A new era for the Socceroos brought about intriguing changes on the pitch from Tony Popovic in his first game as Head Coach. Against China, Australia was faced with another stubborn, defensive-minded opponent in the third round of AFC World Cup qualifying. But this time, after some early teething issues, the Socceroos found their groove to restore much-needed confidence ahead of a heavyweight clash against Japan in Saitama. Front Page Football's Christian Marchetti has put together an extensive list of takeaways from their performance at Adelaide Oval.
The Socceroos came from behind to defeat China 3-1 on Thursday night. (Image: Brock Pearson Photography)
One key criticism of the Socceroos and their performances in the final stages of the Graham Arnold era was their inability to convincingly break down the stubborn low-block defences their lesser opponents continuously utilised.
Whilst there was a change in the managerial hot seat for Australia going into Thursday night's crucial World Cup Qualifier against China - Tony Popovic overseeing his first game in charge - what was unlikely to change was the challenge their latest opponent provided. Heading into their third game of third-round AFC World Cup qualifying, the consensus was that the Socceroos would once again be expected to dominate possession and have no choice but to overcome their Achilles' heel of finding routes to goal against a defensive-minded opponent.
Popovic's big changes
The first indications we would receive about how a Popovic-led Roos outfit would approach this challenge became evident in the first line-up the new Head Coach selected. Popovic opted for a back three in his first game, with wing-backs, a midfield pivot, two attacking midfielders/inside forwards (more on these positions later), and a sole striker.
The decision to go with a three-at-the-back system came as quite a surprise. Putting the jokes that Popovic is usually fascinated with a 4-2-3-1 formation aside, a quick look at the squad's defensive stocks did not lead many to believe it was well suited to deploying three centre-backs.
Thomas Deng, Jason Geria, and Gianni Stensness, all capable of playing as central defenders, were not expected to feature too prominently, given their lack of prior experience at an international level. Ruling those three out would leave Harry Souttar, Kye Rowles, and Cameron Burgess as the only centre-backs left in the squad. But this trio would be an awkward fit to utilise together, given Burgess and Rowles are both left-footed, meaning Souttar, for balance purposes, would have to play as a right-sided centre-back, which is far less suitable than the central role we saw him in against China.
But Popovic bit the bullet on Deng's lack of international appearances and started him as the right-sided centre-back, with Souttar central and Rowles in an ideal role on the left. There are two caveats here for Deng that should be mentioned. His experience playing as both a right-sided centre-back and a right-back in a back four should make him well suited to playing as a wide centre-back in a back three. Although he has not played many minutes for the Socceroos, Deng has been in several previous squads, including the successful 2022 World Cup contingent.
Thomas Deng (right) was a surprise inclusion in Tony Popovic's first starting line-up as Socceroos Head Coach. (Image: Brock Pearson Photography)
Popovic stated post-match that he felt a back three system would "get the best out of our group for this game", suggesting that the move might have been solely reserved for China. But it should also be noted that his success during his time with Perth Glory was achieved by primarily using a back three. The greater passing angles and flexibility created in possession with a 3-4-3 shape can bring about the more 'dynamic' style the new boss promised in his first press conference when he took the job.
Regardless of the system being utilised, the personnel selected for it are always of more importance. Again, Popovic's choices here certainly raised eyebrows leading up to kick-off. As previously mentioned, Deng was receiving a rare start, his first minutes since second-round qualifying, when he came off the bench against Lebanon in March. Elsewhere, Lewis Miller was suddenly thrust into a starting role despite a difficult last appearance for the Socceroos, which resulted in him giving away the penalty that led to South Korea's equaliser in the Asian Cup Quarter-Final loss. But arguably the most significant call came in goal, with Popovic opting to give Joe Gauci his first Roos start since the Palestine game in Perth in June, thus making the bold decision to axe captain Mat Ryan from the starting side.
Stalwart Mat Ryan was named as the Socceroos' substitute goalkeeper for the first time since June 2021 against Nepal. (Image: Brock Pearson Photography)
Though bold calls were made to alter personnel, it was still unclear pre-game whether Popovic's moves would lead to a more attack-minded, free-flowing Socceroos performance. The system could open the game up due to its flexibility. However, with attacking outlets such as Riley McGree, Ajdin Hrustic, and Jordan Bos named as substitutes (likely more due to fitness concerns rather than form or preference), worry remained about the amount of creativity on offer. It could have been argued pre-game that Popovic had only named three naturally attacking players in his line-up in Nestory Irankunda, Craig Goodwin, and Mitch Duke (given Miller and Aziz Behich usually play their club football as full-backs, not wing-backs or wingers).
Early impressions of the new system
When the match began at Adelaide Oval, we immediately witnessed how Popovic's new system would aim to assist his players in creating more goalscoring opportunities. After all, given the lack of an attacking threat an opponent such as China offers, the primary focus in these matches is almost always on how Australia operates in possession.
From the off, the way Goodwin and Irankunda were utilised caught the eye. The two ex-Adelaide United stars would play inverted roles, with left-footer Goodwin tasked with operating exclusively in the right half-space (the vertical channel roughly running the width of the post to the edge of the box), whilst the right-footed Irankunda would do likewise but on the left. In midfield, another duo, Aiden O'Neill and Jackson Irvine, initially operated alongside each other as two defensive midfielders in a very deep double pivot.
A diagram of how the Socceroos set up in possession.
One thing that should be noted here that was immediately different from how the Socceroos played in the final matches of the Arnold era was how rigid and structured they were in possession.
While Arnold, particularly in the Bahrain game, looked to encourage more rotations off the ball and greater movement from his attacking players, Popovic placed far more trust in positional play, with each individual having defined areas to operate. For example, you would not see Irankunda or Goodwin drift centrally to briefly occupy a striker role or even pull wider to offer width as natural wingers. Both seemed instructed to only operate in the half-space on either side.
Though they operated in the half-spaces like most attacking midfielders do, particularly in a box midfield set-up, Irankunda and Goodwin are still natural wingers; we will refer to them as inside forwards for the sake of this analysis. Popovic gave more insight into his decision to utilise this attacking structure post-match.
“I think it was more about the areas we think that we can get the best out of our attacking players. We’ve got a lot of creative players in the squad, and in those pockets, those half-spaces, I feel a lot of good ability," he said.
In Goodwin, Riley McGree, and Ajdin Hrustic, Australia has players capable of operating in the pockets. Goodwin even mentioned post-match that his club side, Al-Wehda, does not play with wingers in their system, so he has "learned a lot more" about playing in an inside role. Meanwhile, as two of the most creative players in the squad, the inside roles in the half-spaces are tailor-made for McGree and likely Hrustic, should we see him utilised there more in future.
However, for Irankunda, it was probably not the most suitable role, as evidenced by the difficulty he had finding space against the low block and only being afforded very little time to make split-second decisions in the final third. Though also capable of playing an inside role due to his supreme technical ability, the Bayern Munich winger is at his best when holding width on the right side to create 1v1 scenarios, receiving near the touchline, facing forward, and then driving at his direct opponent to place the defence under immediate pressure. Popovic mentioned when discussing the squad that the players are "versatile", so we could see Irankunda's role change should he feature against Japan. Arnold deployed him as a striker in the 0-0 draw with Indonesia. Irankunda was arguably Australia's most prominent threat that night, and Popovic may revisit this option moving forward.
Basic errors
One of the other reasons Popovic felt the use of inside forwards would be effective was that he trusted the players to "combine quickly" in the final third. Though the Socceroos took their time to settle into the match, it did not feel that the new 3-4-3 system was the issue. If anything, it was more the basic skill errors and an understandable lack of confidence in executing said combination play that contributed to an average first half.
Over the first 15 minutes, the Socceroos had plenty of moments where a better decision or execution of a pass would have helped create more clear-cut opportunities to score. China seemed almost too narrow defensively, giving up a load of space in the wide areas to Australia's wing-backs, Behich and Miller. Had Australia shifted the ball side to side or switched play more often, with speed, these two players, in the opening exchanges, could have been used to more significant effect in the final third.
But a myriad of technical errors all over the pitch from the Socceroos in the first half meant any tactical changes Popovic had made to the attacking set-up felt redundant, whilst the cheap coughing up of possession gave China unnecessary hope of creating counter-attacking opportunities. Such errors seemed to stem from Australia's mental state still being affected by the previous two games against Bahrain and Indonesia, with confidence low, particularly amongst the attacking personnel. After 30 minutes, the script was familiar. There were only six touches in the penalty area from 37 final third entries for the Socceroos until that point.
Tony Popovic endured a frustrating first half to life as Socceroos Head Coach. (Image: Aleksandar Jason/Subway Socceroos)
China's defensive shape
But it should also be mentioned here that China altered their defensive shape about 18 minutes in, given that the 4-4-2 defensive structure they initially used gave up far too much space in dangerous areas. Coach Branko Ivankovic seemed aware that, had his side continued to use this system, Australia eventually would have clicked on a few occasions in the final third and comfortably won the game.
Though later on, they would follow Bahrain's plan of taking on an ultra-defensive approach, China had more of a mid-block early on and even seemed intent on pressing in specific scenarios. In Australia's 3-4-3, overloads can be created by one of the wide centre-backs, Deng or Rowles, driving into midfield. China wanted to take this strategy away, understandably. But they overreacted whenever Deng or Rowles began progressing with the ball.
There were multiple occasions of an overexuberant press on the right side when Deng began to drive forward. Usually, and oddly, the central midfielder on that side, Li Yuanyi, would step up from the midfield line and press Deng, thus leaving space behind him for Goodwin in the right half-space discussed above. But the Socceroos also had to bypass this press with quality on the ball to find Goodwin, which they did not do enough in the opening stages.
Thus, with too much space being afforded and occasional pressing proving too risky, Ivankovic changed the defensive shape. China started to adopt a 6-2-2, with wingers Xie Wenneng and Wei Shihao dropping as auxiliary wing-backs out of possession to take away the space offered to Behich and Miller in the opening 15 minutes. Shihao even began to sit a little narrower in the back six so as not to allow Goodwin any space to receive in the half-space, given Australia's most promising early moments came from finding his feet in that area.
From the 30th minute, this shape then started to look like more of a 6-3-1, with Fei Nanduo (Fernandinho) dropping from the front line to create a midfield three alongside Yuanyi and Wang Shangyuan, leaving Zhang Yuning alone up front as the first line of defensive resistance.
China's 6-2-2 shape out of possession.
China's 6-3-1 shape out of possession.
Australia defensively
Of course, at the point of the shift to a 6-3-1, China had taken the lead 10 minutes earlier. While much of this analysis has focused on the Socceroos in possession, we will briefly discuss how they looked defensively in their first game under Popovic.
Given that they utilised a back three in possession, this system would morph into a back five out of possession, with Behich and Miller dropping deep and tucking inside next to the wide centre-backs on either side. One thing to note, especially if this formation is used again for the Japan game, is that Australia's back five was very cautious in not holding their line too high. If either Behich or Miller stepped out of the five to defend in the wide areas, the remaining defenders always established a very recognisable back four.
A diagram of how the Socceroos set up out of possession.
Popovic sides are known to be well-organised defensively, and the Socceroos were, for the most part. But similarly to the issues in the attacking half, being in the right positions is not always the be-all and end-all; players have to execute their role. In the 20th minute, disaster struck when China took the lead through Xie Wenneng via a simple route one approach.
All three Socceroos centre-backs failed to execute their role as required and were punished. Deng lost out to a Zhang Yuning flick-on off a long ball from goalkeeper Wang Dalei, Souttar seemed flat-footed in re-adjusting to the direction of the ball as it hit the ground, and Rowles should not have allowed Wenneng to get in between him and Souttar and time his forward run perfectly towards goal.
Credit must be given to Wenneng for an excellent finish that gave Gauci no chance. It is easy to go back on a goal with a fine-tooth comb and be critical of minute details, but that precisely is what Popovic would have done in the aftermath.
The Rowles part of the goal would have been most frustrating for Popovic and his coaching staff and was not the only time Australia failed to track runners throughout the first half. Whether through a mix of China's speed in attack or simply a lack of concentration from the Socceroos' defence, there were multiple occasions where a Chinese attacker was able to break and receive a pass beyond the last line, which mainly manifested in long balls, particularly exploiting the space behind Deng. Tracking runners must be a focus for the defence heading into Japan, as it will be a long night at the office if this area is not dealt with adequately.
The Socceroos' mental state
Having conceded such a cheap goal and now somehow finding themselves behind and with work to do against a lesser opponent, the sinking feeling felt following the Bahrain and Indonesia results seemed to be creeping in again for the Socceroos.
As is always the case for a side that is low on confidence, as Popovic put it post-match, "the clear indicator was the next five minutes after the goal". Although there was a sense that Australia was a bit shell-shocked for the next ten or so minutes after conceding, they still stayed true to their principles, albeit with little success due to the aforementioned technical issues in the final third.
So, the belief in the plan was there but the confidence and concentration to execute said plan was not. One of the main takeaways from the Socceroos' first half performance was the realisation that many individuals had allowed doubt to seep into their game, being less sure about their ability to execute in a manner befitting their quality as a player.
As mentioned above, such factors meant it seemed unlikely Australia would equalise before half-time. But after Hu Hetao gave away an unnecessary foul on Behich, a lifeline was provided in the form of a typically brilliant Goodwin set-piece delivery that found the head of Miller, who rose between three Chinese defenders to finish past Dalei. Ironically, a goal from a set-piece, something Australia regularly scored under Graham Arnold, was the first goal of the Popovic era.
Now, back on terms and with the wind in their sails, one would think the Socceroos would see out the half and head into the break confident of going on to win. But the next three minutes then highlighted Australia's lack of concentration, allowing China, who had still not done anything in an attacking sense besides the one attack that led to their goal, to suddenly get on the front foot and provide some sustained pressure on the Socceroos defence to end the half.
Not 10 seconds after play resumed following the Miller goal, a hopeful ball was launched forward by China. Deng inexplicably let it go over his head, and Souttar did not track the runner, Fei Nanduo. The China forward latched onto it, entered the box, and looked set to shoot on goal if not for Souttar recovering to make an excellent last-ditch challenge reminiscent of his tackle against Tunisia at the 2022 World Cup.
China had a couple more corners during this period, but nothing came of it. But that would be beside the point for Popovic, who would have been frustrated that his side suddenly switched off after making the crucial breakthrough they were so desperate for. Such lapses were understandable for a team entering this game after a dire September window. But they cannot creep into Australia's performance in Saitama.
McGree and Geria help flip the script completely
While China arguably finished the first half better, the Miller equaliser was still undoubtedly crucial in paving the way for the turnaround. However, Popovic's two half-time changes elevated Australia's performance and were among the main factors behind the win.
After disappointing first halves, Irankunda and Deng were both replaced by Riley McGree and Jason Geria, respectively. Both changes were fair; Irankunda seemed uncomfortable in the inside forward role. Deng's inability to deal with long balls into his defensive channel was shown by his failure to win any of his three aerial duels.
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The key here was that, as the players did not waver from the plan after going behind, Popovic also did not overreact by changing the system and personnel at half-time. He felt comfortable in both McGree and Geria's ability to simply do a better job of executing in the roles Irankunda and Deng were utilised in from the start.
And his faith was certainly rewarded. Geria looked ready for his opportunity, which he had been eyeing for some time, and was phenomenal, being one of Australia's most assured and confident players in the second half. The Melbourne Victory defender perfectly took to the right-sided centre-back role, always looking to play forward and find his attacking teammates between the lines. He finished with 88% pass accuracy and won 2/4 aerial duels in a superb return to national team football over eight years removed from his debut.
Meanwhile, Socceroos fans know what a fully fit and firing McGree can provide to the set-up. Since he was absent for the last window, you almost forgot how essential his creativity is. After taking a few minutes to settle into his role operating in the left half-space, the Middlesbrough attacking midfielder started to completely open things up for Australia with the clever touches around the corner and flicks - the sort of stuff you need sometimes to break down a stubborn defence - that not every one of the team's attacking players can provide. As the second half wore on, it felt like McGree's confidence in trying the more audacious and preferring to take the forward-thinking option emanated onto the rest of the team.
Riley McGree (right) was influential in helping the Socceroos secure victory over China in the second half. (Image: Aleksandar Jason/Subway Socceroos)
McGree and Geria's introductions were a prominent factor in the Socceroos looking a far more cohesive unit after half-time. But a couple of subtle tactical tweaks in possession also contributed to the win.
In the first half, it felt as if striker Mitch Duke was dropping too deep, leading to him intruding on the half-spaces that should be solely reserved for Irankunda and Goodwin. With space hard to come by against the low block as it is, if one player is not disciplined enough with their positioning, it can significantly impact the team's attacking cohesion. Additionally, Duke being too deep meant that no player for Australia was stretching China vertically. Thus, much of the play throughout the first half was in front of China, making it much easier to predict Australia's next move than being panicked about the threat of an attacker receiving a pass behind their defence.
But in the second half, this issue seemed to have been corrected. Many will feel Duke did not have a good game regardless, having placed three of his four shots off target and been relatively peripheral up front. However, what the striker did do a much better job of after half-time, which Nishan Velupillay also executed well (more on him later), was staying higher in possession to stretch China's line and help open up space in the half-spaces for McGree and Goodwin.
Another player who took up slightly different positions in the second half was Jackson Irvine. As mentioned at the start of this piece, Irvine and Aiden O'Neill started in a deep double pivot and operated as such for the entire first half. But Popovic had seemingly instructed Irvine to make more forward runs and ultimately be more positive in possession for the second half, with his role morphing into that of a traditional box-to-box midfielder. Meanwhile, O’Neill started to sit as a sole holding midfielder in front of the back three.
Goodwin's goal: The plan comes together
Irvine's greater attacking impetus after half-time led to Australia's second goal, a wonder strike by Goodwin that came about through a move they had threatened to put together at times in the first half.
On this occasion, the positioning from the entire line-up was on point, the difference being that the few individuals involved in the move displayed much more confidence to play forward. Initially, Irvine dropped deeper in front of the back three, received, and sprayed the ball wide to Rowles. Say this move had happened in the first half, Rowles may have slowed down, waiting for the defender who was dragged inside, Fei Nanduo, to get back into position before playing backward to one of his fellow centre-backs or Gauci. But this time, he immediately took the space in front of him. He drove into it, forcing the China defensive line to backpedal quickly.
By this point, Fei Nanduo had recovered well. But Irvine was proactive in repositioning himself to receive from Rowles before taking his time, looking up, and picking out a completely unmarked Goodwin in the right half-space, who was afforded so much space as a by-product of China's back six overreacting to Rowles' initial drive, and being kept honest to forward runs potentially coming from either one of Duke, Miller, or Behich.
Irvine's pass is perfect onto Goodwin's back foot, allowing him to face forward immediately and turn. After receiving the ball in a similar scenario from Deng in the fourth minute and seemingly unsure of what to do next, Goodwin eventually attempted to play Irankunda in on goal and gave possession away. But this time, he did not hesitate at all. He got the ball out of his feet and found the top left corner with a brilliant, swerving strike.
Popovic's view that the Socceroos have "a lot of good ability" in the half-spaces was proved true in Goodwin's case. But crucially, the move proved that the main challenge for the team is getting the ball into these dangerous areas, where those operating in the spaces can face forward and ensure their next action is forward-thinking and positive.
Like McGree's confident play seemed to affect the rest of the team, so did Goodwin's moment of brilliance. After the second goal, the Socceroos suddenly seemed to play with some swagger again, with exquisite one-twos and the ball moving much quicker. One could go as far to say that Goodwin's goal had effectively ended the match as a contest, Australia starting to play with increasing levels of freedom in possession, meaning the only area they had to worry about was having their counter-cover or rest defence intact, ensuring the rare potentially dangerous Chinese attack would be adequately nullified.
Velupillay makes his presence felt
But Popovic felt the game required "an impact player" in attack with his side 2-1 up, and he handed young Melbourne Victory winger Nishan Velupillay his Socceroos debut with 10 minutes to play. What was intriguing about Velupillay being named as a substitute for this game was that it coincided with Daniel Arzani and Sam Silvera missing the matchday squad, two fellow wingers. It remains to be seen whether Velupillay has already elevated himself above the duo in the team's pecking order or if using the 23-year-old in this game was specific to China as an opponent.
The other intriguing aspect was that he would replace Duke as the striker instead of playing as one of the inside forwards, given he is a natural winger and Popovic had already utilised two other natural wingers in Goodwin and Irankunda in those roles. Velupillay has played as a striker previously at Victory and under the same coach, too, so perhaps the move was not a surprise in hindsight. He also said post-match that he had been training as a striker leading up to the game, so being utilised there was not a shock to his system.
What was also not much of a surprise was the incredible confidence Velupillay had on the pitch despite it being his senior international debut. His excellent form through Victory's 2024 Australia Cup run translated well, with Velupillay noting how he "felt pretty comfortable", believing he can link up well with the players around him.
The Socceroos linked up well in the build-up to Velupillay's debut goal, which sealed a crucial victory. All three substitutes were heavily involved, as McGree's cushioned pass down the left side teed up Jordan Bos for a first-time cross into the box. After China failed to clear their lines, O'Neill's follow-up attempt was blocked into the path of Velupillay, who expertly found the top right corner without hesitation - the type of finish indicative of a player at the top of his game.
It was undoubtedly a big moment for Velupillay to score his first Socceroos goal and silence any doubts over his selection in the squad. His successful debut even raises a question (for another day) about whether choosing young, hungry, in-form attackers to build out the depth on the bench is more beneficial than selecting the old reliables who have been in the set-up for years without becoming regular starters.
Confidence restored ahead of the biggest test yet
Popovic will now hope the confidence brought about by the contributions from Velupillay, McGree, Geria, and Goodwin has spread to the squad as a whole. Australia's toughest challenge in this stage of qualifying will come on Tuesday night against Japan in Saitama.
The main questions now surround the line-up Popovic will opt for, as Australia aims to back up Thursday's win with a quick turnaround, travel, and the challenge of adapting their style against a much better opponent.
One could say the new boss has some fairly easy selection decisions for the game. Australia's performance in the second half may have led him to choose the line-up that began the closing 45 minutes, meaning McGree and Geria could be elevated to starting roles.
Whatever the case, the Socceroos certainly exercised some demons from the Arnold era against China, and there is hope that the shackles that burdened the team's attacking output might be off.
The team clearly understood the importance of the China win, as shown by the big group celebration of Velupillay's goal. By the end of the night, many critics would agree that the performance was pretty decent overall. But pretty decent might not be enough against the Japan juggernaut. They enter the game with a perfect record, scoring 14 goals without conceding once in third-round qualifying.
If the Popovic era began with a positive on Thursday, the same result on Tuesday would make its second act nothing short of a game-changer on the road to 2026.
The clash between Japan and Australia kicks off at 9:35 pm AEDT, live on Paramount+.
Statistics used in this article have been sourced from Sofascore.
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