All Whites vs Australia: The Soccer Ashes Remain Elusive
Sometimes an international game finishes and there isn’t much new to learn. Many a Football Ferns recap has been like that lately, and it gets kinda repetitive to keep saying: chill, folks, we’re just not that good. A third All Whites defeat to the pesky Aussies in the space of 13 months feels much the same. Both of the Aotearoa senior national teams are trying to modernise their playing styles within the changing landscape of global football. The All Whites are ahead of the Footy Ferns in that quest thanks to that core of generational ballers that came through the 2019 U20 World Cup and the 2021 Olympics (Singh, Cacace, Bell, Pijnaker, McCowatt, Just, Waine, etc.) but it remains a young team with limited international experience.
To sum it all up in a few words: Australia, right now, are a better team. That’s fine. They should be better. They regularly qualify for World Cups and they tend to perform above expectations when they get there – just last year they defeated both Denmark and Tunisia to make the knockouts where they were only beaten 2-1 by eventual champions Argentina. The All Whites aren’t at that level and it’s delusional to think they should be.
Yet. Delusional to think that they should be there yet. 13 of the 16 players who took the pitch against Australia have fewer than 20 caps (the exceptions being Chris Wood, Bill Tuiloma & Michael Boxall). This is only the start of their journey. It was important to see them grind out a draw in the DR Congo game to show that they’re getting closer to being able pocket consistent results against teams of similar/higher quality. But Aussie are a few steps above that. A good dose of experience for the lads... but not a game we can expect to win quite yet. That day is coming though. Hold on.
The Manner Of Defeat
This was the fifth time that Chris Wood has played against Australia within his 72 international caps. He’s lost all five games and never scored a goal. He also has five caps against Mexico, all losses but he does have one goal (at the 2017 Confederations Cup). There are a few Oceania teams he’s played as often or more against and he’s scored bundles against all of them. Point is that he’s never had much joy against the Socceroos. It’s now been 21 years since NZ last beat them. The five losses that Woodsy has been part of, the five most recent meetings, have seen Australia score 10 goals and Aotearoa score just once (Chris Killen given NZ the lead in a pre-2010 WC game, which Australia won in the 90th minute and is best remembered for a few disgusting challenges from blokes in yellow).
None of those games were hidings though. The lack of goals is the main issue and we’ll get to that in a sec. But first, gotta point out that the All Whites started alright. First ten or so they were working hard and looking to move the ball in transition. Good tempo and plenty of willing running. Michael Boxall even attempted a bicycle kick (note that he has scored 0 goals in 44 caps). Then they conceded. Twelfth minute. Deep ball to the far post where Alessandro Circati dominated Libby Cacace in the air for a nod back to Mitch Duke who lashed it home only for the goal to be credited to Harry Souttar instead. Might’ve brushed off the chest of Souttar, sure, but Dukey’s been robbed of one there.
With the goal in the bag, the Aussies were sharper and those transitional moments disappeared. Instead the kiwis began relying on hopefully crosses which, even with Wood up there, would’ve been gobbled up by Circati and Souttar all day long... had enough of them even made it that far. Not to mention the immaculate goalkeeping of Mat Ryan. The NZ case wasn’t helped by some rather soft fouls breaking up the play, with the refereeing approach falling firmly into the ‘it’s only a friendly lads’ interpretation of the game (there was one combined second of stoppage time across both halves). Although that only really highlighted that the Australians looked stronger and more physical than their counterparts from the other side of the Tasman Sea.
Some tidy possession play from the All Whites ensured that they were never being overrun. 82% pass success across the game. Although quite often that’s because they were too cautious, wingers turning back rather than trying to engage their marker and that kinda stuff. There wasn’t enough interplay in the other half, very few one-twos and overlaps. At least Marko Stamenic did hit a few gorgeous pinpoint switches of play.
It remained 1-0 at the break and unlike the Congo game the AWs were able to get through the first 21 seconds of the second half unscathed... yet whatever half-time adjustments Graham Arnold made, they sure trumped those of Darren Bazeley because the next twenty mins were as dominant as the Socceroos got all evening. Only reason they didn’t score during that phase was the goalkeeping of Michael Woud and a few muddy finishes.
Bill Tuiloma smacked a free kick onto the crossbar. Always looked a little high but he hit it sweetly and it was a relief to see him on set pieces again. His move to Charlotte FC has minimised that aspect of his game... which is ridiculous because that’s what makes him special. He’s a versatile defender who leaps like a salmon to win headers and can score direct free kicks. He’s not immune to errors at the back but he makes up for that with that precious currency of goals... and Charlotte haven’t used him in that way at all. Lately they haven’t used him fullstop. Might be a situation to follow in the impending MLS offseason.
That free kick was as close as the All Whites got. They never managed a shot on target. The substitutes began to roll from the 65th minute onwards (Aussie had also brought on Ryan Strain at half-time) and those changes helped slow the game down but it wasn’t to our benefit. Aussie had the deeper bench and pretty soon one of those subs had scored. Jackson Irvine sealing the deal in the 76th minute with a back-post header from a Martin Boyle corner kick. Fellow sub Brandon Borello missed an absolute sitter in the latter stages so it should’ve been three. Turns out the 2-0 loss was slightly flattering. Thus Australia reclaimed the Soccer Ashes... hopefully they’ll take better care of them this time.
The Creative Drought
Nine attempts overall and none were on target. The crossing was awful and lacked imagination. Not enough funky stuff in the attacking third. Cacace’s overlaps were a rarity and it often appeared like he and Elijah Just were on different pages. There was a decent press on display but it wasn’t leading to turnovers. Lots of the same old issues for the All Whites, who have some really bright creative players and almost all of them have been scoring goals for their clubs this season... but translating that into the international scene remains a tricky one. They scored one goal in 180 minutes during this window and it was a pretty fortunate 90th minute penalty.
The most telling aspect against Australian was that Chris Wood only had 13 touches. The best player in the team and he’s basically a passenger. At Premier League level he doesn’t need the ball at his feet over and over, he just keeps on hunting until that one big chance falls his way. But it’s different for the All Whites, where he’s the main man on the teamsheet. The one every other nation recognises. He simply has to be more involved. That means getting more touches in attacking areas, sure, but it’d be better still to get him linking up even deeper than that. Get him the ball with his back to goal and let the other guys play from that focal point. Wood collects on halfway, holds off his marker, lays the ball back to McCowatt who threads through for Greive who’s made a run beyond the high defensive line... that kinda thing.
The ghosting of Chris Wood was a stark factor in this game because unfortunately Sarpreet Singh wasn’t there. He was the latest victim of the NZ Football prerequisite for minor injuries on international tour, leading to cautious resting. We saw how valuable he was against Congo specifically because of how he sought to get The Woodsman his touches. Without Singh, there was no pipeline into the big man outside of those dumb deep crosses which Australia gobbled up like vegemite toast all day. Woodsy was giving the thumbs up for every attempt but none were offering him much to work with. Only 3/25 crosses were met by a New Zealander. We’re better than that bland approach.
The All Whites had scored in four consecutive games leading up to this one, if you count the abandoned Qatar match (for this purpose we surely can). Improvements have been made since Baze took over. Also worth repeating that this is not an All Whites specific issue. The Football Ferns don’t score goals. The two Wellington Phoenix teams (Oskar Zawada excluded) don’t score goals. It seems to be an overall New Zealand thing.
The worry for the All Whites is that perhaps their attackers are all a bit too similar to each other. There’s not enough variety. That’s why Joey Champness was called up – because he offers a dribbling threat that nobody else can duplicate. Chris Wood and Sarpreet Singh aside, almost all these guys fall into the same category of being technically good, with mobility, with energy, with an ability to play across the front line or as attacking midfielders, with a tendency to drift inwards, and with finishing that is alright but could be better. Thinking here of McCowatt, Just, Garbett, Greive, perhaps even Waine for the time being. Same deal for Marco Rojas and Kosta Barbarouses as older players.
We just need to see these fellas differentiate themselves a bit more. They’re all capable. Garbett can be a dribbler. McCowatt can be someone who breaks the line. Just can pick passes and shots from in the pockets. Greive and Waine are out of position on the wing so might need to cut them some slack. All of them are still in that sub-20 cap range though, so the original point remains: let’s give them time to figure it out.
Defensive Frailties
Both goals were scored via back-post headers. One was a nod-back from an open play cross – albeit an open play cross that came after a free kick had been half-cleared then whipped back in, hence the centre-backs were both still hovering around. The other was a header direct from a corner. It was Cacace who got out-leapt by a CB for the first goal, nod ideal but also understandable. It was Michael Boxall who let Irvine sneak in front of him to win the second which is more of a worry.
Those things happen from time to time. Maybe Boxy assumed there’d be help in front of him, since there was another yellow shirt lurking over his shoulder (caused by Pijnaker losing his man – both CBs having trouble there). Neither goal was anything near the shambles of the one conceded against Congo however it does have to be acknowledged when a team concedes twice in one game by the same method.
Selection Wrinkles
Michael Woud played in goal. He did quite nicely too, making a handful of big saves along the way. Woud recently kept a clean sheet against Melbourne City in the Asian Champions League so he doesn’t mind taking on a few Aussies – Aziz Behich is the only one who took the pitch in both those games. Nik Tzanev had worn the gloves vs Congo so he wasn’t likely to do so again... but Max Crocombe seemed to have nudged ahead of both of them prior to this tour yet didn’t get a game after club duty affected his availability.
NZ Football always seem to have lots of injuries (or to be overly cautious with injuries) and they also seem to be a tad too accommodating when it comes to clubs. It’s a niggly balance because we need those clubs. That’s where players grow and develop and we’re reliant upon getting our best footballers at the highest level possible. The clubs are also the ones that pay their salaries. With Crocombe, his Burton Albion team had a game on the weekend so it was arranged that he would skip the Congo game and then return vs Australia. Except he then didn’t play vs Australia so what was the point of that? At least Tommy Smith was with the squad before being recalled due to an injury crisis at MK Dons. He also returned to the national team for the Aus game (helps for both that it was in London) and he also didn’t play.
Smith and Crocombe were included on the bench so they were theoretically available. But this was only a 22-player squad to begin with and then Singh got injured plus they never replaced Matt Dibley-Dias after he was ruled out after camp had already begun. Time was scarce but they could’ve gotten a replacement in before the Aussie game. Instead they went into that one with only 20 available players including two who’d not been there for game one and didn’t end up playing game two.
Maybe it’s not that consequential. It definitely didn’t make a difference to the outcome. It just really doesn’t seem like New Zealand Football help themselves with this stuff. The Football Ferns are equally as sloppy – there’s always a couple of players there who turn up injured and then aren’t risked, effectively shrinking the squad. The last Ferns tour even featured a pregnant Olivia Chance taking up a spot in the squad (granted she only recently made that fact public – congrats to Liv and whanau... baby’s due in March, basically the perfect time for a mid-career baby immediately after the World Cup).
What Comes Next?
The All Whites will be in action in the November window where they’ll face Greece and the Republic of Ireland. Two teams that are probably stronger than the Congo side that they just played but not as good as Australia. Both of those will be away games rather than the two neutral venues they had in this window. Good competitive fixtures. That’s what we wanna see.
In the meantime, there’s a month of club football for the lads to get through. Michael Boxall and Bill Tuiloma’s seasons could both be over within a couple of days if they fail to win and qualify for the MLS playoffs. However the A-League kicks off this weekend so those guys will all be available again to fill out the depth. Nando Pijnaker’s season in Ireland will also wrap up just before the Greece/Ireland games... at which point he’ll be a free agent and potentially ready for the next step in his career.
Marko Stamenic will have played two more Champions League games by the next time this squad assembles and you’d imagine he’ll have Joe Bell back for a midfield partner – presumably with Bell patrolling deeper and Stamenic therefore able to get further up the field where his pressing and long shooting will become major factors. Chris Wood could be in line for another start or two at Nottingham Forest depending on how soon Taiwo Awoniyi returns from injury. Libby Cacace ought to have a free rein on the left back spot for Empoli during this span.
Not sure how Matt Dibley-Dias’ recovery timeframe is looking but James McGarry should be touch-and-go for the next window. Ideally there’ll be some Sarpreet Singh starts for Hansa Rostock, while Matt Garbett is clearly ready to get back into the NAC Breda XI after his injuries (although he did take another whack on the ankle against Oz). Maybe Marco Rojas will have a club by then. Might as well mention that there’ll be an U17 World Cup ongoing at the same time. Believe it or not, Elijah Just has already scored a goal for his club team AC Horsens since these All Whites fixtures. We’ll see how many of his mates can match that between now and the next window.
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