FRENCH BLOODBATH LAID GROUNDWORK FOR SOCCEROOS CONFIDENCE
THE last time the Socceroos faced France, the course of Australian football changed forever.
It was 2013 and national team coach Holger Osieck lined up marquee matches away to Brazil and France in the hope of testing his squad ahead of the 2014 World Cup.
Qualification was already in the bag and the German thought it time to serve up a reality check to the Socceroos, hoping to steel them ahead of the tournament in Brazil.
The first match, a Neymar-inspired 6-0 defeat at the hands of Luis Felipe Scolari’s side in Brazil, certainly provided a wake-up call.
A month later, the Socceroos re-assembled in Paris to take on Les Bleus.
World Cup winner Didier Deschamps, who remains coach today, had inherited a side that had failed at successive tournaments.
France finished rock-bottom in its Euro 2008 and 2010 World Cup groups, limping out at the Euros in 2012 only to be put out of their misery by champions Spain.
But they were rebuilding under Deschamps, blooding young talent like 20-year-olds Paul Pogba and Raphael Varane, and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, a trio that would all play against the Socceroos and form the backbone of the current side.
The result was another 6-0 defeat for Australia, a bloodbath that cost Osieck his job.
Just four Socceroos remain in the squad from that side; Mile Jedinak, Tim Cahill, Robbie Kruse and Mat Leckie.
Leckie, playing just his third match for Australia, said it was a dark night during the worst period in the Socceroos’ recent history.
“It was not a good time for the national team,” he said.
“There was already a lot of speculation and pressure on Holger at the time.
“Because of that reason we went into the game very worried, very vulnerable. Tactically we had no idea.
“It was a tough time. You could see there was absolutely no confidence in camp.”
“They scored early and the floodgates opened ... it was definitely one to forget.”
Jackson Irvine, who was on the sideline for the Parc Des Princes flogging, said the mood inside the Australian dressing room are now completely different, with morale restored and a game plan instituted by new coach Bert van Marwijk.
“It’s incredibly exciting. It’s the perfect game to go out and show what we can do,” he said.