As USA World Cup barbs fly, the Socceroos get motivated to have the final word

Australia lean into their underdog status while fans and media build hype around highly anticipated Group D match

>The poisoned words have added sizzle to the Socceroos’ clash against the USA, and underlined the Australians’ belief in their status as underdogs. Commentators have described the Socceroos as a “lay up” for the Americans. That they don’t have any good players. That they are nothing but an average team with a “smug” coach.

>USA midfielder Sebastian Berhalter – even as some teammates took a more conciliatory tone on Wednesday – chose to continue the war of words: “I think one [of this team’s core beliefs] is that we’re American. We don’t take shit.”

>It was a surprisingly aggressive contribution to the escalating hype around the match which has not often been respectful. Socceroos defender Alessandro Circati offered a simple reply to Berhalter later in the day. “I’ve got no response to that,” he said.

>“I mean, we don’t take it [shit] either. We’re just out there to play a game of football, to win, and to do our best.”

>The slandering began late last year when the USA were drawn against Australia. Former professional player and now TV pundit Mike Grella said the Socceroos represented a “lay-up” for the hosts.

>Grella addressed the backlash to his comments on Wednesday: “I’ve got tell you something, I don’t think they’ve ever been more united as a football side. If they do something in this tournament – which they won’t – if they do something in this tournament, they should make a statue of me there in Australia, because I’ve unified an entire country.”

>The barbs didn’t stop with him. Former USA player Landon Donovan also dismissed the Socceroos’ chances after the draw, and took aim at Australia’s “smug” coach. “You can get on the Qantas airplane and head back home,” he said.

>Circati, asked to offer his own adjective on Wednesday to describe Popovic, used the word “smart”. “He doesn’t let these things get to him,” the defender said. “People spoke probably about him before Turkey … and he sort of just shut them all up because we got a result.”

>The team have also been targeted by Alexi Lalas, another former USA player, who described the Socceroos as “average”. He doubled down, encouraging the Australians to use his words as motivation. “I hope that they print it out,” he said. “Make sure you spell my name correctly. I hope that it’s wallpaper all around the Australian dressing room, because they’re going to need all the help they can get.”

>Australian fans and media jumped on the comments, inflaming tensions ahead of an already a highly anticipated clash which is likely to decide the winner of Group D. Harry Kewell even weighed in, claiming he hadn’t heard of Grella even though the American had a brief stint at Kewell’s former club Leeds.

>Former Australian rugby league player Josh Mansour asked Socceroos goalkeeper Maty Ryan about the vitriol on his podcast two weeks ago. Ryan’s response was seen as controversial, even if it was offered half in jest. “I’ve heard there’s been some Americans saying comments and to be honest I have a chuckle to myself because actions speak louder than words and I try to let my football do the talking,” he said, adding he was confident Australia could beat the hosts. “Ain’t no C-word scoring against me.”

>Strictly speaking, the goalkeeper may have been right, given he lost his place to Patrick Beach. But the contributions from Ryan and Berhalter are the exception, as the players appear to be going out of their way to avoid giving their opponents any additional motivation.

>USA midfielder Tim Weah said the rhetoric from TV pundits was “nonsense” and the Australian team “has a lot of fight, a lot of grit, and a lot of hunger, just like us”. His teammate Tyler Adams addressed Grella’s comment specifically: “It’s not going to be a lay-up. If anything, it’s going to be one of the most difficult games we play.”

>Circati and USA winger Christian Pulisic are friends – both playing in Serie A. “I know him very well and I think he’s a great player,” the Australian said. “His season has been a little bit stop and start, but keeping that aside, I think he’s phenomenal.”

>The negativity towards the Socceroos has mostly been confected by broadcasters and commentators with incentives to inflame in the polarised age of social media. But there is no doubt the Socceroos go into the match as underdogs, despite their impressive victory over Turkey.

>The USA have three highly rated Premier League players in midfielder Tyler Adams (Bournemouth), defender Chris Richards (Crystal Palace) and fullback Antonee Robinson (Fulham) – while the Socceroos have none. Pulisic is at AC Milan, with teammates playing in Germany’s Bundesliga and France’s Ligue 1. By comparison, the only Australian at a top-division European club is Ryan, and he just lost his job as No 1 goalkeeper to Beach.

>After his heroics against Turkey, Beach said that whatever people say, the Socceroos know they are outsiders and that is motivation enough. “They are a great opposition, they’ve got great players, and we just don’t worry about that stuff,” he said. “We know we’re the underdogs in the minds of a lot of other people and a lot of teams, and we’re happy with that.”