Socceroos Face Challenge After Leckie and Italiano Injuries
Australia will step into the World Cup knockout rounds a man light, and it feels heavier than the numbers suggest.
The Socceroos have been reduced to 24 players after Matthew Leckie and Jacob Italiano were forced out of the tournament camp, both cut down by injury just as the stakes rise.
Leckie, the veteran forward and emotional heartbeat of so many Australian campaigns, suffered a leg injury in the defeat to the USA. Italiano, the energetic right-back who had been pushing his way into Tony Popovic’s plans, pulled up with a groin problem during training in the lead-up to the draw with Paraguay.
Football Australia confirmed the pair have left camp and returned to their clubs’ countries to continue rehabilitation. No replacements are allowed at this stage, so Popovic must now navigate the knockout rounds with what he has.
For Leckie, it is a particularly cruel twist. He had only just clawed his way back from injury at the end of the A-League season, his late inclusion in the World Cup squad viewed as both a gamble and a nod to his big-tournament pedigree.
Aziz Behich, his Melbourne City teammate and long-time national team colleague, did not hide the emotion.
"I'm gutted for him," Behich said. He has watched the grind up close — the rehab sessions, the extra work, the relentless push to be ready.
"I saw first-hand this year what he had to do to get back on that pitch for us at Melbourne City and then what he did in Sarasota," Behich added, referencing the Socceroos’ pre-tournament camp. "He left no stone unturned and it's a credit to him, it's not easy, not just physically but also mentally at his age."
Leckie’s value to this squad stretches beyond the minutes he plays. His presence in the dressing room, his experience in tense tournament moments, his ability to tilt a game with one run or one cross — all of it now gone.
"We're all gutted for him because we want him to stick around because we know what he can give us as a team and even when he's not playing," Behich said.
Popovic Forced into a Reshuffle
The loss of Italiano adds a different kind of headache. Popovic cannot replace either player in the squad, leaving him short in the wide defensive areas at precisely the point in the tournament when tactical flexibility can decide a tie.
The impact was already visible in the draw with Paraguay. With Italiano out, Popovic shuffled his back line: regular left-back Jordy Bos moved across to the right, while Behich came into the side on the left.
It worked well enough to get Australia through the group, but the margin for error narrows from here.
"(Italiano) worked hard to get himself in this position and I thought he did really well in the games that he played as well," Behich said, acknowledging another teammate whose tournament has ended too soon.
For Behich, the reshuffle also opens a door he has been waiting to walk through.
"For myself, obviously I came here to play. I put myself in this position as well, to be involved in my third World Cup," he said. "I've been biding my time. I've been working hard at training every day and just waiting for my opportunity."
That opportunity has now arrived, even if the circumstances are far from ideal.
Two Down, Tournament Alive
The mood in camp, Behich insists, remains strong.
"I think we're in a good headspace. Obviously, two soldiers down, but we've got a lot of boys that can cover depth and position."
Australia will stay in Oakland until July 1, before flying to Dallas to prepare for their round-of-32 clash on July 3. The squad is lighter, the options narrower, but the path in front of them is clear.
Two key figures are gone. The World Cup, though, will not wait.
