Why the door is open for more Socceroos debutants in rematch

An accumulation of injuries and yellow cards will force Graham Arnold to reach even further into the Socceroos’ new-found depth for Tuesday night’s World Cup qualifying rematch against Lebanon, which could mean opportunities for two prospective debutants.

Scans have confirmed Riley McGree (foot) and Jordan Bos (knee), who hobbled off in the first half of Australia’s 2-0 win on Thursday night, will not take part in the next clash with the Cedars in Canberra, where a draw or win will mathematically assure the Socceroos’ place in the next round of qualification.

McGree and Bos could even be sent back to their clubs, Middlesbrough and KVC Westerlo respectively, to begin their rehab. Arnold was on Friday exploring the possibility of calling up other players based in Australia to replace them in his 25-man squad.

Keanu Baccus, who scored the opening goal in the fifth minute against Lebanon, also won’t feature in the capital after receiving an automatic one-game suspension for his second yellow card since the start of qualification.

Baccus, 25, has played in every competitive match for Australia since the beginning of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, usually as a starter, and has been a starting midfielder in all but three of the 15 games since Aaron Mooy’s retirement. His absence, along with McGree’s injury, creates openings for other midfielders – including Ajdin Hrustic, who made his long-awaited return to the national team on Thursday with a sparkling cameo off the bench, and uncapped options Patrick Yazbek and Josh Nisbet, who were unused against Lebanon, the latter not even listed on the team sheet.

Defenders Thomas Deng and Gethin Jones, and forwards Brandon Borrello, Sam Silvera and Bruno Fornaroli, were the only other outfield players to not see minutes in the first game – aside from Craig Goodwin, who missed out due to illness but has recovered and is already training in Canberra before the team’s arrival over the weekend.

Jordan Bos hurt his knee against Lebanon after coming on for the injured Riley McGree.Credit: Edwina Pickles

Hrustic hadn’t played for the Socceroos in 10 months, having recently recovered from a horror spell at Italian side Hellas Verona as they tried to force him and his high wage out of the club on the eve of the season.

“It felt like two, three years to be honest,” said Hrustic, who now plays for Dutch club Heracles. “It’s been a while so attachment, communication and all that is getting there. Felt good. I enjoyed it. I think the boys enjoyed it. I hope Arnie enjoyed it.”

Hrustic said there was ample room for improvement in Australia’s general play, as noted by Arnold in his post-match press conference. The Socceroos again failed to craft many meaningful attacking opportunities despite dominating possession against the world No.115-ranked Cedars – their two goals came from Baccus’ fortunate cross and the second phase of a set-piece.

“If you go into detail, of course there’s stuff that you want to improve,” Hrustic said. “You want to get the ball going quicker, you want to move them from left to right quicker, especially when they’re in a low block. You’ve got to break down defence by moving the ball quick, playing between lines, one-two touch. But the most important thing is the three points.”

Graham Arnold will be forced into making changes to his starting XI.Credit: Getty

Yazbek, 21, moved from Sydney FC to Norwegian club Viking FK last year and has been selected in several Socceroos squads without being used. Nisbet, 24, has been a standout in the A-League with the Central Coast Mariners but was not in Arnold’s initial squad, replacing Hibernian defender Lewis Miller after he hurt his hamstring on the morning it was unveiled.

They will be looking to follow in the footsteps of forward John Iredale, who became Socceroo No.640 with his maiden appearance off the bench in the 67th minute against Lebanon. Iredale, 24, has scored three goals this season for 2.Bundesliga side SV Wehen Wiesbaden – making him one of the few Australian strikers finding the back of the net abroad.

Iredale is another Sydney FC product, working under then-academy coaches Ufuk Talay, Giancarlo Italiano and Rob Stanton, who are now all successful A-League coaches. Arnold was coach of Sydney FC at the time and took a liking to him. He called him up to his first camp with the Socceroos in 2018, but he struggled with injury in the ensuing years.

Because he left Australia at 18 to play youth football in Germany instead of forging a career in the A-League, and is yet to break through in a higher-calibre European league, he is little-known within the Australian soccer community – and knows it.

“I saw a couple of comments like, ‘What’s a John Iredale?’” he joked.

“I hope now, moving forward with the national team, I can really show Australians who I am. I love my dog and my fiancee and I love football in general. I’m excited to show people, and not tell them about, how I perform on the pitch.”

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