Socceroos vs Türkiye: What you need to know ahead of Australia’s World Cup opener

Vancouver | After months of planning, squad deliberations and handling the loss of a few key players (Riley McGree and Lewis Miller in particular) to injury along the way, Tony Popovic will lead his Socceroos into battle on Canada’s West Coast on Saturday night (Sunday 2pm AEST) as Australia get their World Cup campaign under way against Türkiye.

And he will do so on the back of a vote of confidence from Football Australia, with the governing body confirming this week that Popovic’s contract with the national side has been extended to after the Asian Cup in January next year.

So, what should Australian fans expect from their country’s first World Cup finals game since pushing Lionel Messi’s Argentina all the way back in December 2022 in Qatar?

A team built from the back

Given their coach’s background as an uncompromising central defender in his playing days, it’s perhaps not surprising that Popovic’s game plan for the national team is built on defensive solidity and a strong work ethic.

Goalkeeper and captain Mat Ryan is the epitome of both, providing experience to a relatively young-looking Socceroos back line as he looks to appear in his fourth successive World Cup finals. His calmness under pressure and big game temperament will be invaluable.

Ahead of him, Australia are likely to field a back five with three centre backs – a feature of Popovic’s reign, especially against teams that are likely to dominate possession (which Türkiye are likely to do).

The wing backs of Jacob Italiano and Jordy Bos will be asked to provide the width going forward, while 22-year-old Parma defender Alessandro Circati and 18-year-old Lucas Herrington seem set to join defensive lynchpin Harry Souttar in a powerful defensive line. 

The back three are further protected by a workmanlike midfield trio, with Aiden O’Neill and Connor Metcalfe expected to join the experienced Jackson Irvine in Australia’s engine room.

Yet the absence of play-maker Riley McGree – ruled out by injury in late May – means Popovic’s side will be more likely to rely on a counter attacking approach that utilises the speed of either veteran Mat Leckie or young gun Nestory Irankunda to break the lines.

Whichever of those two doesn’t start will no doubt be used as an impact player off the bench.

The man tasked with putting the ball in the back of the net is striker Mo Toure, although that was thrown into doubt earlier this week when the 22-year-old Norwich City front man missed training due to an unspecified ‘illness’.

All reports since say he is back to health, but Toure’s absence would be a major blow to Popovic’s game plan, with recent debutant Tete Yengi seen as the only like for like replacement in the Socceroos squad.

That Australia are so reliant on Toure up front – a player who, despite his obvious talent and spectacular recent success at Norwich, has only 11 caps and two international goals to his name – speaks volumes about the lack of a genuine goal threat this team has had until recently.

It’s not coincidence that Australia have scored just 20 goals in 18 games under Popovic, and yet their defensive record of only conceding 14 goals during that period shows where their strengths lie.

A dangerous and versatile opponent

While Australia’s defensive strength is well documented, their opponents in Vancouver will boast a glittering array of young attacking talent that will be challenging to contain.

Türkiye’s strength in the final third is built around 21-year-old attacking midfielder Arda Güler, a talented play-maker who has spent the last three years at Real Madrid and is now firmly entrenched in the Spanish giants’ starting eleven.

Long seen in his home nation as the ‘golden child’ of his footballing generation, Güler has already appeared 29 times for his country despite his age, scoring six goals as well providing the creative spark for a versatile, youthful front line.

Türkiye’s Italian coach Vincenzo Montella has built his 4-2-3-1 system to accommodate Güler, and is also hoping to call on another 21-year-old making a name for himself in one of Europe’s top leagues – Juventus’ left winger Kenan Yildiz.

Yildiz has shot to prominence in Italy this season, taking out Serie A’s ‘Rising Star’ award and impressing many with his long-range shooting and dribbling skills.

However, he comes into the game against Australia with an injury cloud hanging over him, having picked up a calf strain in mid-May, and missed both of Türkiye’s warm up games in recent weeks.

Coach Montella has confirmed this week that Yildiz is back in training, but it remains to be seen if he is fit enough to start. Expect Galatasaray winger Barış Yilmaz – who started and scored in last week’s friendly victory over Venezuela – to take his place if Yildiz doesn’t make the starting line-up.

Elsewhere in attack, Türkiye’s also boasts a third 21-year-old in Porto striker Deniz Gül – who opened his international account back in November last year against European Champions Spain – to form a versatile, youthful and dangerous front-line when all fully fit.

Yet despite being on an eight-match unbeaten run – including seven wins and a highly impressive draw away in Spain – this will be Türkiye’s first World Cup appearance since 2002, meaning World Cup finals experience is severely lacking in Montella’s otherwise exciting squad.

Whether the Socceroos – who count nine of their squad as having played in previous World Cup finals tournaments – can take advantage of this experience gap to counter Türkiye’s youthful attacking exuberance may well go a long way to deciding the outcome of this intriguing Group D tie.

It’s also worth noting that although Australia have reached the previous five World Cup tournaments, they do not have a great record in the opening group games – losing four in a row since shocking Japan in their opening fixture back in 2006.

Breaking that streak – even with a draw – against a team sitting five places above them in the FIFA rankings coming into the tournament could be a decent outcome for Popovic’s men.

In a tournament where a third placed group showing should be enough to secure a berth in the knock-out stages, a point at BC Place on Saturday may prove invaluable.