Summary
Thank you for joining me for all the fun this afternoon. It’ll be a while until we do it again with the Socceroos not back in action until the October international break when they head to London for matches against England and New Zealand. After that, it’s competitive football all the way with World Cup qualifiers and the Asian Cup dominating the calendar. Be sure to join me back here for all of that.
And now a smiling, buoyant, Graham Arnold.
We played against a very good side here and obviously a couple of mistakes cost us goals, but at the end of the day I think the boys did exceptionally well and obviously we have things to improve on. When you play these types of games you learn your lessons.
The whole week has been incredible, and bringing the young players in giving them an opportunity with the Socceroos, being in America, to sample what we are going to get in a couple of years’ time. We play against Mexico, No 12 team in the world and I think we did very well. There are things to improve on and that is giving away silly goals.
On Cameron Burgess’ debut:
I thought he did very well. His first international and the first time he has ever played alongside Harry Souttar or any of the other boys. I thought he fitted in very well. Overall I was very happy with the performance, but also, we can improve.
On Jackson Irvine’s injury:
He has rolled his ankle. He was in a lot of pain. They asked him if it was good and he said no. It is one of those things, unfortunately.
Australian debutant Sam Silvera has had a few words with Channel 10.
It is crazy, to be honest. You see how passionate these fans are here, you can barely hear yourself. It shows it is a great experience for me, it was a great team we came up against but we showed what we can do. We scored goals, we defended well but it is just unlucky that the result was 2-2.
For Mexico, Jimmy Lozano will be happy with the fightback after a turgid first-half, and especially pleased with the ability of his substitutes to change the game. Raul Jimenez fired home a penalty, Cesar Huerta smashed in the equaliser, and Jordi Cortizo demonstrated he is worthy of more than cameo appearances.
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Australia defended with discipline and composure almost all night, but centre-halves Harry Souttar and Cameron Burgess each gave away horribly soft goals – both with Mat Ryan arguably at fault as well.
Further downfield everyone in gold worked their socks off, but there was little of attacking note to get excited about. A couple of moves in the first half involving Connor Metcalfe and Jackson Irvine caught the eye, but this was a very reactive performance, continuing the theme from the World Cup, and the kind of showing that will frustrate Graham Arnold’s detractors. It is hard to see how this set-up converts to the upcoming World Cup qualifiers and Asian Cup when the Socceroos will be gifted far more time in possession and expected to break down packed defences.
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What to make of all that? On one hand there were long passages of play lacking incident on a dreadful pitch, but on the other, there were three penalties and Mexico stormed back from 2-0 down to finish much the stronger of the two sides.
Full-time: Mexico 2-2 Australia
Honours even in Texas after a peculiar 90 minutes of international football.
90+4 mins: Cortizo is busy again in midfield, looking to free Huerta on the left once more, but Atkinson stands his ground and blocks the ball downfield.
90+3 mins: Atkinson is penalised for a textbook tackle in midfield and is rightly furious with the referee.
90+1 mins: Cortizo – who has that languid gait that makes him so fun to watch – finds Huerta on the left, and his dangerous cross is only cleared to the next wave of Mexican raiders. Huerta is again invited to cross from the left but Burgess heads away. Now Gallardo hoists one over from the left but Alvarado can’t get any purchase on his header and Ryan gathers.
90 mins: The delivery is decent but Australia have enough bodies to clear the danger.
89 mins: Another ball into that left channel is allowed to bounce by the Socceroos and Atkinson is forced to scrap just to concede a corner.
88 mins: Australia are now under the pump, clinging on for a draw with a resurgent Mexico, driven on by their lively substitutes, pushing for a winner.
86 mins: Irvine has to be replaced. He tried limping off but Australia have now called for a stretcher – much to the frustration of Mexico’s players eager to get on with the game. Replays show Irvine rolled his right ankle – not his left – chasing for possession in midfield. Hopefully it’s just a sprain and nothing more serious.
O’Neill comes on in his place. And Degenek also joins the fray in place of Baccus.
85 mins: Australia have defended so well all night and they will be devastated to have conceded so softly. Meanwhile, Irvine is down clutching his left ankle and he looks in a lot of pain.
GOAL! Mexico 2-2 Australia (Huerta, 84)
Disaster at the back for the Socceroos! Delight for debutant Cesar Huerta! A long ball into the left channel looks meat and drink for Souttar but instead of heading the ball away he lets it bounce (did Ryan give him a shout?) and Huerta nips in to fire a handsome volley beyond Australia’s skipper at the near post. Lovely finish, catastrophic defending.
83 mins: More substitutions, with Artuna and Araujo making way for Alvarado and Alvarez.
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82 mins: Silvera does well in the final third and releases Atkinson on the right but his cross from the touchline is gathered by Ochoa. Mexico respond quickly on the counter but Ryan is out smartly from his line and sweeps up the danger.
80 mins: It’s all Mexico now as Cortizo tries to jink his way from a central area to the left and fashion a cross, but Atkinson sticks to his task and the eventual delivery is unthreatening.
79 mins: As Erick Sanchez comes on for Herrera, Mexico’s sixth corner is as ineffective as the previous five.
78 mins: Now a low cross comes in from the right that Souttar does well to slide desperately and deflect behind for a corner.
77 mins: Mexico are pressing hard now and Cortizo is immediately into the action, scheming around the edge of the box.
76 mins: Cortizo comes on for Pineda.
74 mins: Mexico are upping the intensity in these closing stages with the two fullbacks operating as second wingers. Australia’s players continue to stick to their tasks in defence and deny any goalscoring opportunities.
72 mins: Baccus with some rare time and space in midfield. He feeds Boyle on the right, but the Mexican press is strong and the gold jerseys have to head backwards. The Socceroos have only briefly linked play tonight but they’ve still managed two set-piece goals.
On comes the lively Silvera for the goalscorer Boyle. If the Socceroos are going to build a new era around a generation of younger players, the Middlesbrough winger is exactly the kind of talent they need to fire.
GOAL! Mexico 1-2 (Jimenez, 70)
Raul Jimenez makes a stuttered run-up and just manages to sidefoot the ball above the diving Mat Ryan who had again guessed the right way.
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PENALTY! (Mexico)
Another penalty! The long ball into the right channel sees Antuna leading the foot race with Burgess, until the Mexican goes to ground under pressure. There wasn’t much contact shoulder-to-shoulder, but the forward’s boot got caught in the “turf” making the collision look more dramatic.
66 mins: A massive long diagonal from the right from Atkinson finds McGree on the left. He cuts in and drifts along the edge of the penalty area looking for an opening but none emerges. He shoots anyway but it’s blocked. Mexico counter at pace and a swift move ends with Gallardo lashing wide from eight yards out. He had more time to pick a better finish.
67' | We make a double change.
— Subway Socceroos (@Socceroos) September 10, 2023
⬆️ D'Agostino
⬇️ Duke
⬆️ Genreau
⬇️ Metcalfe
🇲🇽 0-2 🇦🇺#MEXvAUS #Socceroos
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64 mins: After being out for so long through injury, that was a massive moment for Boyle, and he stood up to it superbly. Mexico have it all to do now after missing a spot-kick of their own only a few minutes earlier.
GOAL! Mexico 0-2 Australia (Boyle, 63)
Ochoa does his best to delay the spot kick and put off Martin Boyle, but the finish is unerring, rifled into the net for a first international goal in three years.
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PENALTY! (Australia)
Riley McGree stands up the Mexican defence on the edge of the box then dinks the ball between two defenders. As he chases after possession, Romo comes across and needlessly hacks him down. Clear penalty!
60 mins: An hour gone, time for the substitutions to begin, starting with Gimenez and Vega being replaced by Raul Jimenez and Cesar Huerta.
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58 mins: Rowles levers Antuna off the ball and sends the Mexican flailing with clouds of weird synthetic black dust being emitted from the surface like the residue of some evil spirit. Needless to say Antuna and the Mexican fans were unimpressed by the lack of a free-kick.
56 mins: Big let-off for Australia. Mexico’s one and only clear chance for the match and Gimenez struck the penalty superbly, only to see it fail to arc inside the post.
PENALTY MISS! (Gimenez)
Gimenez smashes his left-footed spot-kick to the right of the diving Ryan, but it strikes the upright and bounces away to safety!
PENALTY (Mexico)
Mexico are stepping up the pace of play and they get their reward! A long ball from right to left is kept alive at the far post. The lay-off infield is awkward but a Mexican boot strikes the bouncing ball and it cannons into the arm of Baccus. Penalty!
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52 mins: As with the first half, this is not a free-flowing demonstration of jogo bonito. Now there’s a stoppage to allow Boyle to receive treatment after having his foot trodden on.
50 mins: Antuna gets a cross in from the right that bounces near the penalty spot with two Mexican forwards nearby, but neither can establish control and Australia clear.
48 mins: The second half begins as scrappily as the first until Vega and Gimenez combine nicely down the left. Atkinson does well to get his body in the way to snuff out the danger. A feature of the Socceroos tonight has been the discipline and commitment, especially following an initial mistake or setback.
46 mins: The second half begins with a yellow card to Metcalfe for a brazen shirt pull on the advancing Romo. Mexico looked most dangerous in the first half when Romo was able to carry the ball out from the base of midfield or spray longer passes into the channels.
Finally El Tri retake the field. They also appear to have their starting XI intact.
Australia are back out for the second half. No changes for the Socceroos. Mexico are leaving them waiting.
Yes the patchwork pitch looks and plays ridiculously, but at least when you slide on it, it emits a pleasingly cloud of black dust 👍 #MEXvAUS pic.twitter.com/muHV6TM4D7
— Evan Morgan Grahame (@Evan_M_G) September 10, 2023
Mexico with 70% of possession at the break.
Australia with fewer than 100 completed passes in the first half of a men's international for the first time since 2005 💪💪💪#MEXvAUS
— shane (@eshaaanes) September 10, 2023
In fairness, not a great half of football, thanks is large part to the awful pitch, but Australia will be thrilled with their work, keeping Mexico at arm’s length and creating a few good chances of their own. The goal was a classic cross-it-to-the-big-lad corner and that big lad, Harry Souttar did what he does best, and get his head to the ball first and steer it into the net.
Everything is BIGGER in Texas 😂#MEXvAUS #Socceroos pic.twitter.com/wGBZfR2WxF
— Subway Socceroos (@Socceroos) September 10, 2023
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Half-time: Mexico 0-1 Australia
The aftermath of that clash continues to bubble as the whistle blows for half-time.
45 mins: Mitch Duke is booked for a lazily high and late boot on Alvarez deep in Mexican territory. The West Ham midfielder was not happy at all with the challenge and leaned his head in Duke’s direction to remonstrate.
43 mins: Nice one-two between Antuna and Pineda but the former’s cross from the right is headed clear. Still Mexico come, and another ball in from the right causes havoc this time. In the melee Gimenez goes to ground under pressure from Atkinson with artificial turf spraying everywhere. The defender gets a stud-end onto the ball in his challenge, and the referee in a great position to make a decision. That said, you’ve seen them given. Australia escape.
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41 mins: Mexico are squeezing the Socceroos now, forcing Atkinson into a poor turnover in midfield, but the fullback does well to chase back and deflect the attempted cross behind for a corner. You know the drill by now. The delivery is overhit and Australia clear easily.
39 mins: Mexico are growing into this. A deep cross from the left reaches Antuna on the right who stands up Rowles and whips over a dangerous ball with his left foot that Atkinson has to deal with bravely at the far post. Another Mexican corner is dealt with by the Socceroos.
37 mins: Mexico’s best move of the match sees Ryan make a comfortable save from Gallardo. The left fullback was involved in a neat move on the touchline with Pineda and Vega, the No 10 showcasing a couple of deft flicks to unlock the Australian defence and invite Gallardo to shoot from the kind of area Olga Carmona drilled home the winner in the Women’s World Cup final recently.
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35 mins: The little joy Mexico have enjoyed so far has come down the right with El Tri looking to isolate the makeshift left-back Rowles. Antuna has had plenty of crossing opportunities but nothing dangerous has materialised yet.
34 mins: Mexico’s third corner of the night is the best of the bunch, but it still isn’t great. The first ball isn’t cleared convincingly but HErrera gifts Australia a free-kick by trying to overhead volley the second ball, despite Irvine’s face being part of the mise en scène.
33 mins: Jackson Irvine has been the game’s standout performer so far, winning the ball regularly in midfield and picking the smart vertical pass to set up the Socceroos in attack.
32 mins: Australia come again through Metcalfe, breaking down the middle, but his simple square pass to Duke misses its target and the opportunity ebbs away.
30 mins: Now McGree and Irvine combine well on the left, the latter chipping over a tempting cross that Boyle just fails to get a head to. Encouraging spell for the visitors.
29 mins: That’s nice though. The best move of the match by a mile sees Australia manoeuvre the ball from Mat Ryan at the back, along the ground through defence and midfield, and out to the right when Metcalfe takes the game on, exchanging passes, cutting infield and leathering a left-footed shot miles over the bar. A poor finish, but an excellent move full of bravery in possession.
27 mins: This is not a very entertaining football match.
25 mins: Mexico have yet to force Mat Ryan into a save. The pitch surface and dimensions are not in their favour, and Australia are defending superbly through the spine with Souttar and Burgess strong at the back and Irvine and Baccus scrapping tirelessly in midfield.
23 mins: Speaking of transition. Irvine does well in midfield to recover possession then McGree finds a neat flick to release Duke, but he is made to look like a shire horse being teased by a thoroughbred with Araujo winning the race for the ball despite giving the Machida Zelvia about a 15m head start.
22 mins: Australia are not offering much in terms of patterns of play when they have time on the ball. They are clearly drilled to play quickly in transition. This is the long-term concern in the absence of Mooy and Rogic, especially against weaker Asian nations against whom the Socceroos will enjoy the lion’s share of possession.
20 mins: Mexico continue probing down the right and this time Antuna can whip his right boot around a cross that reaches Australia’s box, only for Burgess to head behind. The resulting corner is woefully overhit, just like Mexico’s first of the night.
19 mins: Mexico have created little despite all their possession, and after threatening to break down the right, Rowles puts in two stunning 50:50 challenges to deny Antuna and Araujo.
18 mins: That’s Souttar’s seventh goal in 17 appearances. If you have giants in your ranks, why not take advantage?
GOAL! Mexico 0-1 Australia (Souttar 16)
The first delivery is cleared, but only as far as Metcalfe, who wallops a fierce drive from range that Ochoa chooses to fingertip behind. The second corner in quick succession is textbook. A right-footed outswinger from the right, straight ontot he forehead of the stopping Harry Souttar! The giant defender was too big and too strong for the Mexican defence just inside the six-yard box.
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15 mins: From the free-kick Australia earn a throw-in deep on the right. Duke does well to win the second ball and lob a volleyed cross in the direction of McGree but Araujo is on the spot to head behind.
14 mins: A rare ball into the feet of Gimenez is dealt with well by Souttar and Burgess stepping out of defence. That sparks a minute or so of midfield combat with Baccus industrious until Australia win a free-kick with Romo and Pineda impeding Metcalfe, then delaying the restart and remonstrating with the referee as if it’s a cup final.
12 mins: Another feature of this ghastly field is how narrow it is. There’s hardly any space between the edge of the penalty areas and the touchline, allowing Australia to defend narrowly and close Mexico’s passing lanes as El Tri do their best to remain patient in possession.
10 mins: Very little has happened in about five minutes, with Mexico still passing the ball around their back four. A through-ball to Gimenez threatened to create an opening but the pitch put in a beautiful tackle to deny the young forward the opportunity to turn swiftly.
8 mins: The crowd has had little to cheer about, but cheering they are with deafening whistles.
6 mins: The match has settled into a pattern of Mexico controlling possession across their back four with Australia retreating into a mid-block then looking to counter quickly when a misplaced pass comes their way. The pitch is not helping anybody. Mexico look like they’re second-guessing their mid-range passes and Australia look uncertain when and how to engage in a challenge.
4 mins: Australia string a few passes together for the first time but there’s a soft offside in the final third. During the move it was clear this pitch is a liability with the ball holding up in the surface and plumes of microplastics rising into the air whenever a boot dug in for a sharp change of direction.
3 mins: Souttar carelessly concedes the night’s opening corner, but the delivery is overhit and dribbles away for a goal kick.
2 mins: Mexico make an early break down the right but Atkinson heads clear at the far post. Luis Romo appears to be the key man for Mexico, dropping in between his centre-halves from the base of midfield, starting El Tri’s moves from the back.
1 min: The first thing I have to note is the playing surface, which looks like a poorly rendered facsimile of a football pitch on an 8-bit games console. It might play ok, but it looks junk.
Kick-off!
Mexico get us underway in Texas.
Anthems sung, fireworks detonated, pennants exchanged, it’s time for some football.
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The teams are making their way out into the middle of AT&T Arena. Australia are top to toe in gold, Mexico in their change jersey of white with light blue speckles, complemented by black shorts and white socks.
Cameron Burgess and Harry Souttar look comically massive as the teams line up for the national anthems.
Today’s match is being played at the humungous AT&T Arena in Arlington Texas, home of the Dallas Cowboys NFL franchise. Mexico now play most of their nominal home matches in the US where they can capitalise on more favourable TV rights and stadium revenue, powered by the large Mexican-American population.
It’s been a baking hot day in the Lone Star state with the temperature still around 30C approaching kick-off. Players will need to adapt not only to the heat, but the synthetic turf.
Senior players Hector Moreno, Hirving Lozano, Nestor Araujo, and Jesús Manuel Corona are all missing for Mexico today, but there’s still plenty of relevance in this pre-World Cup primer of El Tri.
Graham Arnold has had a few words with Australian TV:
It’s been a fantastic week. To be able to get the boys in on a Monday and not play until Saturday night, it’s been fantastic. The week here exposed to us what it will be like in 2026 in America and it has been great.
It’s an amazing experience just to play in this stadium but it will be different, obviously, with artificial grass but the boys, some of them play on that in clubland in Europe so remove that as an excuse, it’s the same for the opposition, it’s obviously something different but one that I expect we will do well with.
Arnie had a special word on tonight’s debutant, the giant Cameron Burgess.
Cameron has been very impressive since he has come in. I have watched him play in England a couple of weeks ago and was very impressed. He is a great guy, tall, 1.98m so a big, tall central defender.
One of the men who will lead this new generation of Socceroos is Jackson Irvine, and the midfielder is determined to make the most of his platform.
The new PFA president feels the issues he pursues are not overtly political but basic human rights that should not divide opinion.
Australia XI
The most notable name on Australia’s teamsheet is debutant Cameron Burgess. The 27-year-old bounced around England’s lower league before catching Graham Arnold’s eye during Ipswich’s recent transformation. An Olyroo during his younger years, Burgess hasn’t been around an international camp since 2016.
There’s also a welcome return for Martin Boyle, one of the most popular members of the group. The Hibernian forward was cruelly ruled out of the World Cup with a serious knee injury after being named in Arnold’s initial squad.
📋 Here is how the #Socceroos line up against Mexico, which includes an 🇦🇺 debut for Cameron Burgess 💪
— Subway Socceroos (@Socceroos) September 10, 2023
🇲🇽 v 🇦🇺 - 10.9.23 - 12:00pm AEST
📱💻📺 Live on Channel 10, 10 Play#MEXvAUS pic.twitter.com/saVBGcfuvM
Mexico XI
Stalwarts Guillermo Ochoa, Hector Herrera and Jesus Gallardo lead a strong Mexican XI into battle in Texas. Keep an eye on 22-year-old Santiago Giménez who has been scoring for fun for Feyenoord.
El Tri are ranked 12th in the world and are building towards co-hosting the 2026 World Cup alongside the USA and Canada.
Our Dallas #MEXTOUR Starting XI, Incondicionales! 🥰⚽️#VamosTodos | #SomosLocales pic.twitter.com/4Ofkw2KVcA
— Mexican National Team (@miseleccionmxEN) September 10, 2023
Preamble
Hello everybody and welcome to live coverage of Mexico v Australia from AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys, in Texas. Kick off in this international friendly is 8pm local time (12pm AEST).
It is the dawning of a new era for both these sides as El Tri and the Socceroos refocus their attentions following last year’s World Cup. Mexico begin life under new permanent head coach Jimmy Lozano, following his successful stint as a stopgap, while Australia enter their 2026 World Cup cycle with a revamped squad, lacking a host of the mainstays of recent seasons.
Mexico have been busy in 2023. This is their 13th international of the calendar year following a disappointing Nations League campaign that saw the end of Diego Cocca’s brief spell in charge, and the successful Gold Cup that cemented Lozano as his permanent replacement.
Australia, by contrast, have played only three times, twice in a week against Ecuador in March, and most recently in China against the World Champions. Who knows what’s in store today?
This is a radically different Australia to the one we’ve become accustomed to. Aaron Mooy has retired from international football, Tom Rogic’s career is in limbo, and Trent Sainsbury is on the outer. Add to that Matthew Leckie’s recent injury and the absence of the likes of Jamie Maclaren, Awer Mabil, and Bailey Wright, and you end up with a squad that will take some time to become familiar with. Only five squad members have more than 20 caps, the same number selected that have yet to make their international debut.
For Graham Arnold, this is the start of preparation proper for the interminable 2026 World Cup qualifying process that begins in November. The objective in Arlington is to unearth the new generation of Socceroos that can send Australia back to North America three years from now.
