The best way to move on from the disappointment of the USA game is to think about the opportunity that lies ahead.
The Socceroos don’t have to look too far for inspiration. Mathew Leckie is in their ranks, the goal scorer of one of the iconic goals in Australia’s World Cup history, in the equivalent match against Denmark, in 2022 in Qatar.
Now, the same stage awaits the Socceroos, this time against Paraguay, with destiny in their own hands.
Veteran midfielder Jackson Irvine knows what this means. There as a fan in 2006, he was swept up by the euphoria of the golden run in Germany. He’s tackled the disappointment of a campaign ending at the hands of Peru in 2018 and then enjoyed the mighty highs of Doha.
Irvine might not have started the first two games, but as a football aficionado, he is still soaking up every moment and knows the impact Friday (AEST)’s game can have.
“Being here for the third time … (it) is different every time but also the same, the same range of emotions but also, you see it through a different lens because of where you are in your career and in your life,” he said.
“Ultimately, I’m a football fan and a football romantic I guess and being here and being at the World Cup and experiencing seeing all the different stories that come together during this time, it’s the most amazing thing to be a part of and for myself I’m obviously extremely proud to be here but also as motivated as ever to contribute and to be a part of a group that creates another set of of of memories that will last.
“More images that I want to see on the walls in this building, that can be part of future generation’s stories when they sit here and think about their own World Cup.
“If they were watching these games and create those moments, that’s what it’s all about.”
After the disappointment in Seattle, Irvine knows he has a role to play helping the side navigate both the low of that defeat but switching to what’s needed in the week ahead.
“We’ve been through it before, a lot of us, particularly four years ago losing the first game ourselves and having to find a way to to react and bounce back from that.
“It’s interesting this time round.
Jackson Irvine. Photo: Aleksandar Jason
“Even with a little bit more time in between, it’s funny, the emotions seem to settle a little bit quicker when you know you’ve got a bit more of a space between games rather than having to really find a way to react.
“In Qatar, I think we had two or three days between the games rather than this kind of five-six; so it really gives the time for the guys to come down, have the emotions settle. You can really have time to analyse the game, really reflect on your own performance, what we can do better, and come into it with a clear head. So I think that’s a real benefit of this.
“As individual players from myself and Maty and Lecks, Aziz, Milos, the guys that have been through this before, just try and make sure that they feel the disappointment.
“That’s important, to understand that that’s part of the game as well. Also keep it balanced and be able to focus on those the positives from the game because there were plenty.”
With Leckie back in the dressing room, they know this is a stage where any one of them can put themselves into Australian football folklore.
That Denmark win can be a reference point as they turn towards Paraguay.
“We also had a really tough start in that game,” he recalled.
“The first ten minutes they came flying out of the blocks and we had to survive a little bit in that game as well. It’s part of football at this level and reflecting on the build up to that game, it’s appreciating the situation, understanding the magnitude of what you’re trying to achieve and what’s at stake but still then playing the individual moments focusing on your own, what you can control.
“That’s players at the end of the day…focusing on what you can control and that’s your own individual part and then within the structure of the team and what you’re trying to do and if we can do that well with in this game, I think it will lead to a positive result.”
The Socceroos have never beaten a South American team at a World Cup – although have progressed past Uruguay and Peru to qualify – and Irvine already has an understanding of what makes the challenge unique.
“It’s just a totally different type of game.
“We all know that in the games we’ve played against South American teams in the past, watching Paraguay against Turkey last night, I think there was a sequence towards the end of the game that kind of sums up their style of football and it was with (maybe) five minutes to go and they won the ball back high up the pitch and they had the chance to go to the corner and the guy just whips the cross in to the back stick with three guys and they go on to try and score again with ten men and they’re one nil up!
“They have incredible individual quality, as you saw in some moments, and you expect the unexpected. I guess that’s probably the best way to put it.”
After washing away the chatter about poor starts against Turkiye, the subject has reared its head again after being wiped by the USA in the first 45 minutes.
“The main thing that we have to get better from the first half is just being able to come into the duels and arrive in the physical side of the game a little bit better, and ride through those difficult moments,” he said.
“We’re playing against top teams at the highest level; they’re going to have moments where you’re going to have to defend, where you’re going to have to suffer and you’ve got to find ways to get through that. But I don’t think in the first half we really managed to drag ourselves out of those difficult moments and then the second half, we came out and we looked much more front foot, much more aggressive.
“We were arriving into tackles and winning second balls and it looked like a totally different kind of performance. So I think if we can do that from the beginning or at least find a way to change that momentum a little bit within the half, then give us a much better chance of being competitive from the beginning.”
Like all of us, Irvine couldn’t quite put his finger on why the side has struggled from the get go, but pointed out that that wasn’t an issue against Turkiye.
“I definitely wouldn’t say it’s the fitness aspect of the game. The boys are in top shape as we’ve shown, being able to finish every game as well as we have,” he mused.
“I think there’s a number of different factors. Of course there’s the opponent, the first factor in the way that they approach the game, the way they came out in the beginning.
“Sometimes teams are going to have that spell sometimes early, sometimes late and they had their spell obviously really early in the game and and we weren’t able, as I said, to just find a way to take that momentum off them. But I definitely don’t think it’s a fitness thing. Maybe it’s a little bit of a mental factor, but in the end, even despite the two goals, they didn’t really have a great deal of chances.
“Watching from the side, I still felt very secure in our defending. I still think when we’re in the box, and even though it seems like we’re deep, the boys seem calm and comfortable in defending in those spaces as well. Maybe just in the other parts of the game we can find a way to flick that switch and bring it back our way a bit a bit quicker.”
As for the message from Tony Popovic and what changed in the second period, Irvine explained what the Socceroos boss told the players after the defeat.
“We spoke after the game and the boss said something that resonated pretty true, which is, sometimes when you come on in a game like that it’s a little bit easier to come on and be on the front foot and come in.
“But the boys who were out there in the first half and then managed to come out and flick the switch in the second half, that’s a real testament to them to be able to come back out and improve their own performances and be more on the front foot because that’s sometimes more difficult.
“So we know it’s within all of us, individually and collectively, and we expect that from the substitutes at all times to come on and make an impact and and bring a new energy, and that’s happened in every game. I think we’ve all managed to lift that little bit of tempo and energy with the guys that have come on.”