Clouds above Europe-based stars hit Australia’s Asian Cup defence

WITH their Premier League playmaker Aaron Mooy now ruled out through injury, defending Asian Cup champions Australia have the added distraction of a dispute with Celtic and former Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers over gi fted midfielder Tom Rogic.

Rodgers wanted Rogic to play in Celtic’s clash with Steven Gerrard’s Rangers this weekend after the midfielder was due to fly out from Scotland for the Asian Cup in United Arab Emirates ( UAE).

The Socceroos have a Sunday friendly against Oman in Dubai, less than 24 hours after the two Glasgow rivals face off at Ibrox in the Scottish Premiership.

Former Celtic and Chelsea striker Chris Sut ton says common sense should prevail to allow Rogic to play in the socalled Old Firm derby instead of “Mickey Mouse football”, urging the Australians to “stick to your prawns and your barbecues.” They begin their Asian Cup defence against Jordan on Jan. 6 in Al Ain.

“They don’t need Tom Rogic to pump Jordan, absolutely not. There’s a lot of Scottish football fans thinking the Socceroos should shove thei r ( beer) somewhere where the sun doesn’t shine. It’s not on,” Sutton said.

Equally unhappy is Hibernian manager Neil Lennon who will be without three players – forwards Martin Boyle and Jamie Maclaren plus midfielder Mark Milligan – for this weekend’s Edinburgh derby against Hearts in the Scottish Premiership.

“We were of the opinion that we would be able to negotiate one or two players and not lose all three, so the goalposts have moved a little,” Lennon said.

Australia’s new boss Graham Arnold is extra keen to get his Scot land- based players into camp as early as possible, following this week’s withdrawal of Huddersfield Town midfielder Mooy, and an injury cloud above Hertha BSC winger Mathew Leckie.

Mooy, who has made more than 50 appearances in the Premier League and was Huddersfield’s player- of-the- season when they earned promotion in 2017, has a knee problem. He was replaced this week by Austria Wien midfielder James Jeggo.

That means that Arnold will need to rely more heavily on Rogic to pull the strings for Australia, with the two having vied for the No. 10 role over the past couple of years. Mooy has sometimes been played deeper to accommodate the more attack-minded Rogic.

But of greater concern to Aussie fans is a hamstring injury picked up Bundesliga f lyer Leckie, who has been his team’s most consistent performer since the 2014 World Cup. He’s earned 59 caps, scoring nine goals, and can play as a central striker, second striker, winger or overlapping full-back.

Leckie’s lung-busting runs and work rate more than make up for the relative lack of pace of Mooy and Rogic. But Leckie hit the turf clutching his hamstring during last Saturday’s 3-1 Bundesliga defeat to Bayer Leverkusen, ruling him out for around three weeks. However, his immense value to the squad means that manager Arnold is likely to gamble by selecting him, with an eye on unleashing him for knockout stages from Jan 20.

In the four years since they won their first piece of major football silverware by claiming the 2015 Asian Cup on home soil, the Aussies have gone through a transition. 2006 World Cup veterans Mark Bresciano and Tim Cahil l, plus long- time captain Mile Jedinak, have retired, as the likes of Rogic, Mooy and injured winger Daniel Arzani have emerged.

None of the aforementioned trio played in the tournament four years ago, and two won’t feature in the UAE due to fitness concerns.

In their absence, 33-year- old Milligan, PSV defender Trent Sainsbury, Brighton goalkeeper Mat Ryan and QPR midfielder Massimo Luongo will need to step up. Luongo, whose mother was born in Indonesia, won player of the tournament at the 2015 Asian Cup and scored the opening goal in the 2-1 victory over South Korea in the final.

As it stands now, Australia could face Iran in the quarterfinals, should they get past likely opponents Thailand, Vietnam or Philippines in the Round of 16. That’s assuming they are able to top Group B, which contains Syria and Palestine, in addition to Jordan.

But their growing injury toll – plus the club-versus- country controversy involving their Scotland-based players – means that it is likely to be a difficult title defence. The Socceroos’ problem of scoring goals – they netted only twice in three games in the 2018 World Cup – will become an even greater issue if Leckie is sidelined in addition to Mooy and Arzani.

And, despite Chris Sutton describing the tournament as “Mickey Mouse”, we know that every Asian team is capable of causing an upset, especially the West Asian minnows who will thrive in the arid conditions of the UAE.

Indeed, Rogic may find himself dreaming of the harsh Glasgow winter when the going gets tough in the Emirati desert.

Jason Dasey is CEO of Singapore- based Cockatoo Media and an emcee of corporate events in Borneo