by The kids are fine, but so are the old boys.
“You can’t win anything with kids” was Alan Hansen’s immortal TV line about Manchester United, back in 1995, after they lost to Aston Villa on the opening day of the season. Of course, United won the double that season and countless trophies in the years that followed with a team built around the youthful prowess of the Neville brothers, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and David Robert Joseph Beckham.
Hansen should have said that it helps to have seasoned professionals around the teenage tyros, to guide and help them like Peter Schmeichel, Denis Irwin, Gary Pallister and his colleagues, otherwise the you win squat. It’s all about that beautiful balance between experience and youth, wisdom and energy.
Related: Craig Goodwin leads the Socceroos’ dominant win over Lebanon
Graham Arnold’s advice is to heed it after the Socceroos thrashed Lebanon 5-0 in Canberra in their fourth World Cup qualifier. A record crowd of 25,023 packed GIO Stadium in the nation’s capital to sharpen Australia’s attack against the Middle Eastern minnows.
A pair of new faces grabbed the headlines right – Kusini Yengi scoring his first goal for his country in the second minute, John Iredale scoring on his international debut, just his first touch, set up by fellow goalkeeper Patrick Yazbeck, and Josh Nisbet was another to earn his starting cap.
Three debutants, all of them influential in their first appearances, and which gives Arnold the chance to return to his legion of critics who insist that he is too conservative, one-dimensional and too dependent on “Aussie DNA” and older players. Lebanon’s win was the best the green and gold have played in a long time, probably since Argentina at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, albeit against very limited opposition.
The Cedars, ranked 115th in the world and the 21st best team in Asia The Albiceleste, with all due respect. The takeaway from an Australian perspective was not only the intense impact of the new brigade in Bruce, but also the powerful performance of the returning Goodwin.
The one-time KFC worker from City of Churches emphasized the importance of a virtuoso move, and of real players in general. Two goals, two goals, and a display so delightful that it will live long in the memory. The Socceroos have cultivated a number of left-footers in their Arsenal over the years, such as Harry Kewell, Stan Lazaridis and Scott Chipperfield, but Goodwin has his own claim that all three are involved.
It took the midfielder just two minutes to make a statement, tapping in a right cross to easily tap Yengi in the opener. Forty-six minutes later the Al-Wehda man took the score to 3-0 with a right strike from the edge of the box. Then on 81 minutes the winger, who joined the A-League with Melbourne Heart 12 years ago, put the icing on his own cake with his second goal after being assisted by Iredale.
Goodwin has played for eight clubs in his senior professional career, from Adelaide Croatia Raiders in the NPL in South Australia to Rotterdam and now Mecca, the holiest city in Islam. But after his wonder goal against France in the last World Cup, he is surely enjoying such an Indian summer in the final stages of his traveling career.
After the disappointment of the 2023 Asian Cup, Arnie and the Socceroos needed a statement performance to show that the best is yet to come after the “what could have been” tour in Qatar. Lackluster displays during and since the Asian Cup have not dampened expectations or criticism of the national team.
The 60-year-old’s squad still relies on a string of older faces and hard-hitting pros – 31-year-old goalkeeper Maty Ryan, who is closing in on 100 caps, 31-year-old midfielder Jackson Irvine, who closing in on 70 caps, 33-year-old striker Mitchell Duke and 30-year-old striker Adam Taggart, as well as centre-back Harry Souttar, the 25-year-old giant from Aberdeen.
They are a group crying out for new blood, fresh talent and attacking motivation. Arnold listened and for a change threw caution to the wind and started Yengi, 25, and blooded Yazbek, 21, Iredale, 24, and Nisbet, 24. These four could , along with a handful of others, will be important figures if Australia is to make a dent in North America in two years.
Hansen drew strength from his opinion 29 years ago, after insisting that the Red Devils needed more strength. Arnold may not launch into the transfer market, as Sir Alex Ferguson often did, but the former Sydney FC boss can add depth to the national team ranks by testing against less keen opposition and providing opportunities for young people to enjoy.
Sometimes they won’t let you down, like March night in Canberra. And sometimes they just need a former employee of Colonel Saunders to show them the way.
