Promising start fuels hopes of prevailing

with Zenon Caravella AFTER such a courageous performance against a worldclass French side, the Socceroos can count themselves a tad unlucky to come away with no points to show.

Since the appointment of Bert van Marwijk, footballing fans across the country have been waiting to see what kind of magic the Dutchman could conjure, if any, given the short amount of time to prepare.

And while there was no signs of magic just yet, what we did see was a vastly different Socceroos performance than what we were used to under Ange Postecoglou.

With Postecoglou, the mantra was to get on the front foot, play an open expansive style of play regardless of the opposition, which was admirable and testament to the belief he had in his players and philosophy.

On Saturday against the French it was clear to see our renowned fighting spirit but this time it was coupled with a very measured and tactical approach by Van Marwijk and rightly so, given the French have an incredibly gifted squad with some of the world’s best at their disposal.

The Socceroos were extremely well drilled and compact in defence, which made it difficult for the French to gain momentum and even though we found it challenging to fashion our own clear-cut chances, there were moments where we looked dangerous on the counter.

With a fantastic display and with the first game of the World Cup out of the system, there is no doubt confidence will be sky high among the playing group going into tonight’s game against Denmark.

With any hope of making the last 16, this is a must-win match and it will be interesting to see who starts in midfield – whether Van Marwijk opts for the presence of captain Mile Jedinak or the more attackminded Massimo Luongo.

Either way another huge match for the Aussies and one that I think we can win.