make four changes: Thomas Deng to replace Nathaniel Atkinson at right back. Bailey Wright at centre back for Kye Rowles. Ajdin Hrustic for Riley McGree in midfield and Jamie Maclaren for Mitch Duke up front.

Arnold might look to give Awer Mabil a start over Mathew Leckie, but you could see from the goal we scored against France the value Leckie brings to the team and we will need his experience.

Experienced counts for a lot in these games, so guys like Leckie and Aaron Mooy are crucial and will need to control the tempo for Australia.

While I think a few changes are needed, I believe Arnold will only make about three changes from the France starting XI.

And it’s not dropping guys, sometimes it’s about getting the freshest legs out there after a three-day turnaround.

Awer Mabil fights for the ball with France's Kingsley Coman. Picture: Chandan KHANNA/AFP

USE OF THE BENCH

Australia’s focus must be on the full 90 minutes.

We need to take that 20-minute period from the start of the French game and bring it for the full 90.

That was a snapshot of what this team can do. We just need to do it for longer.

I don’t think Arnold used his bench badly the other night, but how he uses it against Tunisia will depend a lot on if we’re winning, losing or drawing.

I know he said he thought we ran out of legs, but this is a game where our experienced players will be pivotal in the result and he will back them to get the job done before making any rash substitutions.

I don’t think it’s a game where you throw a kid like Garang Kuol in to try to save the day.

It needs to be the leaders who show the way.