Socceroos play Mexico in Texas, Sept 2023 and it's a 2-2 draw. 12 months later we play the Mexicans in California and they canter to a 3-0 win.
Australia is just better than us, and have a core of tough nuts (like yes Jackson Irvine) who have been there done that, including pushing champs Argentina very hard in their R16 game at Qatar WC.
I still think it's 2-3 years too early for the real potential of this AWs squad to show. Might be partly why the Woodsman wants to try for the 2030 WC. For now too many guys still under age 25, not yet near their peak. But in 12 months hopefully we have progressed some more again from now. We will still be one of the weakest if not the weakest team at the big dance, that's the reality.
Australia is just better than us, and have a core of tough nuts (like yes Jackson Irvine) who have been there done that, including pushing champs Argentina very hard in their R16 game at Qatar WC.
I still think it's 2-3 years too early for the real potential of this AWs squad to show. Might be partly why the Woodsman wants to try for the 2030 WC. For now too many guys still under age 25, not yet near their peak. But in 12 months hopefully we have progressed some more again from now. We will still be one of the weakest if not the weakest team at the big dance, that's the reality.
We'll never truly peak unless we play decent opposition on a regular basis. But I guess we've discussed this plenty of times...
If we can't go into Asia for WC qualifying then I'd love to see a Nations League like they have in Europe. Could play games against the best Island Nations, Australia and teams from Southern Asia. Means a trophy to play for, real competitive games, more live games, fan involvement, media coverage, all on a more regular basis.