SOCCEROOS duo Aaron Mooy and Tom Rogic were on par with their England counterparts, declared proud coach Ange Postecoglou after their midfield masterclass.
England won 2-1 in Saturday’s friendly via Marcus Rashford and Wayne Rooney goals, but the Socceroos bossed the home side for large parts against midfield quartet, Leicester title-winner Danny Drinkwater, Liverpool duo Jordan Henderson and Adam Lallana and Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere.
With Mooy’s sale from Melbourne City imminent, Postecoglou said a smart European club will pick up a bargain. He also believed the youthful midfield, which included Massimo Luongo, would only get better.
“If you can tell me you can see the difference between Aaron Mooy or Tommy Rogic and what was in the (England) shirts, they’re outstanding footballers and if they were any other nationality they would already be playing at a big club,’’ Postecoglou said.
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READ NOW“They’re exciting and all three of them are 23, 24 years of age and played probably less than 10 games on international football so the best is ahead of them.
“I thought it was exciting. Mile (Jedinak) did a great job anchoring midfield but every time the other three got on the ball they were beating players, creating fantastic angles. We just lacked that clinical edge.
“There’s a smart club out there that will pick up a very good footballer (Mooy) very cheap.
“We had some outstanding individual performances, guys who really continue to blossom at international level which will hold us in good stead going forward and our style held up against a very good opponent on the eve of a major tournament.’’
Postecoglou reverted to a seldom-used 4-4-2 with a midfield diamond, and it paid off with Mooy revealing that it suiting the players’ attributes.
“That’s how Ange wants us to play, link up, don’t be too far away from each other, so that’s we did for big parts of the game,’’ Mooy said.
“I enjoyed the match, it’s always good to play strong opposition and it’s good for everyone to test themselves. Towards the end the muscles were getting tired but that’s understandable.’’
Jedinak said he could only see the team improving after another positive showing.
“I’m excited about being part of this group. The whole way that we’re doing things and testing ourselves against opposition like we did tonight and producing that sort of performance makes it very exciting,’’ Jedinak said.
“We’ve put a way of playing in place for a while now and our system allows us to do that to teams, and against good teams as well.
“It was nice to see everyone thrive in the occasion and take responsibility.’’