McGree, Bos injured as Socceroos scrap to stressful win over Lebanon

It started so well for the Socceroos.

Five minutes into Thursday night’s World Cup qualifier, Keanu Baccus nicked the ball off Lebanon’s Bassel Jradi, surged forward and delivered a cross from the right. It curled in off the post for his first international goal – a happy accident on his old home ground. The former Western Sydney Wanderers midfielder seized his moment, hamming it up in front of the crowd with his hands cupping his ears.

Happy days. If the Cedars of Lebanon came to Parramatta intent on parking the bus and frustrating the hosts, surely now they had to come forward. All those nagging questions about the Socceroos’ inability to break down a stubborn defence would have to be asked another day.

But really, that’s when the problems began.

Not 10 minutes later, Riley McGree hobbled off with what is feared to be an aggravation of the foot problem which saw him miss two months of football for Middlesbrough earlier this season. And then his replacement, Jordan Bos, jarred his knee in a collision with Lebanon’s right-back Nassar Nassar - so the replacement also had to be replaced. Both were late arrivals in camp from Europe – about 1am on Wednesday night, coach Graham Arnold said – and neither is expected to feature on Tuesday night in Canberra.

By half-time, the early euphoria created by Baccus’ goal was replaced by a growing sense of concern, not only for the physical toll of the night but the football itself, which was frustratingly familiar. Their only other genuine chance came via Kusini Yengi’s hopeful, powerful ping from distance, which was deflected but still easily saved by Lebanese custodian Mostafa Matar.

Kye Rowles celebrates his first international goal.Credit: Getty

There was also a speculative thump forward from near the halfway line by Harry Souttar, which happened to put Adam Taggart through clear on goal, only he wasn’t able to conjure a shot.

Those moments aside, they struggled to construct much in attack, despite Arnold’s deployment of two strikers, Yengi and Taggart, and complete domination of possession. The change in shape, he said, was in response to a shortage of fit wingers. In any case, it did not solve their ongoing problems in the final third, which go much deeper than positions on a whiteboard, or the disruptions caused by the injuries.

“It was a good performance, ” Arnold said. “But we can do better, and we must do better. The sloppiness … the pitch wasn’t easy, either. It wasn’t an easy pitch to play on for the boys. Some of the turnovers, the boys don’t normally make.”

The Socceroos’ first outing since their heartbreaking Asian Cup exit was supposed to be, if not a walk in the park, then certainly a comfortable jog. It turned out to be much more stressful than anyone would have wanted. And this isn’t even the hard bit of World Cup qualifying - that’s the third round, which is yet to come, but by virtue of this 2-0 victory, is all but assured for Graham Arnold’s men. Another win over Lebanon or even a draw on Tuesday in Canberra will confirm their spot in the next phase.

It was a painful night for Socceroos defender Jordan Bos.Credit: Getty

Mercifully, there are now eight direct World Cup qualification spots, up from four, due to the 2026 tournament’s expansion to 48 teams - but on current evidence, it still might be a battle.

That’s not to say there weren’t highlights. Deployed out of position at left-back in Aziz Behich’s absence, Kye Rowles also scored his maiden goal in international football, a messy lash from the second phase of a corner kick nine minutes into the second half, which put the result beyond any doubt.

The corner was also delivered by Ajdin Hrustic, who made a welcome return to the Socceroos after 10 months in club football purgatory and showed some flashes of the creative genius that this team has missed.

“He gives you that little bit of X factor,” Arnold said. “Some of the flicks around the corner, the little chips over the top – those type of things are what we’re wanting, and what we need in the final third against some of these opponents.”

Keanu Baccus celebrates his goal for Australia.Credit: Getty

Then John Iredale, the former Sydney FC academy product who plays in Germany’s 2.Bundesliga, came on for his debut, becoming cap number 640 for Australia. He looked good, too.

The Cedars had a crack. Backed by large sections of the 27,026 at CommBank Stadium – no doubt including many conflicted Lebanese-Australians – they were clearly outclassed but certainly not outfought. In the 82nd minute, substitute Daniel Kuri rattled the right post, briefly awakening the crowd from their second-half slumber. They finished the much stronger side.

We keep hearing about how Asian football is improving at a rate of knots, but why aren’t the Socceroos? They got what they came for – three precious points – but all those questions still remain, and they’re not going away.

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