Negative result, positive outlook: Why this was the loss the Socceroos had to have

May 31, 2026 — 5:30pm

You have reached your maximum number of saved items.

Remove items from your saved list to add more.

Pasadena: Think of it as the loss the Socceroos had to have. A bunch of cobwebs blown out in front of nearly 80,000 people; a character-building experience that, hopefully, will be remembered as the making of their 2026 World Cup campaign.

There is never a good time to feel “anxious and nervous”, as coach Tony Popovic conceded his players were in the first half of Australia’s 1-0 loss to Mexico, but two weeks before the World Cup is a lot better time than during it.

Such is the excitement about this evolving playing group under Popovic, it is easy to forget that some of them have not been around very long. Five members of the Socceroos’ starting XI were aged 24 or younger; one of them, defender Lucas Herrington, is still only 18. They would have all been fretting about whether they are in Popovic’s final 26-player World Cup squad, due to be unveiled on Monday, and determined not to do anything stupid to jeopardise their hopes.

They didn’t know what it was like to play a team like Mexico, a........

© WA Today