Source :- THE AGE NEWS
Alameda: Socceroos star Jackson Irvine says he has no sympathy for suspended Paraguayan rival Miguel Almiron, who will miss Friday’s (AEST) showdown in Santa Clara after becoming the first player to be sent off under the World Cup’s controversial new mouth-covering rule.
Best known for his seven-year stint in the Premier League with Newcastle United, Almirón gets an automatic one-match ban for the historic red card he received in Paraguay’s 1-0 win over Turkey, handing Tony Popovic’s side a massive boost.
The incident occurred during first-half stoppage time, as Almiron and Turkish defender Mert Mulder exchanged words following a foul in midfield. Almiron held his hand over his mouth as he spoke to Mulder, who immediately appealed to the referee. Following a VAR review, the 32-year-old Almiron was given his marching orders.
He is the first player to fall foul of the new rule, introduced just weeks ago by the game’s lawmakers, the International Football Association Board, in an attempt to prevent players from hiding evidence of abusive language.
It was sparked by an incident in the UEFA Champions League, when Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni held his shirt over his mouth while speaking to Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior. Prestianni was initially accused of racist abuse but was later found guilty of homophobic conduct and banned for three matches.
Almiron’s ban will give the Socceroos a critical advantage in a match they must win or draw to confirm second spot in Group B, and a trip to Dallas for a round of 32 showdown with one of Egypt, Iran, New Zealand or Belgium.
Some critics have alleged the punishment is not befitting of the crime, but Irvine – one of the players Almiron might have lined up against in midfield – suggested his Paraguayan counterpart had nobody to blame but himself.
“The rule itself, I think it’s clear,” Irvine said.
“We were all told before. I know it’s going to be controversial in some ways, because we don’t know the nature of what it was [that was said], but when you look at what’s happened in the past, especially around what happened with the incident with Vinicius Junior, I think it takes everything out of the equation.
“If you’re saying something to someone that you don’t want to be seen, then I think it’s safe to say that if you can’t be seen saying it, then it shouldn’t be said. So for me, it’s a clear line, and we were all told about it, so it is what it is.”
Irvine is bracing for another physical scrap against Paraguay, a notoriously rugged and defensively minded side that will be chasing a result at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara to boost their own chances of landing a more favourable round-of-32 opponent.
Third place in Group B will still likely be enough for Australia or Paraguay to book a spot in the knockout phase, but neither team will want to leave their World Cup destiny to chance.
Irvine watched Paraguay’s victory against a listless Turkey – played hours after the Socceroos’ flat 2-0 defeat to the United States – and recalled a sequence of play towards the end that he said encapsulated the multifaceted challenge that would await them.
“It was about five minutes to go, and they [Paraguay] won the ball back high up the pitch and had a chance to go to the corner,” he said.
“And the guy just whips the cross into the back stick with three guys, and they go on to try and score again with 10 men, and they’re 1-0 up … you know what kind of game it’s going to be.
“Incredible individual quality, as you saw in some moments, and you expect the unexpected – I guess that’s probably the best way to put it.”
Australia’s record against CONMEBOL nations is poor. The Socceroos have won only nine times in 50 games against South American opponents, and only two of those wins have come in the past 20 years – although one was against Paraguay, a nation they have also never lost to.
Paraguay knocked off Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay in an impressive campaign to qualify for this World Cup, but their opening 4-1 loss to the US showed their susceptibility to bold attacking play, particularly out wide, offering Popovic a template to follow.
Assuming the game will be as open as he anticipates, Irvine suggested it would be a good one for the likes of Nestory Irankunda, Cristian Volpato, Mohamed Toure and Connor Metcalfe to be involved in from the start.
But Irvine said his teammates will need to be better prepared than they were against the Americans to compete from the opening seconds, and “ride through” the periods when their opponents are on top.
“You’re going to have to defend, and you’re going to have to suffer, and you’ve got to find ways to get through that,” he said.
“I don’t think in the first half we really managed to drag ourselves out of those difficult moments. Then in the second half, we came out and we looked much more front foot, much more aggressive; we were arriving into tackles and winning second balls, and it looked like a totally different kind of performance.
“If we can do that from the beginning, or at least find a way to change that momentum a little bit within the half, then it will give us a much better chance of being competitive from the beginning.”
Popovic is unlikely to have a full complement of 26 players to choose from, with veteran Mathew Leckie being assessed after suffering a suspected hamstring injury in Seattle.
“We all hope for the best for him,” Irvine said. “I’ve got no idea what the situation is, but he’s such an important part of the group. We hope that he’s able to be here and be around for as long as possible.”
