Socceroos player ratings for the World Cup

Mathew Ryan – 7/10 Ryan was one player tipped to keep his side in contests against Chile, Holland and Spain. That didn’t happen, with three goals going past him in each match. But Ryan was able to demonstrate what makes him such an excellent modern goalkeeper – sweeping in behind his defence well and distributing excellently.

Ivan Franjic – 6 An injury meant Franjic’s tournament came to an end just 47 minutes after it started against Chile. His short contribution will be remembered for his brilliant assist for Tim Cahill’s goal – regaining possession before crossing perfectly. It will also be remembered for his lack of defensive awareness in the build up to Chile’s second goal – tracking Eduardo Vargas inside when he should have passed on responsibility to Alex Wilkinson.

Ryan McGowan – 5 Assisted Cahill’s brilliant goal against Holland, but can’t take much of the credit. In the first-half against Holland he looked solid, helping to shut down Dutch wingback Daley Blind. But when he was faced with wingers, in the second half against Holland and against Spain, he did not look comfortable at right-back.

Alex Wilkinson – 5 Contributed against Spain with some timely interceptions and challenges but felt the wrath of Matthew Spiranovic after he failed to close down the pass across the box. He was left exposed by Mark Bresciano’s square pass in the lead up to Arjen Robben’s goal and, even though he tried, he couldn’t drag the attacker to ground and was caught out as a result.

Matthew Spiranovic – 7 Spiranovic was Australia’s best defender at the World Cup and is such an elegant player to watch. He is another that would have caught the eye of scouts, who would have been impressed with how he glides around the pitch and his ease on the ball.

Jason Davidson – 7 Davidson coped admirably against Chile, where he had to deal with Alexis Sanchez and also the overlapping runs of fullback Mauricio Isla. Left-back has been a difficult position to fill for the Socceroos but Davidson gave a good account of himself and fits Postecoglou’s mould of full-backs. He still needs more experience though, and was twice caught out keeping an attacker onside in the build up to goals.

Mile Jedinak – 7 Kept his passing simple, broke the play up, was a presence in midfield and scored a penalty. Left his mark on a few players with some agricultural challenges but was smart in keeping Wesley Sneijder quiet for the first half against Holland. A solid tournament from the captain.

Mark Milligan – 6 When faced with a tricky task against Chile, Milligan moved forward to close down Chile’s central midfielders and this left space for the ‘False 9’ Jorge Valdivia. Suffered an injury and played no further part in the tournament.

Mark Bresciano – 7 Such a talented player, Bresciano will be disappointed he didn’t score at least once after breaking onto the end of three Mathew Leckie cutbacks. Played with a knock against Holland and was guilty of playing a square pass which was intercepted in the build up to the first goal but made a noticeable difference to Australia’s midfield when he was on the pitch.

Matt McKay – 7 Came into the team against Holland for the injured Milligan and his energetic pressing prevented Dutch midfielder Jonathan De Guzman from facing forward in possession. He was good on the ball, broke into the box and won back possession before feeding the ball to Tommy Oar for a glorious opportunity at 2-2.

Oliver Bozanic – 6 One of his first involvements in World Cup football was to win a penalty against Holland and in that match, coming on as a substitute, Bozanic did well to keep things tidy in midfield. He again looked neat against Spain but came off for Bresciano as Australia chased the game.

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Mathew Leckie – 9 Leckie’s explosive acceleration and direct running made him Australia’s standout player in Brazil. He has added precision to his pace with his time in Europe and put in a number of dangerous crosses to Cahill, as well as teeing up Bresciano with three fantastic cut backs. His defensive contribution against Holland would have also caught the eye of scouts.

Ben Halloran – 6 Halloran has pace to burn but still needs to add more subtlety to his game. Experience will help with that, and his three substitute appearances at a World Cup won’t hurt. Had more of an impact in the second half than Adam Taggart (who he replaced) did in the first against Spain but struggled to create anything of note.

Tommy Oar – 6 How different it could have been for Australia had Oar had just a little bit more composure against Holland. At 2-2 and at a tight angle to shoot from, Oar whipped the ball across goal for Leckie, but rather than it being to his feet or to his head, it was to neither and a glorious opportunity went begging. Holland scored the winner 25 seconds later.

James Troisi – 5 Troisi’s two appearances came as second half substitutes and, with Australia trailing in both, it felt like he was forcing the play too much. He added energy and movement to the side but touches slipped under his boots, passes were overplayed and, against Spain, he adventurously attempted a long range shot which wasn’t on.

Tim Cahill – 8 Two appearances, two goals – including, arguably, the goal of the tournament against Holland. Cahill’s physical presence caused Chile’s short defence problems who resorted to grabbing at his shirt, although Cahill was also guilty of that. Apart from his goal against Chile, he had another one chalked off for offside and it was his overenthusiasm in defence which eventually meant he was suspended for Australia’s match against Spain.

Adam Taggart – 5 Taggart struggled to work himself into the game off the bench against Holland. Continually slipping over at inopportune moments, he was substituted at half time against Spain but getting on the pitch will be a great experience for the young striker.

Ange Postecoglou – 8 Many Australians are pleased their country has been able exceed expectations in Brazil. While not picking up a point, the 3-1 scoreline against Chile was not a true reflection of the match and the Socceroos dominated the first half against Holland. But this attitude sums up Postecoglou’s greatest achievement so far – he is not happy and the players know they can do better. “Ultimately we’ve come here and we we’ve lost all three games – we haven’t got the results we wanted,” Postecoglou said after the match against Spain. Having already quickly changed the style of play and mindset of the players, Postecoglou still isn’t satisfied. That speaks volumes for him as a coach and as a leader.