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Cummings shines on-and-off the pitch
Alongside Central Coast Mariners teammate Garang Kuol, Scottish-born striker Jason Cummings stunned on his international debut after coming off the bench in the 63rd minute.
The British and Australian dual-citizen injected some much-needed energy into the game, as did fellow substitutes Kuol and Hearts midfielder Cameron Devlin, following a tentative first half and Mitchell Duke’s 54th minute opener from which the Socceroos could have easily used to close up shop.
However, Cummings and his fellow debutants had other ideas, as Kuol’s sensational run down the right-wing in the final 10 minutes resulted in a shot from Riley McGree, which the New Zealand goalkeeper blocked only to fall to Cummings for a second follow-up effort which struck the hand of former Wellington Phoenix defender Liberato Cacace.
Cummings calmly slotted home the resultant penalty kick for his maiden international goal, before describing the moment during a wildly entertaining post-match interview.
“Yeah, [I’m] absolutely buzzing. I was just chomping at the bit to try and get on.
“It’s been a good camp, the boys have been a different class and I just wanted to get on the pitch and I got a good 30 minutes in.”
The striker was then interrupted by a water bottle shower from a teammate before he laughed and continued.
“We got the pen [penalty], so I thought I’ve got to step up and take this and I finished off my dinner. [I’m] Buzzing!”
Fantastic Kuol shows signs of overcoming bolter curse
Following in the footsteps of his 2. Bundesliga situated brother, Alou, the 18-year-old showed on Sunday that he is well worth the hype surrounding his reportedly inevitable transfer to Premier League side Newcastle United upon providing a short, sharp burst of energy and excitement when he replaced Marco Tilio in the 73rd minute of the match.
Kuol’s moment of individual brilliance just five minutes into his cameo, which resulted in the Aussies’ second goal of the afternoon, showed why he was picked ahead of his brother in the squad despite being three years his junior, and likely cementing his place as the Socceroos’ bolter for the November start of the World Cup.
However, the wildly similar career trajectory of Kuol to injury-riddled 2018 Socceroos bolter Daniel Azarni was noted the day before the match, as the former Manchester City winger warned Kuol of the pitfalls of a rapid rise to the Premier League upon speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald.
“They don’t really have that much to gain if you play well, so for them they don’t really care – unless you go in there day one and you’re incredible,” the now Macarthur FC player said.
“For them, it’s not that big of a deal [if you fail].”
In light of the comments and impressive for a player of Kuol’s age are not only his abilities on the pitch, but his seemingly relaxed temperament shown towards Arzani’s comments, being of no discernible impact upon yesterday's performance and when he hilariously remarked “what happened, mate?”, in response to being selected over his brother in the 26-man squad for the New Zealand friendlies.
While it’s still too early to tell, Kuol has shown glimpses of having both the playing ability and the mindset to overcome the curse associated with claiming the Socceroos’ bolter tag, granted that he stays free of the injuries which severely hampered Azarni’s career.
Slow starts could prove costly in Qatar
The Socceroos struggled to find their attacking rhythm early in both matches against the Kiwis and if the trend continues, it could prove very costly during the World Cup group stage.
Australia took a conservative approach in their first-half performance against the All-Whites in Brisbane and it wasn't much different in Auckland on Sunday.
The introduction of Garang Kuol gave Australia the spark required yesterday but Graham Arnold will need more than late-game moments of magic if the Socceroos are going to truly challenge France, Denmark and Tunisia.
While solidity in defence will be needed against the world's best attacks, it is goals that win games and the Socceroos will need to get on the front foot early to help their chances of making it out of the group in Qatar.
Selection headaches await Arnold
Big decisions await Socceroos boss Graham Arnold as he has to whittle the Australia squad from 31 to 26 players ahead of November's World Cup.
Barring injury, a number of stars such as Aaron Mooy, Awer Mabil, Mat Ryan and Martin Boyle should have already booked their spot on the plane to Doha.
However, recent performances for club and country from fringe squad players have opened the door for a few shock selections.
Cameron Devlin, Harrison Delbridge, and Ryan Strain have all played their way into consideration and will be hard to omit.
On the other hand, traditional fixtures of the Socceroos such as Tom Rogic and Rhyan Grant are in a battle to retain their place in the squad and will need to find their top form to sway Arnold's decision.
With the final decision on the 26-player squad not expected to be revealed until November, their is sure to be plenty of discussion and conjecture among fans and pundits alike.
All eyes on France ahead of World Cup opener.
The Socceroos will open their World Cup fixtures against reigning World Champions France on November 26, and Graham Arnold will be hoping recent uncertainty and turmoil among Les Bleus can give the Aussies an extra advantage.
Star striker Kylian Mbappe is at loggerheads with the France Football Federation over his image rights, Paul Pogba is battling injury and extortion attempts, Antoine Griezmann is caught in the middle of a contract wrangle and more than eight first-team France regulars are racing against the clock to be fit for the November tournament.
Coach Didier Deschamps will be hoping this chaos is settled ahead of the clash against the Socceroos with the Aussies determined to improve on the 2-1 defeat they suffered at the hands of the French in the group stage of the 2018 World Cup.
Arnold will surely be keeping a close eye on all the drama as it unfolds.
