Negative result, positive outlook: Why this was the loss the Socceroos had to have

Pasadena: Think of it as the loss the Socceroos had to have. A bunch of cobwebs blown out in front of nearly 80,000 people; a character-building experience that, hopefully, will be remembered as the making of their 2026 World Cup campaign.

There is never a good time to feel “anxious and nervous”, as coach Tony Popovic conceded his players were in the first half of Australia’s 1-0 loss to Mexico, but two weeks before the World Cup is a lot better time than during it.

Such is the excitement about this evolving playing group under Popovic, it is easy to forget that some of them have not been around very long. Five members of the Socceroos’ starting XI were aged 24 or younger; one of them, defender Lucas Herrington, is still only 18. They would have all been fretting about whether they are in Popovic’s final 26-player World Cup squad, due to be unveiled on Monday, and determined not to do anything stupid to jeopardise their hopes.

They didn’t know what it was like to play a team like Mexico, a World Cup co-host, at a place like the Rose Bowl, in front of so many screaming, shrieking fans.

Well, now they do.

And they’ll be better for it. Because they can’t be much worse, surely, than they were in the first half: as they wrestled with their emotions, and the ferocity of El Tri’s forward press, the Socceroos struggled to string more than a few passes together. While they did well to restrict Mexico to very few clear-cut chances – the winning goal came from a set piece, albeit via an admittedly brilliant header from Johan Vasquez in the 28th minute – they crafted almost nothing for themselves. Which makes it pretty hard to win a game of football.

That was until the “drinks break” held late in the first half, which gave Popovic the opportunity to speak to his players and tweak a few things tactically. It was a different game from that point onwards: when they returned for the second half, the Socceroos asserted themselves as the dominant team, albeit without reward on the scoreboard.

The missing ingredient, Popovic said afterwards, was inside them all along.

“Players just need to believe a little bit more,” he said.

“I thought we saw good signs before half-time, and then the second half was good … we found it a lot easier to get into the front third. And then you can see, we’re a good team.

“We had the two best chances of the game. You’re not going to get many chances in football. It’s a World Cup we’re preparing for, you don’t get many chances. They didn’t have a clear chance.

“We lost the game, but it’s a very good hit-out for us. I’m very happy we could play this match. We’ll learn a lot. We’ll grow from this.”

That is what Socceroos players were telling each other almost immediately after leaving the field. The more willing they were to expose themselves to risk, the more assured they ended up looking on the ball.

The trick now is to be like that from the opening whistle – and not a moment later – so they don’t have to chase a World Cup game.

“Maybe it was a lack of self-confidence in the first half, but I think it’s something that we work on,” defender Alessandro Circati said.

“These games are meant for that. So hopefully the next games, we continue from the second half … [when] we were outstanding.”

Popovic singled out striker Mohamed Toure for special praise in his comeback game, having missed the last international window due to injury. The Norwich striker has been in red-hot form since making a switch to the English Championship in January, and should have scored at least one goal. In the opening minutes, he was dragged down by Edson Alvarez as he threatened to break Mexico’s defensive line and go one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but the referee didn’t even whistle for a foul, much less reach into his pocket.

“I’m sure if that was a World Cup game, they would have had one player less,” Popovic said.

Just before the break, Toure had an open goal at his mercy when an errant defensive header landed in his lap, but he somehow pushed his shot wide.

That mistake aside, the 22-year-old was terrific, drawing fouls, throwing himself about and constantly menacing Mexico in the channels.

“He was good; the boy was good,” Popovic said.

“It’s the best he’s done since he’s been in camp. He’s young – you know, we have to remember that these boys that we have … [they] will gain maturity in the years to come. But that will certainly give him confidence.”