New Socceroos coach Tony Popovic confident of Australia making a winning start under his reign

Despite having had little time to prepare his team, new Socceroos coach Tony Popovic has backed the Australians to deliver the goods against China on Thursday night.

Socceroos coach Tony Popovic gives his players instructions ahead of Thursday night’s match against China. Picture: Mark Brake/Getty Images

New national coach Tony Popovic has promised there will be no “excuses” if the Socceroos fail to deliver in his first game in charge on Thursday night at Adelaide Oval.

Popovic’s vow ahead of Australia’s crucial FIFA World Cup qualifier against China came as he revealed he didn’t pick Alex Robertson in his 26-man squad because the 21-year-old Cardiff City midfielder was “not eligible” for selection despite having already played two friendly matches for the Socceroos.

“Every Australian that’s available is on the radar, every single one,” Popovic said.

“My understanding is he (Robertson) is not eligible, so that’s why he’s not under consideration for this camp.”

While Football Australia quickly clarified that the ineligibility was because of a “FIFA paperwork” issue, Robertson is not yet tied to Australia and may still be weighing up his international options as he is also eligible to represent Peru, Scotland and England.

Popovic said he was happy with the squad he had chosen, and was confident of a good performance against China despite having had little time to implement his tactics after only being appointed as Graham Arnold’s successor last month,

With several players also not having arrived in Adelaide until Tuesday, Popovic has barely had a chance to work with his entire squad.

“Yeah, there are some things that are out of our control, but I don’t want to use that as an excuse,” the former Melbourne Victory mentor said.

“We feel we have enough time to show the players how we’d like to play, and I’m sure the players have seen it, they’re comfortable with it, and they’ll show some good signs of that (against China).

“We’re at home, we will be confident – I’m sure that we can win the game.

“We have to get that balance right between being calm with and without the ball, and also having that dynamic edge when we get our opportunities to be creative in that front third.”

More familiar faces at #Socceroos training 👀

The boys are back together again ahead of Thursday’s @FIFAWorldCup qualifier against China PR at Adelaide Oval 🤝

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🎟️ Last chance for tickets via Ticketek. pic.twitter.com/jDbwDKZcG3

— Subway Socceroos (@Socceroos) October 9, 2024

The Socceroos, who have the daunting task of taking on Japan next Tuesday in Saitama, are desperate for a win over China after starting the latest round of World Cup qualifiers last month with a shock 1-0 home loss to Bahrain and a 0-0 draw with Indonesia in Jakarta.

China will be equally as desperate after last month losing 7-0 to Japan and 2-1 to Saudi Arabia.

“We’ve seen that they’ve had some injuries and brought in some new players, but you know that’s expected with every squad,” Popovic said.

“Every country will have those same issues that we are facing. We’ve brought in some new faces due to injury, but we’ve also brought in new faces due to just giving players an opportunity that we feel deserve to be in this environment and to see how they cope with what we are aiming to do.”

Socceroos midfielder Jackson Irvine said everyone in the squad was “on their toes” with the appointment of a new coach.

“Everyone knows that when change happens, what was the status quo before is definitely not going to be the case,” Irvine said.

“You’ve got to be sharp and ready. We understand the circumstances surrounding the game.

“We have such a good group of players and great characters, and guys that are capable of performing under that pressure, but also putting it to one side and focusing on just getting the performance right, and when we get that right, then the result will come.”

FIFA World Cup qualifier

Australia v China

Thursday, Adelaide Oval, 7.30pm (ACDT), 8pm (AEDT)