World Cup: Cahill Praises New Generation
March 13th, 2014 by G WaldorfIt looks like it’s shaping up to be an exciting World Cup for Australia. Sure, Group B doesn’t look like it was the best place for the Socceroos to be drawn, and sure, the odds are pretty long for Australia to scrap their way out of the group, but we have to say we’re liking the way Ange Postecoglu has been going about preparing the side for the tournament, and we’re not the only ones: Socceroos veteran Tim Cahill has been in the press this week praising the new crop of players pulling on the gold jersey…
Cahill became Australia’s leading goal scorer on Thursday when he bagged a first-half brace against Ecuador, and things were looking up for the Socceroos. And, in fairness, if you ignore the result of the Ecuador game, then you can be forgiven for feeling very positive indeed about the way the Socceroos are shaping up for the 2014 World Cup. Cahill described the performance as including ‘some of the greatest football I’ve seen from the Socceroos’, and you can see what he’s getting at. Postecoglu has included a new batch of players at the heart of the squad and central to the manner in which Australia play the game, and it has to be said that for 45 minutes, it seemed to be working just fine. But the story of the 2014 World Cup might be the story of Thursday’s friendly against Ecuador: Australia’s emerging side did very well, if you ignore the result. Because the truth of the matter is that Ecuador overturned a 3-goal deficit to snatch a win from the Socceroos, and all the hard work and all the promise ultimately came to naught.
We might be being pessimistic, and it’s certainly not the case that Australia can’t or won’t contribute to their group in the Brazil World Cup. They will, and it will be a pleasure, we hope, to see an emerging generation of Australian footballers face their first test on the world stage. Just don’t expect them to get out of the group: the odds on Sportsbet right now of the Socceroos qualifying from Group B are $8.00, whereas you’ll get $1.07 if you’re betting they come home at the end of the group stage. That tells you the story as the bookies see it, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of interesting bets on Sportsbet right now, or that there won’t be between now and the first game against Chile on June 13th. We’ve covered the odds as they stand for the Socceroos here, but make sure you watch this space for more!
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