Football news 2024: Robbie Slater on Socceroos’ ‘huge problem’ - and how they can fix it

After back-to-back losses against teams the Socceroos must be beating, their main problem has come clear to ROBBIE SLATER, he reveals what it is and the ‘wildcard’ that could be the answer on the road to 2026.

JAKARTA, INDONESIA - SEPTEMBER 10: Head Coach Graham James Arnold of Australia looks on during the FIFA World Cup Asian 3rd Qualifier Group C match between Indonesia and Australia at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium on September 10, 2024 in Jakarta, Indonesia. (Photo by Robertus Pudyanto/Getty Images)

National coach Graham Arnold faces the difficult task of finding an in-form striker before the Socceroos return to action next month against China and Japan.

No goals from the Socceroos in their first two games of the latest round of World Cup qualifiers isn’t good enough.

If there was an encouraging sign in the 0-0 draw with Indonesia on Tuesday night in Jakarta it was that the Socceroos created enough chances to probably win two games.

That was a marked improvement from last week’s 1-0 loss to Bahrain on the Gold Coast. It’s hard to remember the Socceroos having ever played so poorly on home soil.

However, it’s all well and good to improve and create chances, but if you can’t score, you’ve got a huge problem.

And that’s not Arnold’s fault. He made the right changes after the loss to Bahrain, the Socceroos dominated and had loads of chances, but he can’t score the goals for his team.

Problems with scoring is not a new issue for this team, however strength at set pieces has often rescued the Aussies when they are otherwise having trouble finding the back of the net.

The Socceroos created plenty of chances against Indonesia. Picture: Getty Images

But our set pieces have been sloppy in the past two games, so we haven’t been able to rely on them to get us out of an attacking hole.

We need a striker who can regularly score for Australia.

Where Arnold can find one before next month is the big question.

Perth Glory forward Adam Taggart missed a great opportunity against Indonesia. Normally he would have buried that type of chance, but you must remember that he’s not in season, and he still won’t be, come the next international window, which again takes place before the start of the new A-League campaign.

How can the Socceroos fix their scoring problems? Picture: Getty Images

Mitch Duke has been a great servant but is ageing, while Kusini Yengi struggled against Bahrain before being sent off and seems not yet ready to lead Australia’s forward line.

It’s a pity that another option in former Newcastle Jets marksman Apostolos Stamatelopoulos, now with Scottish club Motherwell, has picked up an untimely injury.

Denmark-based John Iredale, who was an unused substitute against Indonesia, will also be considered.

It’s just a shame there is not a centre-forward out there demanding selection.

Of course the wildcard is Nestory Irankunda. While he’s a winger, he can play centrally in attack, as he did against the Indonesians.

Nestory Irankunda is the ace up the Socceroos’ sleeve. Picture: Getty Images

One piece of individual brilliance from Irankunda is likely to be what turns the Socceroos fortunes around, and he remains the ace up Arnold’s sleeve.

Arnold will also hopefully call on the creativity of Riley McGree, Ajdin Hrustic and Alex Robertson because we also missed having a genuine playmaker in our past two matches, despite having created plenty of chances against Indonesia.

But what our dearth of strikers shows is the reliance A-League clubs have had on foreign attackers, and that’s because our development system has failed to produce quality goal-scorers.

Not enough attention has been placed on developing first-class strikers, and the Socceroos are suffering as a result.

All is far from lost in our bid to qualify for the next World Cup. Even if we don’t finish in the top two of our group to grab an automatic berth in the 2026 edition of the tournament, we’re still a good chance of qualify considering there will be eight, possibly nine, Asian Football Confederation nations that will be there,

However, beating China next month is almost non-negotiable, because having to go to Saitama to meet Japan a few days after that will be an extremely difficult task.

Originally published as Football news 2024: Robbie Slater on Socceroos’ ‘huge problem’ - and how they can fix it