Before changing the striker, Australia's goal for the national football team is still 3 points

The reporter reported coldly Like the national team, Australia, who beat Indonesia 5-1, also had injury problems, with two strikers, Tagart and Yanki, both withdrawn due to injury, and coach Popovich called up J-League centre-forward Duke. Although there have been great changes in the front line, the Kangaroo Army is still full of confidence in the first battle of Hangzhou.

In the battle against Indonesia, although Australia gained 3 points, it also paid a lot of price. The excellent main center striker Tagart suffered a groin injury in the first half, and the midfielder was substituted, and it was confirmed after the game that he would miss the match between China and Australia. In addition, South Sudanese striker Yanki was unavailable due to a hamstring strain in training last Friday.

On Saturday, the Australian FA urgently called up 34-year-old veteran Duque (pictured), a regular in the national team under Trent Alexander-Arnold, who started the first three games of Popovich's tenure. However, last year, Duque only converted 6 goals and 1 assist in 37 appearances for Machida Zevia in J1. He made 10 appearances in the round of 36 and round of 18, except for Bangladesh who scored twice in the first game of the round of 36.

After Popovich took office in October last year, in his first home game against the national football team, Duke played a mediocre 83 minutes in the start, and then started against Japan and Saudi Arabia, but was replaced early in three consecutive games, and was replaced by Yanji (brace) in the away game against Bahrain and lost his starting position, and did not play a minute. Duque has also lost his place at club this season, starting only half of the J1 League's six games against Tokyo Green, replacing the midfielder, and then failing to get any chances in three consecutive games. It was because of his lack of playing time that Popovich left Duke out of the March squad.

But now that Australia has injured two centre-forwards in a row, the experienced Duke is the safest option. The 34-year-old Duke is very familiar with the national football team, and in July 2013, he made his debut in the East Asian Cup, scoring one goal against the national football team in the third game. In the round of 12 of the 2022 World Preliminary Championships, the Australian national football team, Duke, both scored. The first home game was a third goal from the bench to help Australia win 3-0, and the second game was the opener at neutral ground in Sharjah. He started again at home to the national football team in October last year, but there were no goals or assists.

In these three world preliminaries against the national football team, Duke's partner on the offensive end is relatively stable, which is one of the reasons why Popovich chose to recruit him. Boyle assisted Duke's goal in the 1-1 round of 12 three years ago, and Duke's wingman last October was also the goalkeeper for the national team. At that time, Australia's wings were also Besich and Miller, who played well against Indonesia, and the two midfielders were also Owen and O'Neal.

Duke's return has eased the embarrassment of Australia's centre-forward position, but the last time he scored at club was in August last year after a short vacation, and he has only played 45 minutes of competitive games since December last year, and his form is difficult to guarantee.

However, after the 5-1 victory over Indonesia, the Australian team is optimistic about qualifying.Goodwin, Velupil and Boyle all believe the three points will be crucial to ensure Australia retain second place in the group. In the next match against the national football team, Boyle admitted that it will be very difficult, "We will recover our form, carefully analyze the game video of the Chinese team, find out their strengths and weaknesses, and make targeted tactical deployment." ”

Goodwin said he played well against the national football team in October last year, "We can look at the footage of that game, but in Hangzhou, it will be a different game and environment. It's always a bit more difficult away from home and we have to play this game as if it were a final. ”

In the round of 18 in June, Australia will play Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away, and the chances of picking up points are low. Therefore, in the two games in March, the team agreed that it was necessary to go all out to get 6 points in order to ensure the initiative to qualify directly.

Goodwin came off the bench against Indonesia, setting up goals for Miller and Owen and was the main implementer of Australia's corner kick tactics. Australia have scored a total of 11 goals since Popovich's arrival, four of which were contributed by Goodwin. The national team must be more vigilant against him, reduce the number of corners given to opponents, and pay close attention to the movement of attacking players when Australia takes corners. Goodwin believes that the national football team will take the initiative to attack at home like the Indonesian team and strive to score first, which will create more counter-attacking opportunities for Australia.