Tony Popovic admits selection gamble paid off after Australia's shock World Cup win

[p]The Socceroos boss surprised many by playing [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/beach-patrick/d6MmYtl5/"]Beach[/a] in ‌place of regular captain [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ryan-mathew/YBLvziIh/"]Mat Ryan[/a], also leaving veteran ‌midfielder [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/irvine-jackson/SvwMecZH/"]Jackson Irvine[/a] on the bench.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/popovic-tony/ttgVDVCA/"]Popovic's [/a]faith in Beach was rewarded with ‌an assured display from the Melbourne City keeper, who produced ‌a string of saves on the rare occasions [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/turkey/QeijuHo5/"]Turkey[/a] penetrated [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/australia/xSrf6qMM/"]Australia[/a]'s defensive wall.[/p][embed guid="fd3a40de-2f3e-4005-85bb-f53b2d16bd47" url="https://x.com/FIFAWorldCup/status/2066039179713077727" social-type="twitter" /][p]Irvine's replacement [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/okon-engstler-paul/2TYezBuo/"]Paul Okon-Engstler[/a] also impressed, playing in Irankunda to give Australia a ‌lead they defended resolutely before [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/metcalfe-connor/zqXaHPUa/"]Connor Metcalfe[/a] doubled ⁠it 15 minutes from time.[/p][p]Popovic, ‌however, dismissed any suggestion that picking Beach or Okon-Engstler was a left-field ​choice.[/p][p][b]"They may be shocks for a lot of people, but not shocks within our playing group or staff because ​we're all working together every day and we can see the quality of these young boys,"[/b] he told reporters.[/p][p]"It's a team ⁠selected to perform well. ​You never know the result, of course, we're at a World Cup, but for me it's the performance – it's not the result ... regardless of the result, it was the right decision."[/p][embed guid="0f456bf5-0443-493f-b010-990e07c9c31d" url="https://x.com/Socceroos/status/2066047980441149631" social-type="twitter" /][p]Popovic, who this week ‌signed a contract extension to continue until the Asian Cup in 2027, also said the best was yet to come from his young charges.[/p][p][b]"Their ceiling, they're nowhere near it because they're a young group with no experience at a World Cup, very limited experience playing for their national team," [/b]he said.[/p][p]"Their ceiling should come in four or eight years really, most of these boys."[/p][p]Popovic then turned his focus back to Australia's next match against co-hosts ‌the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/usa/fuitL4CF/"]United States[/a], a game in which a win could ​well secure top spot in Group D.[/p][p]He said he did ‌not care if the Socceroos' victory over Turkey would prompt more respect from opponents.[/p][p][b]"I don't know, nor am I concerned about that," [/b]he added.[/p][p]"Maybe the perception changes slightly because we've beaten Turkey, a big nation ... but we've still got a lot ⁠of work to do ⁠and we've got to move ‌on to the U.S. game."[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/australia-xSrf6qMM/turkey-7s-QeijuHo5/?mid=nLNXPs35"]Check out the match stats here[/a][/b].[/p]