Alameda: Injured Socceroos pair Mathew Leckie and Jacob Italiano have made an emotional departure from camp as their teammates shifted their focus to securing yet another piece of history: becoming the first Australian team to win a men’s World Cup knockout game.
Hours after Australia’s 0-0 draw with Paraguay, as the rest of the squad completed a light recovery session at their Bay Area training base, Leckie (hamstring) and Italiano (groin) were boarding flights home to recover from their injuries after being ruled out of the remainder of the tournament.
Leckie made it to a record fourth World Cup but lasted an hour in his single appearance against the United States – a sad ending for the 35-year-old, who overcame an injury-wrecked season at club level to earn a spot in coach Tony Popovic’s squad. It is an inspirational effort which has left a mark on the playing group.
“I’m gutted for him,” said Aziz Behich, who plays with Leckie at Melbourne City.
“He left no stone unturned. It’s a credit to him. It’s not easy, not just physically, but also mentally at his age as well … we want him to stick around, because we know what he can give us as a team. Even when he’s not playing, his experience and presence around a lot of the players.
“But it’s all part of football. He wished us all well and he said he’ll be following us. He’s given everything to be here and help us.”
Italiano, meanwhile, was solid in the Socceroos’ first two games but tweaked his groin at a training session, ending his debut World Cup experience early and exposing Australia’s lack of depth at right wing-back.
But necessity is the mother of invention, and Popovic’s creative solution may have unlocked a way to bring the best out of Jordan Bos and find a role in the starting line-up for the evergreen Behich, 35, his direct competition on the left side of defence.
Instead of deploying Jason Geria or Kai Trewin as Italiano’s replacement, Popovic named Behich at left wing-back and switched Bos to the right, where his aggressive positioning and combination play with Cristian Volpato (and later, Ajdin Hrustic) gave Australia a potent new look in the final third.
On another night, the move would have borne fruit, but Paraguay struggled to contain the constant threat posed by Bos cutting inside onto his left foot.
“It’s something we worked on during the week in our tactical session and it worked really well, and I think it worked well again last night. That’s why we got the result that we deserved,” Behich said.
Whether that’s the way they line up next week in Dallas remains to be seen – but Behich said he would be doing everything he could to give Popovic a “headache” at selection, determined to play a more than substantial role than being Bos’ reserve.
This is the third time the Socceroos have made it out of their group, although the tournament’s expansion to 48 teams – and the introduction of the round of 32 – makes comparisons with previous campaigns difficult.
But the reality is Australia only knows heartbreak in the World Cup’s knockout phase – and that’s something the team is determined to change, Behich said.
In 2006, a controversial penalty won by Fabio Grosso on Lucas Neill gave Italy a last-minute 1-0 win, while in 2022, the Socceroos pushed Lionel Messi’s Argentina all the way but fell 2-1, also in the round of 16.
Behich, who started all the Socceroos’ games in Qatar, almost scored a cracking second-half goal after a mazy attacking run that he admits he often replays in his mind.
“The last one left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth,” Behich said.
“I’ve still got that burning fire in the belly. We created this opportunity from our hard work to be here. It wasn’t given to us. Everything’s in our hands leading into this game.
“The belief is the same. That culture’s been set, for me, even before Qatar. When you get 26 Australian boys together, that belief goes through the roof.
“We know what we wanted to accomplish, and the first step was getting out of the group stages. We’ve managed to do that. Now, obviously, now it’s game by game. It’s knockout football. It’s a lot different to what it was. But the boys know that and we’re full of energy and excitement.”
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