Socceroos to Make Nine Changes for Palestine Clash
The Australian national soccer team, the Socceroos, are set to make nine changes to their starting lineup for their friendly match against Palestine on Saturday. After a disappointing 1-0 loss to Jordan in their previous friendly, head coach Graham Arnold has opted to shake things up in his team selection. The changes include the return of experienced goalkeeper Mat Ryan and defender Aziz Behich, who missed the Jordan match due to injury. Arnold has also brought in midfielders Jackson Irvine and Ajdin Hrustic, along with forwards Mitch Duke and Jamie Maclaren, who will all start against Palestine. The full starting lineup for the Socceroos is expected to be as follows: * Goalkeeper: Mat Ryan * Defenders: Aziz Behich, Bailey Wright, Kye Rowles, Nathaniel Atkinson * Midfielders: Jackson Irvine, Aaron Mooy, Ajdin Hrustic * Forwards: Mitch Duke, Jamie Maclaren, Riley McGree The Socceroos will be keen to bounce back from their loss to Jordan and put in a strong performance against Palestine. A win would give them some much-needed confidence heading into the FIFA World Cup in November. The match against Palestine will be played at the King Abdullah II Stadium in Amman, Jordan, and will kick off at 8:30pm local time (3:30am AEDT).Australia to Make Wholesale Changes for Palestine Clash
Australia to Make Wholesale Changes for Palestine Clash
Australian coach Graham Arnold plans to make significant alterations to his lineup for Tuesday’s World Cup qualifier against Palestine in Perth. Following Australia’s 2-0 victory over Bangladesh on a subpar pitch in Dhaka, Arnold intends to rest several key players and give opportunities to others. Mitch Duke and Kye Rowles will be withdrawn to avoid the risk of yellow cards that could rule them out of the next qualifying phase. Alessandro Circati, Gethin Jones, Martin Boyle, Mathew Leckie, and Cameron Burgess are all expected to start against Palestine after sitting out the Bangladesh match. “Tomorrow you’ll see nine different starters,” Arnold said. “It’s about winning. But this window for me is also about testing some players and looking at them in a different way moving forward. “I’m happy with where we are today with the depth of the squad.” Australia has a perfect record of 17 goals scored and none conceded in the current qualifying phase. Arnold aims to maintain this unblemished record despite the numerous changes in his team. “My goal for the players is to keep a clean sheet again and go through this entire phase without conceding any goals,” Arnold said. “I think there have only been three teams in the history of AFC football that have done that at this stage.”The Socceroos will make nine changes for their clash with Palestine on Tuesday night in Canberra. The wholesale changes come after Australia’s disappointing 4-0 loss to Jordan in Amman on Friday. The only players to retain their spots in the starting line-up are goalkeeper Mat Ryan, defender Milos Degenek and midfielders Jackson Irvine and Tom Rogic. The changes see Aziz Behich, Mark Milligan, Aaron Mooy, Robbie Kruse, Andrew Nabbout and Mathew Leckie all come into the team. Trent Sainsbury, Massimo Luongo, Awer Mabil and Jamie Maclaren have all been dropped to the bench. The Socceroos will be looking to bounce back from their loss to Jordan and secure a morale-boosting win ahead of their crunch World Cup qualifier against Vietnam in Hanoi on September 11. Palestine will be no pushovers, however. The Palestinians are ranked 97th in the world, just 11 places below Australia. The match will be played at Canberra Stadium, with kick-off at 7:30pm AEST.
