PASADENA, California -- Overall, Australia's 1-0 loss to Mexico on Saturday felt like a reminder. Amid all the excitement of the build-up to the FIFA World Cup and the leaps in imagination and fantasy that a talented squad can encourage amongst the faithful, it was a game that served to reiterate that, for better or worse (or the Dr Jekyll second-half and the Mr Hyde first half, in this case), this is how Socceroos are.
They can be incredibly frustrating or incredibly encouraging -- sometimes in the same game. And we'll have to wait and see which one they're more of when they open their World Cup against Türkiye in a fortnight.
Across most of the first half at the Rose Bowl, the Socceroos presented as a plodding, frustrating, and largely ineffectual unit. The Mexicans dominated possession and the shot count handily, taking the lead in the 28th minute through Johan Vásquez, and the Socceroos struggled to create much in the way of anything in the rare moments they had the ball.
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In a game in which both sides had deployed something close to what appears to be their strongest XIs, Australia's men had come out to soak up pressure and deny their foes clean looks on goal. And while they largely succeeded in this -- the Mexican goal came from a set piece and El Tri increasingly settled for long-range efforts as the half progressed -- there simply wasn't enough fluidity or cohesiveness to their attempts to retain the ball and give the Mexicans any kind of pause.
Conversely, there was a significant improvement from the beginning of the second stanza. The Australians' confidence grew and, at the same time, they became less deferential to their opponents. They were able to retain the ball for longer periods and start to string a few passes together and there was an actual sense of anticipation when they went forward. Again, this is largely in keeping with what we've seen from Tony Popovic's side, seeking to find a footing in the game and gradually grow into it after the coach has had a chance to assess and shift a few things.
But by then, they were chasing a one-goal deficit and weren't able to find a way past Guillermo Ochoa, who had been brought on at half-time for what was likely a pre-World Cup send-off in front of an adoring public.
Yet across the entire 90 minutes, they probably ended up creating just as many, if not a little more, clear looks on goal than their foes. There was a bizarre non-call from referee Rubiel Vazquez when Mohamed Toure was dragged down as he bore in on goal in the seventh minute. Touré lifted a half-volleyed attempt on an open goal wide after a calamitous error from Mateo Chávez just before half-time, and Aiden O'Neill and Ajdin Hrustic both had strong looks on goal after the restart.
On another day, the Socceroos perhaps win this game as a result.
Certainly, if they produce their second-half performance across the entire 90 minutes, they probably take something from the game. But on Saturday, they were weighed down by a poor first-half performance that proved enough to sink them.
"The players just need to believe a little bit more," Popovic said after the match. "In the first half, we were very anxious and nervous, and then after the [drinks break], I thought we saw good signs, and then the second half was good.
"We had the two best chances of the game. You're not going to get many chances in football. It's the World Cup you're preparing for; you don't get many chances. They didn't have a clear chance, but they scored from the corner."
Popovic is right. The Socceroos' fortunes in June will likely come down to just how clinical they're able to be, given that their's is an approach which won't produce a cavalcade of chances at the best of times, let alone in the fraught environment of a World Cup. During qualifying, when they rattled off an unbeaten run that delivered automatic qualification, the Socceroos proved to be one of the most clinical sides in Asia. Since then, their shooting boots have largely gone silent -- New Zealand and Curacao are the only nations they've scored multiple goals against since, and the results have turned. The underlying approach has largely been the same, and players with the attacking pedigree to create chances are being brought through, but they're yet to click into place.
The expectation will be that the second-half performance is built upon next week against Switzerland and then, more importantly, against Türkiye the week after. It will be hoped that players such as Mathew Leckie, Harry Souttar, and Jackson Irvine, who have all battled injury, will be better for the minutes gleaned on Saturday and ready to take another step, while youngsters such as Touré and 18-year-old Lucas Herrington will feel just that little bit more confident. Popovic was positive in his approval of his young striker post-game, describing him as producing his best work since he came into camp.
"The proof is in the second half performance," said Souttar, who marked his first appearance for the Socceroos since November 2024 in the defeat. "If [we] can't take away from that, then what is there? Jacko said it as soon as we came into the dressing room, that's what we've got to be from the first whistle. We can take that forward into the Switzerland game."
