FIFA World Cup 2026, Socceroos

The Socceroos may have secured their spot in the round of 32 at the FIFA World Cup but two football greats are concerned with the unexpected gem that’s helping the team to success.

A 0-0 draw against Paraguay did the job for Australia to advance to the knockouts, with Jordan Bos emerging as the young rising star that the team dearly needed.

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The late withdrawal of Jacob Italiano due to injury opened a spot on the right side of the field and Tony Popovic opted in favour of Bos to be his replacement, while Melbourne City left-back Aziz Behich stepped into the vacant spot on the left.

It was a switch that many Australian football fans were waiting to see how Popovic would handle and in the end it did pay off remarkably, but former Socceroos Scott McDonald and Robbie Slater were alarmed that no player up front was able to outclass the heroics of their team’s young defender.

“Up front is a bit of a worry when we’re looking at Jordy Bos as one of the most threatening (for Australia),” Slater said on Stan Sport’s Added Time.

McDonald agreed, recognising typically that spotlight would be on Mo Toure, who was benched against Paraguay, or Nestory Irankunda, who is typically a winger but was moved to be Australia’s No.9.

Irankunda as a No.9 is something McDonald can’t see being a long-term solution for the Socceroos heading through this tournament.

“There is a problem in terms of the No.9. Not bringing (Mo) Toure on instead of Tete Yengi tells me today that there’s no trust there,” he said.

“Does he go and start him (Toure) out of the blue in the next game? You just can’t tell with Tony. But as a striker, being Toure, I don’t like that. That doesn’t fill me with confidence that my coach trusts me.

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“No matter who we put up there, it’s a thankless task up there. Look at Nestory (on Friday), he had very little and was living off scraps.

“But also when he plays up top, we don’t have a box outlet. Jordy Bos playing on the right-hand side was brilliant and it gave us that outlet.”

McDonald then declared that Irankunda, 20, was always going to be a concern when moved to be a No.9 or even No.10 due to the demand of those positions.

But he was unsure how much more he could have done to outshine his teammate against an opponent as fierce and physical as South America’s Paraguay.

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“Look, he’s gotta hold it up a little bit better,” he continued.

“I think at times he struggled because it’s not his natural game. But if there are some players getting closer to you, then what are you meant to do? He wants to get in those wider areas and drift but with the way Paraguay were set up as well with the back three, it is very hard for him to get down the sides of the opposition. There was no space.

“They were aware of his threat also, with three taking care of him. But he probably sometimes needs to be more in central positions and wait for things to happen.

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“As we see the best strikers in the world - like Erling Haaland - they’re not interested any more. They just get into the right areas and allow others and trust others to do the dirty work then get on the end of things.

“That’s not naturally probably where (Irankunda) thinks. He wants to be the guy creating that and doing things, getting on the edge of the box and having shots. So if you’re gonna play that role, you just need to play it a little bit more smarter and be a bit more patient.

“I didn’t like it either. I mean, for the majority of my career it was always you played off the big man or whatever.

“But I’ve always said it, if you can head it, you’ve got a better chance of being a No.9 for the Socceroos. It’s as simple as that.”

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