More require top leagues
SOCCEROOS great Brett Emerton fears the current Australian squad won’t reach its potential unless more players are plying their trade at premier leagues.
Australia boasts two English Premier League starters in Aaron Mooy (Huddersfield Town) and Mat Ryan (Brighton), while Mathew Leckie (Hertha Berlin) plays in the Bundesliga and Tom Rogic is at Scottish champions Celtic.
Mooy and Ryan are only three games each into their EPL journeys. By contrast, 95times capped Emerton was part of the 2006 World Cup squad brimming with topflight experience.
He played almost 250 times for Blackburn in England’s top tier, while Harry Kewell, Mark Viduka, Tim Cahill, Mark Schwarzer, Lucas Neill (EPL), Marco Bresciano and Vince Grella (Serie A), John Aloisi (La Liga) and Jason Culina (Eredivisie) were regulars in Europe’s best competitions.
“That’s something that needs to improve,” Emerton said.
“At club level, those players just need to try and play more regularly for their clubs and play for bigger clubs against better opposition.
“(But) it’s not easy. Football’s a world game. There are millions of players vying for a small amount of positions.”
The Socceroos face an almighty task to reach their fourth-straight World Cup after finishing third in their Asian qualification group.
They must progress past Syria next month in a two-leg playoff, before a final hurdle against the fourth-placed CONCACAF team - also played over two matches - awaiting in November.
Emerton backed Ange Postecoglou as the man to take Australia to Russia 2018 and called for patience.
The Australian coach has endured scathing criticism since the team finished behind Japan and Saudi Arabia in qualification this week following disappointing performances against the Samurai Blue and lowly-ranked Thailand.
But Emerton would not fully endorse the maligned 3-4-3-1 formation installed by Postecoglou.
MEANWHILE, Sydney’s ANZ Stadium may be the venue of another World Cup qualification triumph after it was named to host matches set to determine Australia’s participation at Russia 2018.
The Socceroos will face Syria at the 83,000-seat stadium in the second leg of their Asian playoff on October 10, five days after the first game likely to be in Malaysia.
Should Australia progress from the two-match tie, they will play their final qualification match - also the second of two legs - at the Olympic stadium on November 14.