Tony Popovic has expressed his disappointment with the Socceroos’ performance in their 2-0 defeat to FIFA World Cup co-hosts USA.
Popovic promoted Isuzu UTE A-League stars Nishan Velupillay and Mathew Leckie to his starting lineup in place of the two goalscorers against Türkiye, Nestory Irankunda and Connor Metcalfe, but the Socceroos were unable to keep the co-hosts at bay at Seattle Stadium.
“I don’t know if it was the occasion but we looked sluggish,” said the Australian head coach.
“They were quicker, they were more powerful. They won every duel, they won every second ball. When you do that it makes it very difficult to gain any momentum.”
MATCH REPORT: USA 2-0 AUSTRALIA
Popovic was quick to praise the second-half in which the Socceroos gave a far better account of themselves and largely kept the USA quiet despite a raucous home crowd in Seattle.
“The reaction second half was outstanding,” he said.
“When you think; this noise, host nation – I think the players showed how good they are in the second half. But obviously at this level you can’t give away that much in the first.”
Popovic was asked if the positive impact of his substitutes will trigger a change in his starting lineup come the third and final group match against Paraguay and remained tight-lipped about his selection.
“Every game is different. We had a lot of fatigued bodies in the first half – physically and mentally it was tough. But an outstanding second half and we’ve got to build on that.”
Popovic was asked about his stance on the USA’s second goal and responded with some strong comments about the officiating performance.
“Yeah, I’m not sure on that one. We felt that (there was an offside infringement) but unfortunately that didn’t go our way,” he said.
“I think today was… I wouldn’t say the best day for the referee.”
“Certainly we felt we were Australian today with the referees.”
Looking ahead to the final group match against Paraguay, Popovic restated his satisfaction with his side’s reaction in the second half.
“We’ve got to accept what happened today. I’m really delighted with the second half to be honest – with the players that came on and the players that could react that didn’t have a good first half.”
“It’s a World Cup. We move on to Paraguay and we’ll work hard to be ready for that,” he concluded.
The Socceroos will face Paraguay on Friday, 26 June at 12pm AEST.
