Australia’s unbeaten record under Tony Popovic goes on the line; kick-off time, scores and results from Colorado
Mauricio Pochettino is preparing for an “aggressive” test of the Socceroos as the United States team aim to get their home World Cup preparations on track with a friendly on Wednesday (AEDT).
The former manager of Tottenham Hotspur, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea has been in charge of the US national team since September last year; During the period when Tony Popovic took the reins for Australia.
His tenure so far has been mixed; They lost the CONCACAF Gold Cup final to Mexico in July and have won only one of their last four matches; It was a 2-0 home win, mostly against second-place Japan, amid some consternation in America’s game of its own future.
Mauricio Pochettino.Credit: Getty Images
Last week, the United States drew 1-1 with Ecuador, which Pochettino likened favorably to Popovic’s Socceroos.
Pochettino said Australia was much further ahead in developing its on-field identity than the United States, who are ranked 16th in the world but are under pressure to meet not only the expectations of hosting the World Cup but also the individual quality of their squad, including AC Milan star Christian Pulisic, Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie and several others who have seen regular minutes in Europe’s top leagues.
“Australia is a team [that is] They were very aggressive and came off a very good run of games. They have been unbeaten for a long time and they beat Canada in Canada. I think we should respect [them]he said.
“They will be a good test for us, like Ecuador.
“They are going through a different phase than us. We are going through a phase where we need progress, we need to build something and their ideas are more solid. I don’t believe they will change the way they play. I think they will maintain the same form and the style of play they played last year. They are a very well-coached team. I am happy to face a team like Australia.”
The Socceroos are unbeaten in 11 matches under Popovic and have won their last seven in a row following a hard-fought 1-0 win against Canada.
“We are always looking for high-level opposition and challenges that will make our job difficult. We experienced this against Canada and we expect the same against the USA,” Popovic said.
“They’ve got a great manager, they’ve got players playing at the peak of their powers in the best leagues in the world, so we want to challenge ourselves. So we’ve happily taken on these two games and we want to try and improve from the Canada game and take it into another tough encounter.”
