‘I’m a believer’: Socceroos legend dreams of France boilover

Adam Peacock in Doha Nothing to be petrified of, but plenty to be respectful about.That’s what the Socceroos face in their two remaining Group D contests, after Tunisia and Denmark played out an entertaining 0-0 draw in the mid-afternoon kickoff on day three of the World Cup.The pulsating contest which had the foundations of the newly built Education City stadium shaking throughout, was fuelled by the characteristics of both sides. Emotional meets control. Passionate against particular. Both cancelled each other out, but only just. At full time, some Tunisian players collapsed to the ground and kissed it. The Danes kicked it. Two points dropped for the Europeans, who came in touted by many to make a deep run at this World Cup. Improvement in most facets will be needed.5.45AM UPDATE: Socceroos coach Graham Arnold has named his starting XI to take on France, with Craig Goodwin edging out Awer Mabil to join Australia’s front three and returning pair Harry Souttar and Kye Rowles selected to start in central defence.As expected, Mat Leckie lines up on the right wing – following the tournament-ending injury to Martin Boyle – while veteran striker Mitch Duke will lead the line, with Goodwin stationed on the left of the team which will be captained by goalkeeper Mat Ryan.With Ajdin Hrustic unable to start, as he recovers from an ankle injury, Middlesborough’s Riley McGree joins Jackson Irvine and Aaron Mooy in midfield – where they’ll face a vital battle against the more fancied French Aurélien Tchouaméni and Adrien Rabiot.Rowles (foot) and Souttar (returning from ACL) have done enough in camp to convince Arnold they’re capable of competing against the world champions across 90 minutes, while Nathaniel Atkinson has dislodged Fran Karacic to play right back, with the reliable Aziz Behich on the left.“I’m a believer,” Socceroos legend Harry Kewell says on SBS. 🦘 AUSTRALIA V FRANCE LIVE 🔵🔴⚪SOCCEROOS TEAM V FRANCEMat Ryan, Aziz Behich, Kye Rowles, Harry Souttar, Nathaniel Atkinson, Aaron Mooy, Jackson Irvine, Riley McGree, Craig Goodwin, Mat Leckie, Mitchell DukeF-WORD BAN: SOCCEROOS GAGGED AT WORLD CUP What is pain? French bread.What is fatigue? Army clothes.Famous lines from the classic sports movie Remember the Titans, of course – but also those which can be overheard at the Socceroos’ Aspire training base if you manage to sneak past the mountain of security guards after one of coach Graham Arnold’s high-intensity sessions.OK, that’s stretching the truth a touch, but in a bid to create a hard-edge to his squad, Arnold has banned the words ‘fatigue’ and ‘pain’ from his training compound – as well as ‘France’, this week, curiously enough – as Australia readies itself for a gruelling three games in 10 days.“That’s why everyone’s here. 26 players, and with a short turnaround, you need players that are flexible, that can play in not just one position but two and three positions,” Arnold said when asked about the hectic schedule.“It’s about just backing them up – I’ve banned the word ‘fatigue’, I’ve banned the word ‘pain’.“This is a World Cup, there’s no such thing as that. How can you be tired after a game, or fatigued, or have a bit of pain or stiffness?“Recover quickly, and get on with it. It’s all one step at a time and we’re just looking forward to tomorrow night.”“I can’t give much away.”France vs AustraliaIt’s not just pain and fatigue that have been banned of course. So have the names of opposition teams and players – which started with France the past week, but will transition to Tunisia in the hours after Tuesday night’s game.How do you prepare to take down Kylian Mbappe, one of the world’s most electric attacking weapons, without referring to him by name?It’s simple, according to the wily Australian coach.“His strengths, his speed, winger, cuts inside on his right foot, shoots … we need to have players there ready for that,” Arnold said.“The players go and they get all the individual footage and all the analysis on that individual. We give that all to the individual to go and look at. I can remove the name; the players can’t. But it’s the way I present it. We’re playing against 10 blue shirts.”FIFA WC 2022 Interactive SchedulatorUpdates to story

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November 23, 2022 at 12:24AM
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Adam Peacock in Doha Nothing to be petrified of, but plenty to be respectful about.That’s what the Socceroos face in their two remaining Group D contests, after Tunisia and Denmark played out an entertaining 0-0 draw in the mid-afternoon kickoff on day three of the World Cup.The pulsating contest which had the foundations of the newly built Education City stadium shaking throughout, was fuelled by the characteristics of both sides. Emotional meets control. Passionate against particular. Both cancelled each other out, but only just. At full time, some Tunisian players collapsed to the ground and kissed it. The Danes kicked it. Two points dropped for the Europeans, who came in touted by many to make a deep run at this World Cup. Improvement in most facets will be needed.5.45AM UPDATE: Socceroos coach Graham Arnold has named his starting XI to take on France, with Craig Goodwin edging out Awer Mabil to join Australia’s front three and returning pair Harry Souttar and Kye Rowles selected to start in central defence.As expected, Mat Leckie lines up on the right wing – following the tournament-ending injury to Martin Boyle – while veteran striker Mitch Duke will lead the line, with Goodwin stationed on the left of the team which will be captained by goalkeeper Mat Ryan.With Ajdin Hrustic unable to start, as he recovers from an ankle injury, Middlesborough’s Riley McGree joins Jackson Irvine and Aaron Mooy in midfield – where they’ll face a vital battle against the more fancied French Aurélien Tchouaméni and Adrien Rabiot.Rowles (foot) and Souttar (returning from ACL) have done enough in camp to convince Arnold they’re capable of competing against the world champions across 90 minutes, while Nathaniel Atkinson has dislodged Fran Karacic to play right back, with the reliable Aziz Behich on the left.“I’m a believer,” Socceroos legend Harry Kewell says on SBS. 🦘 AUSTRALIA V FRANCE LIVE 🔵🔴⚪SOCCEROOS TEAM V FRANCEMat Ryan, Aziz Behich, Kye Rowles, Harry Souttar, Nathaniel Atkinson, Aaron Mooy, Jackson Irvine, Riley McGree, Craig Goodwin, Mat Leckie, Mitchell DukeF-WORD BAN: SOCCEROOS GAGGED AT WORLD CUP What is pain? French bread.What is fatigue? Army clothes.Famous lines from the classic sports movie Remember the Titans, of course – but also those which can be overheard at the Socceroos’ Aspire training base if you manage to sneak past the mountain of security guards after one of coach Graham Arnold’s high-intensity sessions.OK, that’s stretching the truth a touch, but in a bid to create a hard-edge to his squad, Arnold has banned the words ‘fatigue’ and ‘pain’ from his training compound – as well as ‘France’, this week, curiously enough – as Australia readies itself for a gruelling three games in 10 days.“That’s why everyone’s here. 26 players, and with a short turnaround, you need players that are flexible, that can play in not just one position but two and three positions,” Arnold said when asked about the hectic schedule.“It’s about just backing them up – I’ve banned the word ‘fatigue’, I’ve banned the word ‘pain’.“This is a World Cup, there’s no such thing as that. How can you be tired after a game, or fatigued, or have a bit of pain or stiffness?“Recover quickly, and get on with it. It’s all one step at a time and we’re just looking forward to tomorrow night.”“I can’t give much away.”France vs AustraliaIt’s not just pain and fatigue that have been banned of course. So have the names of opposition teams and players – which started with France the past week, but will transition to Tunisia in the hours after Tuesday night’s game.How do you prepare to take down Kylian Mbappe, one of the world’s most electric attacking weapons, without referring to him by name?It’s simple, according to the wily Australian coach.“His strengths, his speed, winger, cuts inside on his right foot, shoots … we need to have players there ready for that,” Arnold said.“The players go and they get all the individual footage and all the analysis on that individual. We give that all to the individual to go and look at. I can remove the name; the players can’t. But it’s the way I present it. We’re playing against 10 blue shirts.”FIFA WC 2022 Interactive SchedulatorUpdates to story