Perhaps one of the key ingredients of the so-called “Aussie DNA” is being good at penalty shootouts. After his teammates had netted all five of their spot kicks, Steven Hall became the latest Australian goalkeeper to etch their name into the history books in the U20 Asian Cup final over the weekend, joining the likes of Mark Schwarzer, Andrew Redmayne and Mackenzie Arnold in securing continental glory.
Trevor Morgan’s Young Socceroos had already ensured Australia’s 13-year absence from the U20 World Cup would end before they took the field at Shenzhen’s Bao’an Stadium but what this achievement meant was obvious in the rapturous scenes of celebrations that followed Hall’s save to deny Bassam Hazazi. They were now the princes of Asia – the first junior side to win a continental crown since Australia joined the confederation in 2006.
This alone should be enough to drive a level of optimism. For years, the prevailing narrative has been that Australia’s youth are being left behind at the continental level – not just by traditional powers such as Saudi Arabia and Japan (who were also beaten by Australia in China) but a rising middle class. But here was a new generation, without much in the way of name recognition but bountiful in potential, taking it to Asia’s best.
Elevating this isn’t just that the Young Socceroos won the tournament, but just how they won it. Perhaps the best way to describe the way they played across the past fortnight is to note the one thing that was decidedly absent: fear.
Throughout the tournament, Morgan’s side demonstrated how bravery has traditionally been framed in Australian football. They ran hard, put their bodies on the line for their teammates and refused to stop in the face of adversity – they came from behind twice in the quarter-final against Iraq to secure U20 World Cup qualification. When he was substituted off in the final, Daniel Bennie looked like every sinew of his wiry frame had been spent running up and down his flank.
But also present in this Young Socceroos side was a level of intrepidness in possession. Not only was there effort and will, but also courage to play vertically between the lines, to move into position to receive the ball under pressure, and to show impetus to take opponents on. Fear, undoubtedly, would have been there – trepidation of making an error that could cost the side at a vital moment – but bravery isn’t so much the absence of fear as it is the willingness to act in its presence. And throughout the tournament, when there were moments of risk and uncertainty on the pitch – moments of fear – this group acted anyway.
The hope is that this will portend a growing trend. This current cohort are among the first to have spent their entire development in the much-maligned, much-misunderstood national curriculum. The technical and tactical base that this has instilled within them is already apparent. They are also among the first to have spent almost their entire teenage years inside professional academies established by A-League clubs, which were controversially entrusted with filling the void left by the closure of the AIS. To the detriment of those working in it, youth development reform, in an age of instant gratification, still measures in decades.
Additionally, the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting financial downturn forced A-League Men clubs to play youth like never before, both out of necessity and the urgent need to tap into the international transfer market. Lemonade from lemons. That meant that this group has received hitherto unprecedented opportunities to play senior football; they have already logged nearly 13,000 minutes of first-team football, the vast majority of that in the A-League Men. Maintaining these opportunities for young players in the years ahead, be they in the top-flight or a newly introduced second-tier, will be of critical importance.
Next for the Young Socceroos will be a World Cup in Chile, where the hope will be that they can replicate the heroics of the 1991 and 1993 sides who reached the semi-finals. Fittingly, an Okon will link both – Paul Okon-Engstler, the son of Paul Okon, the press-resistance metronome at the heart of this current group – and players such as Nestory Irankunda, Thomas Waddingham, and Dylan Leonard will also be eligible to play.
It will be important heading into that tournament to temper expectations, both to be realistic and not place too much load on young shoulders. This is still youth football; even the 2005 Argentina squad that won the U20 World Cup with Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, and Pablo Zabaleta only produced five players that made double-digit appearances for La Albiceleste. But it’s OK to get a bit excited, too, because it looks like the kids are alright.
