World Cup Qualification Thread for 2026 - Socceroos/Asia

[huddo]

I’m certainly not disputing that shorter players are not as good as taller players. The fact is though that Nisbet is super-short, and I suspect that is a factor in a lot of coaches thinking.
As an example, Decentric quoted Valadon as an example of a short player. Wikipedia has Valadon as 1.77 m tall, and Nisbet as 1.60 m. That’s a difference of 17 cm, or nearly 7 inches.

I’m not denigrating Nisbet’s ability or his potential to be in the national team. All I am saying is that I suspect height has been a factor throughout his career, and probably still is. His career moves show that to be the case.

The global average height of a male is 5'7". The average height of a male in the US is 5'9" (175 cm).

 

[Keeper66]

Messi is 5'7". And like I've said it's not a comparison, but you are now validating the idea that if Maradona was born 20 years ago, it would be acceptable to ignore his talent because the thing that makes him so gifted (his low centre of gravity, that assisted is control) isnt what coaches are looking for.

Your a Brissie boy, believe it or not the reason he didn't end up at Brisbane was height, it worked out in Mariners favor, but would you still be talking this way if he was a Roar Player?

The other thing that pisses me off with how they've dealt with Nizzy, he's done it with little national team assistance. For some players they may find it easy to find a team OS because they are with the limits of what a team scouts for. We needed to show belief in Nizzy, and he played less then 90 minutes in the shop window. But we have O'Neill nailing it holding a spot? Why?

I’m not validating the idea that Maradona wouldn’t have made it today. Maradona would obviously have been a superb player in any era, irrespective of his height. I’m using Maradona as a height comparison, in that Nisbet compared to his peer group looks shorter than Maradona compared to his peer group.

If you read what I have written at no point did I say it was anything to do with skill. All I am saying is that I believe Nisbet being extra short does influence a lot of coaches thinking.

And yes I know Nisbet was at Roar and I presume that height was a factor in letting him go. I’m not saying this was right, I’m saying that was probably a big part of the coach’s thinking.

 

[Keeper66]

The global average height of a male is 5'7". The average height of a male in the US is 5'9" (175 cm).

Not sure what this adds to the discussion.

 

[Decentric]

I’m certainly not disputing that shorter players are not as good as taller players. The fact is though that Nisbet is super-short, and I suspect that is a factor in a lot of coaches thinking.
As an example, Decentric quoted Valadon as an example of a short player. Wikipedia has Valadon as 1.77 m tall, and Nisbet as 1.60 m. That’s a difference of 17 cm, or nearly 7 inches.

I’m not denigrating Nisbet’s ability or his potential to be in the national team. All I am saying is that I suspect height has been a factor throughout his career, and probably still is. His career moves show that to be the case.

I wasn't assuming you were, but others have made comments about his height being held against him, not that they agreed.

He might be a player who needs to play AL, which these days is a much more technical league than when it started. Nisbet was developing nicely and IMO was becoming a Socceroo asset. Neat passer and mover in tight spaces, closed down space really effectively and was mobile when the other team had the ball.

 

[Monoethnic Social Club]

A few posters have said they are really buzzing and ecstatic about the WCQ for the 6th successive time.

I'm the same. After two Arnie lead Roo games, I thought we were gone! There are only 11 football nations who have qualified for 6 WCs in succession. Nearly all the others are powerhouses!

*However, reading some of our fellow posters' comments, it is like they are annoyed some of their less favoured Socceroos were selected and did the job efficiently.

*They are annoyed Aus qualified without their favourite players outside the squad included.

* They have lists of players they define as 'good' and others 'bad'. When one uses heaps of of football specific performance criteria to evaluate players, most have strengths and weaknesses, and there isn't much difference in the overall product - with very fine margins at play.

*It is no different in the past. Brett Holman was hated by fans until he scored a few goals.
Jade North was hated too. Leckie and Kruse, both who struggled to score goals, were also hated by fans.
ATM it doesn't seem to matter what poor Duke, Metcalfe, Behich, and now possibly O'Neill and Ryan, do, their detractors can't see any good qualities.
Surely pro coaches like Arnie and Popa have undertaken high level coach education and developed insights the general public haven't? Albeit, I can't get over Arnie not selecting Geria as RB, whilst selecting Geraint Jones.

* It seems some don't like the Poparoos qualifying with him using so many AL players.

*Another member posted an article here where it repeats Duke stating it will be nice to get some keyboard warriors off his back. Poor bloke should be lauded - like Metcalfe.

This has been the Socceroos' greatest turnaround in WCQ history. All fans should be ecstatic!

I don't think you quite get what it means to be a football fan Decentric... If YOU think "This has been the Socceroos' greatest turnaround in WCQ history. All fans should be ecstatic!" then thats just great .... for you.

 

[Decentric]

I don't think you quite get what it means to be a football fan Decentric... If YOU think "This has been the Socceroos' greatest turnaround in WCQ history. All fans should be ecstatic!" then thats just great .... for you.

18 points from 8 games with the Poparoos, as opposed to the Arnieroos getting 1 point from 2 games, is astonishing!

Including 2 quality teams, Saudi and Indo being 3 of the fixtures, plus world powerhouse Japan A and B, being 2 of the matches, is tremendous.

 

[huddo]

I’m not validating the idea that Maradona wouldn’t have made it today. Maradona would obviously have been a superb player in any era, irrespective of his height. I’m using Maradona as a height comparison, in that Nisbet compared to his peer group looks shorter than Maradona compared to his peer group.

If you read what I have written at no point did I say it was anything to do with skill. All I am saying is that I believe Nisbet being extra short does influence a lot of coaches thinking.

And yes I know Nisbet was at Roar and I presume that height was a factor in letting him go. I’m not saying this was right, I’m saying that was probably a big part of the coach’s thinking.

And I'm saying, at what point does the legitimacy of a coaches thought process get questione, if it is bias because of a preconceived notion about a physical traits?

In all honesty the question of Nisbet is more directed a Arnie ( as his career was booming at the time of Arnie), but the same premise can be used for a multitude of other players.

 

[huddo]

Not sure what this adds to the discussion.

Valadon globally isn't short.

 

[huddo]

18 points from 8 games with the Poparoos, as opposed to the Arnieroos getting 1 point from 2 games, is astonishing!

Including 2 quality teams, Saudi and Indo being 3 of the fixtures, plus world powerhouse Japan A and B, being 2 of the matches, is tremendous.

Matildas got to a semi.

Tony G must then be the greatest coach the Matildas have ever had.

 

[Decentric]

I reckon Spanish second tier would have been a good league for Nisbet to start in Europe.

Agree.

Some Spanish players playing in the AL have said they have struggled to match the physicality and strength of Aussie domestic players in the AL. The Spanish are always good technicians though.

We did have a player agent as a member of 442. He said that the Spanish second tier often don't pay their players on time!

 

[Decentric]

Matildas got to a semi.

Tony G must then be the greatest coach the Matildas have ever had.

I was never happy with Tony G as a tactical coach. He deviated from the national style.

However, he may have been a superb player manager for the Matildas, after it seemed a few didn't like Stajcic's methods. I liked his tactics.

Good point though, Huddo.

 

[Keeper66]

Valadon globally isn't short.

I wasn’t the one who said he was short. Decentric said he was a shorter player, so I was using his height as a comparison to Nisbet.

 

[Keeper66]

And I'm saying, at what point does the legitimacy of a coaches thought process get questione, if it is bias because of a preconceived notion about a physical traits?

In all honesty the question of Nisbet is more directed a Arnie ( as his career was booming at the time of Arnie), but the same premise can be used for a multitude of other players.

The legitimacy of coaches thought processes always get questioned! Most of these posts related to Nisbet are questioning coaches thought processes in relation to his height. I’m not saying it’s right, I’m saying it is apparent.

 

[Decentric]

Duke is still the best option if we play with a lone striker unsupported and the 3-4-3 reverts to a 5-2-2-1 or a 5-4-1, although at his age he may not be for much longer. It's past time some of our younger strikers learnt how to play in a system like this.

Well said.

Borrello has done well in this role too - apart from failing to score goals.

 

[JS96]

A few posters have said they are really buzzing and ecstatic about the WCQ for the 6th successive time.

I'm the same. After two Arnie lead Roo games, I thought we were gone! There are only 11 football nations who have qualified for 6 WCs in succession. Nearly all the others are powerhouses!

*However, reading some of our fellow posters' comments, it is like they are annoyed some of their less favoured Socceroos were selected and did the job efficiently.

*They are annoyed Aus qualified without their favourite players outside the squad included.

* They have lists of players they define as 'good' and others 'bad'. When one uses heaps of of football specific performance criteria to evaluate players, most have strengths and weaknesses, and there isn't much difference in the overall product - with very fine margins at play.

*It is no different in the past. Brett Holman was hated by fans until he scored a few goals.
Jade North was hated too. Leckie and Kruse, both who struggled to score goals, were also hated by fans.
ATM it doesn't seem to matter what poor Duke, Metcalfe, Behich, and now possibly O'Neill and Ryan, do, their detractors can't see any good qualities.
Surely pro coaches like Arnie and Popa have undertaken high level coach education and developed insights the general public haven't? Albeit, I can't get over Arnie not selecting Geria as RB, whilst selecting Geraint Jones.

* It seems some don't like the Poparoos qualifying with him using so many AL players.

*Another member posted an article here where it repeats Duke stating it will be nice to get some keyboard warriors off his back. Poor bloke should be lauded - like Metcalfe.

This has been the Socceroos' greatest turnaround in WCQ history. All fans should be ecstatic!

The reason for many posters' annoyance is because players like Duke and Behich have more lives than a cat. I'm so glad they delivered this window but it was at the very last.

The problem is this masks issues of when they retire or we need to mix it up and no one else has enough exposure. Look at how Bos was against Japan, confident and a cut above. Toure used a lot of muscle and pace coming in that raw. Imagine what we could build if we focused on growth potential.

It'll end like the German economy by focusing on old half successful models while failing to innovate.

The same could be said for midfield where O'Neill has been steady but won't provide attacking passes forward. Teague favoured and embellished by China but it's early days. Yazbek oozed the confidence we'd expect Balard and Triantis to bring.

Meanwhile Geria and Degenek are true professionals who get the job done every time.

Metcalfe saved himself this window. Different system for the first time.

 

[JS96]

Interesting to note Yazbek has actually be around a bit longer than we may assume. He was in the last Asian Cup squad. Like Velupillay, worked hard and played well and deservedly in the side now.

 

[Decentric]

well anyway I'm not gonna make you two hug I guess

Lurker, next time you are in Tassie, or I'm in your neck of the woods, wherever it is, how about meeting up for a craft beer?

My shout!

 

[JS96]

Thankfully now we have many friendly windows to try other things. I think many on here just want to see how our best minded and skilled on the ball would go instead of a few who have concrete boots. Imagine a midfield of Balard, Triantis and Nisbet with Toure up top and Irankunda and Goodwin.

See? All you need is Adelaide and The Central Coast

 

[Decentric]

Interesting to note Yazbek has actually be around a bit longer than we may assume. He was in the last Asian Cup squad. Like Velupillay, worked hard and played well and deservedly in the side now.

I'm looking forward to scrutinising his last 2 games more closely in match stats after the cricket ends tonight.

He seems to have improved. Y was part of Popa's successful game plans.

A few years ago for the Young Socceroos I thought Teague and Niew were better prospects.

Y might have a good engine.

 

[JS96]

I'm looking forward to scrutinising his last 2 games more closely in match stats after the cricket ends tonight.

He seems to have improved. Y was part of Popa's successful game plans.

A few years ago for the Young Socceroos I thought Teague and Niew were better prospects.

Y might have a good engine.

I think they're may not have been anything too remarkable to be fair but he has poise and moves quickly with his decisions. This is compared to Irvine taking extra touches or using the wrong foot and nearly doing his hip. Irvine has terrible balance.