Tom Rogic was the stand-out performer as Australia stepped up their World Cup preparations with a 4-0 win over the Czech Republic in Austria.
Former Feyenoord boss Bert van Marwijk was in charge of the Socceroos for the first time with the Celtic ‘Magic Man’ given a key role.
Under Ange Postecoglou Rogic struggled to reproduce his Celtic form with Australian fans keen to see the best out of the former Central Coast Mariners midfielder.
The attention on the Celtic midfielder was typified by the match report of the Socceroos website where the other 10 players appeared to be the Rogic support act!
They reported:
With 15 minutes gone on the clock, Rogic had touched the ball three times. By 25 minutes the Celtic star’s tally was up to six touches – one of which was a clearance in his own box, one a tackle and one a misplaced pass.
“In the first 20 minutes we couldn’t find our free man – Rogic was free all the time but we didn’t have the right solution,” van Marwijk explained after the match.
By 30 minutes, the average position of Rogic was in his own half as the former Central Coast Mariners man toiled without the ball, and tried in vain to have an influence on the game.
But, bang. Just like that, the Caltex Socceroos saw the Tom Rogic fans know and love, the Tom Rogic who needs to shine in Russia for tough Group C tasks against France, Denmark and Peru.
With just his second offensive touch of the match in the front third, 32 minutes into the game, Rogic found Risdon advanced on the right. In the box were both Kruse and Leckie who combined for the opener.
A minute later it was Rogic again who found space in a central area outside the box, this time to rifle a shot on target.
“When Tom Rogic plays, you have to find a way to get him involved or else he’s pointless,” said Fox Sports commentator Andy Harper.
“Crucially, he was the man to split them apart for this goal … Australia, to put pressure on opposing defence, need Rogic in full swing.”
The Czech defence, stretched from the first half, allowed more space for Australia in the second half, where Rogic could also have added an assist to his performance when, in the 55th minute, he overhit a pass from the edge of the box which would have seen Kruse through 1-on-1.
By the time the fresh legs of Jackson Irvine, Jamie Maclaren, Dimitri Petratos and Daniel Arzani had entered the fray, the spaces that Rogic had worked to find were now readily available.
Australia face a tough opener on 16 June against France followed by matches against Denmark and Peru to complete the group stage.
Four years ago Rogic was suffering the dejection of missing out on the World Cup Finals in Brazil due to injury.