Popovic World Cup masterclass to go down in history

By Anna Harrington/Starts at 60 writers

Socceroos coach Tony Popovic turned in a selection and tactical masterclass to deliver a 2-0 win over Turkey in Australia’s World Cup opener.

Take a bow, Tony Popovic.

The Socceroos boss is the toast of Australian coaching after turning in a selection and tactical masterclass to deliver a 2-0 upset win over Turkey.

Popovic dropped skipper Maty Ryan for young goalkeeper Patrick Beach and midfielder Jackson Irvine for Paul Okon-Engstler, while backing dynamo Nestory Irankunda from the outset.

“They were maybe shocks for a lot of people, but not shocks within our playing group or staff,” Popovic said.

“Because we’re all working together every day, and we can see the quality of these young boys. We’ve got Mo Toure, Nestory, Junior Okon, Patrick Beach, and many more.

“It’s a team selected to perform well. You never know the result, of course – we’re at a World Cup.

“But for me, it’s the performance. The result is the satisfaction and the outcome. But, regardless of the result, it was the right decision.”

All of Popovic’s gambles repaid his faith.

Beach made eight saves, the most by a Socceroos goalkeeper at a World Cup, including some world class efforts.

Okon-Engstler delivered a sensational assist for matchwinner Irankunda and impressed with his forward drive, hard running and physicality.

Irankunda was man of the match with his explosive, daring performance, with he and Connor Metcalfe scoring terrific goals.

Popovic has backed Metcalfe to start despite minimal game time at his German club FC St Pauli.

“It means everything,” Metcalfe said.

“I haven’t played much, so I don’t expect much.

“And for him to just go, ‘No, I don’t care, I’m gonna play you’, it’s a really, really nice feeling because, I mean, I don’t have that feeling at my club.

“It’s more of a feeling of I want to repay him with everything I’ve got every time I play, and I think tonight shows the amount of effort not only me but the whole team put in.”

While Turkey had more possession, Australia were organised, uncompromising and desperate in defence then aggressive in springing attacks themselves.

Popovic showed in friendlies against Mexico and Switzerland and again on Saturday that he has adapted to the drinks/advertising breaks in each half as well as any coach.

The 52-year-old is animated and direct, using the pauses as an opportunity to address his players.

That included having a word to Irankunda on the 22-minute mark.

“He told me to keep my head,” Irankunda said.

“He told me to stay calm and to keep pushing, and in the end that chat that we had helped, and then I ended up scoring. It’s just great that he has that belief in us.”

Australia had 10 World Cup debutants – with Harry Souttar the exception – in their youngest starting line-up at such a tournament, with an average age of 24.6.

“There was no doubts or anything that was in my head going into it, thinking about the word ‘inexperience’ – because it showed the lads are brilliant.,” Souttar said.

“They carried out the game plan. Tactically, they were brilliant.”

It was impossible to pick a bad Socceroos performer, both from the starters and substitutes.

“The boss always says to us that he chose us 26 for a reason,” defender Aziz Behich said.

“And he’s always said he’ll close his eyes and pick an 11 and he’ll trust.

“And the beauty of his squad is, you see the players that even come on to make an impact – we’re all in this together.”

What’s next for Socceroos

The Socceroos now return to their Oakland base before next Friday’s game against the United States in Seattle.

Elsewhere at the World Cup overnight, co-hosts the United States opened with a strong win over Paraguay to sit top of Group D ahead of Australia on goal difference, while Brazil, Scotland and Switzerland were also among the early winners as the tournament burst into life across North America. Australia’s stunning upset over Turkey quickly became one of the stories of the opening round, with fans celebrating wildly at Melbourne’s Federation Square after the young Socceroos outfit produced one of the nation’s best World Cup performances in years.

Attention now turns to another huge day of action, with Germany taking on Curacao, the Netherlands facing Japan in one of the headline clashes, Ivory Coast meeting Ecuador and Sweden playing Tunisia as the group stage continues. Australia’s next assignment comes against the United States in Seattle on Saturday morning AEST, with a win potentially enough to book the Socceroos a place in the knockout rounds.