HOUSTON, Texas -- One of the biggest boons afforded by direct qualification for the newly expanded World Cup, especially through Asia, is that it affords one the luxury of time. In punching their tickets to the footballing showpiece more than a year out -- as the Socceroos did in June -- nations are provided with the scope to experiment, to try out new faces, new roles, and new approaches safe in the knowledge their place at the event aren't under threat and that, if they work out, their performance can only benefit.
Under such a scenario, negative results and performances can prove just as useful, just as illuminating as those that are gleaned from the positive ones; giving coaching staffs not only an indication of what is working and what merits further exploration but also what can be discounted before the lights are turned up to their brightest levels. It's addition by subtraction, if you will. And if there's anything that Tony Popovic and company will take from the Socceroos' 1-0 loss to Venezuela on Friday evening, it's probably going to be along the lines of that negative reinforcement.
- 2026 World Cup: Who has qualified, and how the rest can make it
- Socceroos Depth Chart: Rowles choice? Australia's left back dilemma
- Socceroos Geria, Duke eye moves during J.League hiatus
Australia's defeat to La Vinotinto was a game of contradictions if you only observe the high-level stats. For a start, it was just 1-0 and despite having just 34% of the ball, the Australians ended the evening with the same amount of shots as their South American opposition, with just one fewer on target, while managing to restrict them to 1.11 expected goals (xG). The Socceroos even ended the contest with more touches inside their opponent's penalty area, 15 to 13, than the Venezuelans despite the latter completing nearly 300 more passes in their opponent's half and making 55 entries into the final third compared to the Australians' 26.
But watching the fixture play out across the 90 minutes, one would have observed how, if not for some inspired goalkeeping by 22-year-old debutant Patrick Beach, that one-goal margin could have easily blown out to a much greater one. One would have observed that one of the biggest reasons that the Venezuelans were able to monopolise so much possession and camp out in their attacking half was that they pressed in a manner that denied the Australians time and space on the ball and more often than not reclaimed possession before it even crossed the halfway line.
Watching in person, one would have observed that a young Venezuelan side, twenty members of the squad possessing two caps or fewer but given a chance under interim coach Fernando Aristeguieta, looked more up for the fight; getting to the second balls, winning their duels and imposing their will on their opponents. A 6-3 loss to Colombia on the final day of South American qualifying, combined with Bolivia's upset win over Brazil, may have conspired to deny them even a spot in the inter-confederation playoffs for the World Cup -- a result which led to the sacking of coach Fernando Batista amid calls for a "restructuring of the technical staff, a reorganisation of the strategy, of the doctrine," by the country's president, Nicolás Maduro -- but all meant was that this was the first game of a new era, and these players were pressing their case to be part of it.
After bringing a greater level of physical intensity to their games against Canada and the United States last month -- which followed a series of fixtures in which Popovic felt his side were outmuscled -- this felt like something of a step back. It didn't appear as though the Australians were being bullied, as the coach had felt they were at times against the likes of New Zealand, Japan, and Saudi Arabia, but instead that they simply weren't matching the intensity of the Venezuelans, nor pressing their advantage in the moments where it was there to be taken.
"We probably didn't win as many of the duels and the second balls," said Popovic. "We probably struggled in that regard, which doesn't help you when you press and the ball goes long; you really need to win that next ball. That was difficult for us. Then it's hard to break that momentum."
Indeed, while Beach was called into action to stop two strong headers from Jesús Ramírez -- denying the Venezuelan goalscorer what on another day could have been a hat trick -- it's also worth noting that the back three of Miloš Degenek, Kai Trewin, Jason Geria (before his first-half injury), and Cameron Burgess for the most part kept their opponents in front of them during the periods they spent under siege, while also being on the scene to contest most of the shots that were sent in.
But that Australia is well-organised in defence and tough to break down isn't new information. It's one of those things that, while you can never take anything for granted in football, is something that will almost certainly be a strength of this side heading into the World Cup. The issue, one that Popovic has spoken about wanting to improve post-qualification and one that has hung over not just his tenure, but a multitude of Australian coaches over the years, is that one also needs to be able to take games on and seize control of them with the ball.
Moments where the Socceroos were able to get forward were rare, with it taking around an hour between Mohamed Touré getting their first shot on target -- one of two early chances that he would have -- and Riley McGree getting their second soon after he marked his return from injury as a 66th-minute substitute. Al Hassan Toure would produce another good chance late, smashing in an 84th-minute attempt that forced José Contreras into action, but these moments stood out so much more because of the lack of meaningful attacking play surrounding it; lighthouses in the otherwise murky haze of Socceroo possession.
Experimenting with Craig Goodwin as a left wingback, meanwhile, would have been envisioned as a possible solution for this, the Adelaide United skipper and his wand of a left foot able to drive the Socceroos forward with his delivery from out wide, but at 33 years old -- 34 next month -- the days of Goodwin as defender getting up-and-down the flanks look to have passed him by -- his role these days that of a winger or floating inside forward. The Venezuelans quickly identified this, too, attacking the space that he would leave behind him across the opening half and ultimately deriving the game's lone goal from this approach before he was withdrawn at halftime for Callum Elder.
"We created some great opportunities; didn't take them," said Popovic. "But overall, there's a lot of lessons, a lot of young players [playing], and you look at that, where they are now, and I'm sure in the future, they'll be much better."
With Colombia awaiting them in New York, an opponent ranked 13th in the world and something of a dark horse for next year's tournament, improvements on Friday night will be needed. With three players earning their Socceroos debuts in Texas -- the first time that's happened since 2012 -- and another debutant coming off the bench, we'll likely see some of the older heads come into the side -- with Burgess, McGree and Jackson Irvine all potentially able to play from the off.
But with just three games until Popovic names his squad for the World Cup, and just seven months till kick off, the scope for experimentation is rapidly shrinking. Sooner rather than later, the process of actualisation needs to occur.