Australia and USA Strategies for World Cup Knockout Stages

Australia

Back Nestory Irankunda: the 20-year-old was expected to be an impact player at this World Cup, coming on as a substitute to affect matches against tiring opposition. A player of the match performance when starting against Turkey showed how Irankunda has become one of the Socceroos’ most important players. While still learning his wing-craft, his speed and determination without the ball are vital in a Socceroos outfit seemingly happy to give their opponents’ possession, and his ability to make the most of transition and direct opportunities – as seen for his opening goal against Turkey – can be a superpower.

Bring in the reinforcements: Australia used five substitutions against Turkey, including three when it was still 1-0. In a squad with few standout players, Australia will be wise to spread around the physical load of the tournament with one eye on the knockout rounds. This week’s health concerns for midfielder Aiden O’Neill – only able to walk the day after the Turkey game – and Mo Touré, whose calf keeps Socceroos fans up at night, underscore the need for rotation. The striker in particular is a vital player for the Socceroos, given his anticipation and pace make him the primary outlet when the defence is under pressure with the ball.

Play for the draw: one point will almost certainly secure a place in the round of 32 for the Socceroos ahead of the third pool match against Paraguay, widely seen as the weakest team in Group D and the least equipped to chase a result. Yet it would also leave Australia in the box seat to go through as group winners, as they would just need to eclipse the result recorded by the United States in their final match against a motivated Turkey. Securing top spot in the group means the Socceroos stay in the San Francisco Bay Area for the round of 32 and play one of the third-placed finishers from the other groups. The Socceroos already have a setup to murder a football spectacle, now they also have the motive.

United States

Midfield rotations are key: this is the kind of thing that any USMNT fan would have known before last week’s fantastic opener, but the nature of the US’s play in that game made it especially so. Paraguay head coach Gustavo Alfaro took time in his presser to specifically compliment the starting trio of Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams and Malik Tillman, whom he described as “floating” and a key part of a “pentagon” of play. For as well as Australia played against Turkey, they did not dictate the tempo, conceding more than 70% of possession and getting overrun in the centre of the park. If the US are going to do something with similar levels of possession, they’ll need their midfield to continue rotating effectively to help pull the Socceroos’ back two lines out of shape, manufacturing gaps in what had proven to be an airtight defence.

Don’t get carried away: after the US’s emphatic opening statement, fans were over the moon, and journalists (including us) speculated that it may well have been the team’s best game at a men’s World Cup. That is, of course, those people’s jobs. But so far, US players and head coach Mauricio Pochettino haven’t been buying into it publicly. Immediately after the game, Pochettino stressed that the 4-1 win was just the beginning. All week in training, players have spoken about how they see this Friday’s match as a tough test. Given the degree to which the Socceroos stunned Turkey, the US would do well to keep doing privately what they have done publicly: prepare for what could easily be a very different type of game from the one they enjoyed at Los Angeles Stadium last week.