Friendly farewell: Irankunda double fires Australia to 5-1 win over Curacao

A flurry of four second-half goals have helped the Socceroos seal a thumping 5-1 win over Curacao in their final match on home soil before the World Cup.

Coach Tony Popovic named another experimental line-up as he stress-tested more candidates for his World Cup squad – but they broadly struggled against the Caribbean minnows, and needed to be bailed out by an injection of first-choice talent off the bench.

Scores were locked at 1-1 when Popovic made a quadruple substitution, sending on likely World Cup starters Riley McGree, Nestory Irankunda and Jordan Bos, and within moments, they got to work.

The former two combined to set up Alessandro Circati’s headed goal – his first for Australia – in the 68th minute, and then just three minutes later, Bos used his non-preferred right foot to curl a shot past Curacao goalkeeper Eloy Room to put the hosts 3-1 up at Melbourne’s AAMI Park.

Then Irankunda struck twice within four minutes to put the result beyond any doubt, using his clever dribbling skills to score the first – which he celebrated by pulling on a white sequinned glove in an apparent tribute to Michael Jackson – and then his pace and precision for the second.

Together, the substitutions and the flurry of goals reinforced a self-evident truth, one that could hardly be described as a learning for Popovic: the Socceroos are very good when their best players are on the field, and not quite as good when they’re not.

The result was, in a way, a bit harsh on the world No.81-ranked Curacao, who proved more than a handful for the Socceroos across the first hour of the match.

The visitors equalised 10 minutes after half-time, as Gervane Kastaneer beat Circati to a header that opened up Australia’s defensive half. Arjany Martha latched onto it, beat his marker Kye Rowles for pace and slid the ball underneath Maty Ryan – and Curacao were perhaps unlucky to have come away with only one goal.

But the same argument could be mounted for the Socceroos, who took the lead midway through the first half with Awer Mabil’s first international goal in two years – the direct result of Ajdin Hrustic’s pressure on Curacao captain Leandro Bacuna, who turned the ball over near the corner flag, enabling Kai Trewin to sweep the ball inboard to Mabil, via Deni Juric.

Mabil was unlucky to not have scored a brace, having slammed a volley from a Hrustic cross straight into the woodwork, just before the break.

Those moments aside, the Socceroos generally lacked fluency with the ball and potency in attack – until Popovic emptied his bench and let his big guns take over.

In the end, Curacao actually beat the home side for possession – they had 54 per cent of it – and also had four shots on target to Australia’s six.

Even the dodgy patches of the game would have been informative for Popovic as he assesses the make-up of his 26-man World Cup squad. His trial of Trewin at right wing-back may have unearned another break-glass option in Australia’s problem position, while question marks remain over the efficiency of the Aiden O’Neill-Connor Metcalfe central midfield combination that Popovic persisted with in both ‘FIFA Series’ matches.

How about this extended celebration!

The Irankunda brace as Australia’s super subs put on a show

A flurry of four second-half goals have helped the Socceroos seal a thumping 5-1 win over Curacao in their final match on home soil before the World Cup.

Coach Tony Popovic named another experimental line-up as he stress-tested more candidates for his World Cup squad – but they broadly struggled against the Caribbean minnows, and needed to be bailed out by an injection of first-choice talent off the bench.

Scores were locked at 1-1 when Popovic made a quadruple substitution, sending on likely World Cup starters Riley McGree, Nestory Irankunda and Jordan Bos, and within moments, they got to work.

The former two combined to set up Alessandro Circati’s headed goal – his first for Australia – in the 68th minute, and then just three minutes later, Bos used his non-preferred right foot to curl a shot past Curacao goalkeeper Eloy Room to put the hosts 3-1 up at Melbourne’s AAMI Park.

Then Irankunda struck twice within four minutes to put the result beyond any doubt, using his clever dribbling skills to score the first – which he celebrated by pulling on a white sequinned glove in an apparent tribute to Michael Jackson – and then his pace and precision for the second.

Together, the substitutions and the flurry of goals reinforced a self-evident truth, one that could hardly be described as a learning for Popovic: the Socceroos are very good when their best players are on the field, and not quite as good when they’re not.

The result was, in a way, a bit harsh on the world No.81-ranked Curacao, who proved more than a handful for the Socceroos across the first hour of the match.

The visitors equalised 10 minutes after half-time, as Gervane Kastaneer beat Circati to a header that opened up Australia’s defensive half. Arjany Martha latched onto it, beat his marker Kye Rowles for pace and slid the ball underneath Maty Ryan – and Curacao were perhaps unlucky to have come away with only one goal.

But the same argument could be mounted for the Socceroos, who took the lead midway through the first half with Awer Mabil’s first international goal in two years – the direct result of Ajdin Hrustic’s pressure on Curacao captain Leandro Bacuna, who turned the ball over near the corner flag, enabling Kai Trewin to sweep the ball inboard to Mabil, via Deni Juric.

Mabil was unlucky to not have scored a brace, having slammed a volley from a Hrustic cross straight into the woodwork, just before the break.

Those moments aside, the Socceroos generally lacked fluency with the ball and potency in attack – until Popovic emptied his bench and let his big guns take over.

In the end, Curacao actually beat the home side for possession – they had 54 per cent of it – and also had four shots on target to Australia’s six.

Even the dodgy patches of the game would have been informative for Popovic as he assesses the make-up of his 26-man World Cup squad. His trial of Trewin at right wing-back may have unearned another break-glass option in Australia’s problem position, while question marks remain over the efficiency of the Aiden O’Neill-Connor Metcalfe central midfield combination that Popovic persisted with in both ‘FIFA Series’ matches.

The match was called right on 90 minutes. There’s no time-on here in the second half under the (slightly) unconventional FIFA Series rules. Curacao put out of their misery.

The only disappointment on the night was the crowd – less than 17,000 spectators made their way to AAMI Park. Many missed a quality show.

Australia 5 Curacao 1

This has been a stunning 15 minutes or so. And it’s back-to-back goals for Irankunda. Stunning.

In a matter of minutes the Socceroos have taken the game away from Curacao. A highly creative conversion from Jordan Bos, who had just been subbed on, results in Australia’s third goal. About 20 minutes of play to come and this match is Australia’s.

Australia 3 Curacao 1

Australia 3 Curacao 1

Just when the stakes were raising, Australia find another goal and find the lead again.

Alessandro Circati with a delightful header! He leaned in beautifully inside the box and got a clean heat to the ball. No mistake.

Australia 2 Curacao 1