Football

World Cup 2022: Socceroos don’t have ‘standout’ replacement for injured Boyle

Graham Arnold waited as long as he could for Martin Boyle, but the Hibernian forward failed to recover from a knee injury while on club duty and has been ruled out of the World Cup. Melbourne City winger, Marco Tillio, has been roped in as his replacement. 

The 29-year-old’s injury would mean he cannot translate his impressive club form for the national team at the grandest footballing stage. However, it would give young Tillio the chance to impress. 

The Sydney native has been an all-around attacking threat for the Citizens in A-League this season. He has helped their cause with five goals and three assists from 11 competitive outings.

Boyle’s unfortunate ousting further reduces international tournament experience from the Australian travelling squad. With Tom Rogic already missing out thanks to his own antics, questions about the Socceroos’ quality are rife.

As it stands, as many as 18 players will be taking their World Cup bows in Qatar. In addition to quality, the dearth of experience will also haunt Australian fans in the quadrennial footballing competition. 

Socceroos legend, Matt McKay is understandably worried about their attacking talent in Qatar. Boyle has been a mainstay under Arnold and was Australia’s chief goalscorer in 2021 and will be missed. 

His absence means that Australia will be without their best player, which severely dents their ambitions at the World Cup. 

Despite the setback, McKay believes Tilio’s call-up is deserved for his recent performances in the A-League. While there are not many ‘standout’ performers in their midst, the 39-year-old believes there is enough quality to make a difference from the bench. 

He singled out young Garang Kuol and Jason Cummings for the excitement they bring in the opposition’s final third. 

Tilio, Kuol and Cummings to shine

Jason Cummings

‘He’s our best player, without a doubt throughout the qualification stage he was our most consistent and was our real spark in that final third, it’s a big loss,’ he said on SENQ Mornings.

‘I’ll guess we’ll see when the team comes out, he [Arnold] has got a lot of guys [but] there’s no standouts now so he’ll be able to pick a starting eleven that can do a job.

‘Marco Tilio has come into the squad, he’s had a really good month in the A-league and was probably disappointed not to make it, he left his run a little late in the initial squad.’

‘I think we’ve got a bit of spark off the bench. We’ve got a few impact players that we might not have had in the past,’ he said. 

‘I’m excited to see the likes of [Garang] Kuol and [Jason] Cummings if you put them on together, they’ve just got the energy.’

While Boyle has been ruled out, Australian fans received welcoming news as Ajdin Hrustic passed the fitness test. The Hellas Verona attacking midfielder had been part of the Socceroos camp but was training away from the main group.

The green light for Ajdin further increases their options from the bench. It gives Arnold quality to call upon as the playmaker lacks match fitness and cannot take the pitch from the get-go.


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