Source :- THE AGE NEWS
For the first time in his tenure as Socceroos coach, Tony Popovic has named an unchanged line-up. The same starting XI that played out that valuable 0-0 draw with Paraguay eight days ago will play together again in Australia’s first knockout match at this World Cup.
That means the Jordan Bos and Cristian Volpato combination on the right remains, and Nestory Irankunda is up front again at striker.
Clearly that long break between matches has recharged everyone’s batteries, and Popovic is confident they can increase their productivity in attack in this game.
Mohamed Toure remains on the bench; surely he gets used today.
Meanwhile, the other Mohamed – Salah – is in the starting line-up for Egypt. So much for those hamstring problems, or maybe they’re just taking a massive punt on him. Who knows? We’ll soon see. But the Pharoahs have made five changes overall: Omar Marmoush has also been brought into the starting line-up, along with defenders Yasser Ibrahim and Karim Hafez, and midfielders Hamdy Fathy and Marawan Attia.
Ahmed Fatouh and Mohamed Abdelmoneim are injured, Mohanad Lashin is suspended, and Trezeguet and Mahmoud Saber drop to the bench. Hafez, who is replacing Fatouh at left-back, has played only seven minutes at this tournament so far.
The time has come for the anthems. The match ball is plucked off its stand by an official as the teams file out with their mascot. Salah briefly drops the hand of his child in tow to point to the sky, then leads the little one out onto the pitch.
I’ll answer the second first, given I asked the questions of myself and am in charge of this one-person conversation.
You’d have to say it’s Egypt. Because, of course, Mo Salah and the heavenly place he resides in the hearts and minds of Egyptians and every Liverpool fan all over the world (and many non-Reds fans, but whisper that). He starts, so Egypt must win. But also because Australia are rarely rated highly on the World Cup stage. It does not seem to matter how the Socceroos are performing or any of the nitty-gritty about form and fitness and personnel, they fly under the radar at big tournaments like this. That is a good thing for Popovic’s team.
In terms of how this game could play out: hopefully – and probably – more entertaining than the draw with Paraguay. Egypt are a team that defend well but sit in more of a mid-block and do like to come at opponents when they have the chance. That can mean danger for the Socceroos, but it can also mean opportunity. And boy do we love the word opportunity!
“Firstly, I wasn’t aware of that,” the head coach tells SBS when it is referenced this is his first unchanged line-up of his tenure.
“Everyone’s pulled up well and all the players are excited, obviously the boys that are starting want to build a strong foundation and we’ve got players that can come on and definitely make an impact.
“There are many reasons for that [the unchanged XI]. I think there was good cohesion in that game against Paraguay. But not just that … with this game coming up, the opponent, the eight-day break, everything combined together looking at how fresh and recovered the boys are, this is a group that can start the game.”
On whether Salah starting changes things:
Thousands of late-night revellers have descended on Melbourne’s CBD to watch the Socceroos’ knockout World Cup match against Egypt, prompting a notable security presence at typically rowdy Federation Square.
City pubs and bars were also busy after Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan allowed licensed venues to operate while Australia played, despite most normally being forced to close before the 4am kick-off.
Fed Square filled up minutes after gates opened around 1.30am. Queues started to form as early as 11pm on Friday.
“This is where the true believers come,” Socceroos legend Craig Foster just told the crowd.
Not directly related to the World Cup, but former Socceroos and Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has just announced his next managerial move – signing a two-year deal with Al-Nassr, the leading Saudi Arabian club captained by Cristiano Ronaldo.
Postecoglou has been out of work after being sacked as Nottingham Forest boss in October following a disastrous eight-game, 39-day stint at the Premier League club – the longest inactive period in his coaching career since he was sacked as Australian youth coach.
Postecoglou still holds aspirations of winning trophies at the highest level, and so a move away from Europe comes as a major surprise. However, coaching Al-Nassr is one of the most high-profile gigs in the sport, due to the club’s immense spending power and the presence of Ronaldo, the 41-year-old Portuguese superstar who has played for the Riyadh outfit since the end of the last World Cup in 2022.
“A new chapter. Mr Ange Postecoglou appointed as head coach of the Al-Nassr first team. The contract spans two seasons,” the club said in a statement.
“We wish him and his staff every success in their journey.“
It is a 1pm local time kick-off in Dallas – as mentioned, it is quite warm outside (but thankfully air-conditioned in here), and the gigantic sports bar that sits beside the stadium here in Arlington has been open and serving beers since 7am to Australian fans.
There have been videos shared on social of “shoeys” taking place every five minutes or so from inside the bar, which is less than a 10-minute walk to the match. Some Socceroos fans, though, have detoured to the Walmart across the road where they’ve made their presence known.
For the first time in his tenure as Socceroos coach, Tony Popovic has named an unchanged line-up. The same starting XI that played out that valuable 0-0 draw with Paraguay eight days ago will play together again in Australia’s first knockout match at this World Cup.
That means the Jordan Bos and Cristian Volpato combination on the right remains, and Nestory Irankunda is up front again at striker.
Clearly that long break between matches has recharged everyone’s batteries, and Popovic is confident they can increase their productivity in attack in this game.
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup on a day when the Socceroos could create history by beating Egypt to become the first Australian side to win a World Cup knock-out match.
My colleague Vince Rugari and I are inside the Dallas Stadium, an air-conditioned colosseum sweltering through a Texas heatwave, and home to America’s Team, the Dallas Cowboys.
Forget the heartbreak of Fabio Grosso’s dive in 2006 or the Lionel Messi masterclass in ’22. This is the most winnable World Cup knockout match the Socceroos have played, facing an Egyptian side sitting just two spots above them in the FIFA world rankings.
