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Australia head coach Tony Popovic believes the Socceroos must establish themselves among world football's elite if they are to earn greater respect from officials and opponents, following their penalty shootout defeat to Egypt in the FIFA World Cup Round of 32.
Australia's hopes of reaching the knockout stage for the first time ended in heartbreaking fashion as they lost 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw following extra time at Dallas Stadium. The defeat marked the country's third unsuccessful attempt to register a maiden FIFA World Cup knockout victory, following exits against Italy in 2006 and Argentina in 2022. Reflecting on the result, Popovic suggested that several key decisions had gone against his side but insisted that consistent performances at the highest level were the only way to change perceptions. "The only way we can change that is by competing with the elite more often at major tournaments," said Popovic after the match, as per Reuters. "By our performances, we should already take a major step." "We will have to keep doing that to gain the necessary respect, whether that's in this room, whether that's people in general, whether that's officials, whether that's opponents. It could be a range of different areas," he added. He further added, "We're on a path to achieving that and knowing that we will have to earn that." Despite the disappointment, Popovic remained optimistic about the future of Australian football, highlighting the team's youthful core and setting ambitious goals for the coming years. "We want this to inspire us to do better," he said. "Hopefully we can take a step forward at the Asian Cup, which is coming up for us in January." "And then in four years' time, let's have bigger targets, bigger expectations. But we also know that being at the World Cup is not easy, firstly to arrive, to qualify. If you look at all the nations that don't progress, and all the big nations that haven't had success over a big period of time, we can't take for granted what we've achieved, and we need to keep growing," he said. "And hopefully, if we get to this point again in four years' time we can take that next step and progress," Popovic added. Australia fielded a youthful lineup against Egypt, with six starters aged 23 or younger. Among them was 18-year-old Lucas Herrington, whose penalty struck the crossbar during the shootout before Hossam Abdelmaguid converted the decisive kick for Egypt. Popovic defended his decision to include the teenage central defender among Australia's penalty takers, backing the youngster despite the costly miss. "He has played the last two games as an 18-year-old. So if I trust him to play in a game that we needed to get a result against Paraguay, a game where elimination was on the line, then what's the difference with the penalty?" Popovic concluded. The result ended Australia's World Cup run, while Egypt progressed to the Round of 16 for the first time and will face Argentina. (ANI)
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