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Former Socceroo Abbas Saad joins The Star Sportcast's T. Avineshwaran to dissect World Cup shocks, Australia's campaign and the road to 2026 glory.
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00:05Welcome back to the Star Spotscast. I'm Tiavini Swerin here. We're going to break down all the
00:10matches that has been happening over the past few weeks and now with the round of 32 ongoing,
00:15we have had some surprises. Netherlands are out, Germany are out, but the favourites are still
00:20there. France, England, Brazil and so on. And today we've got a guess that has had a stellar
00:28career, played for Australia, played for Johor, played for Singapore, won multiple trophies in
00:34Malaysia, an effervescent character, someone who speaks his mind. Today we have Abbas Saad. How are you, sir?
00:44I'm very, very good. Thank you for having me and good morning.
00:46How is it like being here in Kuala Numpur? I know you've been going for several corporate events
00:51with Fandi Ahmad, your friend. So how has it been going?
00:53It's been wonderful to come back. I love Malaysia. Malaysia is like my second home from Australia.
01:01I've been back now for about two weeks. I really enjoy talking the corporate events, doing it with
01:07Fandi. It's about football. It's something that we know very, very well and obviously a sport that we
01:14love dearly. And of course, it's wonderful to cover this great World Cup so far.
01:19How is it like speaking with the corporate people? I know because you've been so used to speaking to
01:24football as people are part of the game, but corporate people, how is it different?
01:28It's nothing different. Obviously, they're not sporting minds. I think not all of them, but there are.
01:35There's a lot of football lovers there. So obviously, when you're talking, you probably have to explain
01:41things a little bit more in detail. But no, it's great. I think the response has been absolutely
01:46superb. It's a great way for the corporates to connect, you know, and that's what business world
01:53is all about. It's all about connecting these days. And so far, myself and Fandi, we're really
01:58enjoying it. And it's just a very, very laid back occasions. You know, I know I did TV for about
02:0415
02:04years. It's definitely much different from talking live on television, but really, really enjoying it.
02:10Let's pivot to the World Cup. This year, we've got 48 teams, and for the first time ever, we have
02:15got the round of 32. We have been faced with a lot of top quality games.
02:19As you said earlier, I mean, there's been already two of the top nations knocked out in Holland and
02:24Germany, and there could be more. Almost England this morning almost went home also from Congo, a game
02:31that I really thoroughly enjoyed because it was a wonderful game end-to-end. But that's the beauty
02:37about the World Cup. When it comes to the knockout stages, there's no favourites because it's a one-off
02:42game, and you really have to perform. If you don't come with your five-star performance, then you
02:48could see yourself out. Any standout moments so far for you personally from this tournament?
02:53I think France. France frightened me yesterday. It's probably one of the best attacking
03:01performance I've seen for a long, long time. That front four, you've got Dembele on one side,
03:07you've got Barcola on the other side, Mbappe at the top, and then, my God, this Michael
03:16Olisse. I knew he was good, but I didn't think he was that good. He was absolutely unbelievable,
03:21unbelievable. But just team performance. France, I thought they were solid at the back.
03:25They were very creative in the midfield there, obviously there. And then in attack,
03:31especially in counter-attack in football, the pace that they got, the quality that they got.
03:36And the World Cup, you need that X factor. That X factor is going to win you the games because
03:42it's
03:42going to be very tight. Games are going to be very, very tight. The teams are going to be in
03:46one block
03:47defending and just hoping to counter and get you a goal. And that's the kind of players that you need.
03:52And fortunately, France has got those four on. Then they got Cherky and Duet to come on.
03:58That's an extra two. And these are all world-class players. So, so far, France's performance has been
04:04the best. And look, we haven't seen Argentina and a couple of others to come, but definitely France
04:11look very, very frightening at the moment.
04:13Very simple question. I mean, you spoke about France's quality and the way they've been performing.
04:17Even the commentator mentioned that it was flowing. The football was flowing. It was perfect.
04:23Do you think it's down to tactics or the quality of the players?
04:26The quality of the players, but also tactically, they want to play quick. The tempo has to be quick.
04:31And to break lines and to break a big block of 11 players, you've got to move the ball quickly.
04:39And that's what they're good at. But also in tight situations, when you've got the quality,
04:44it's much easier. It's easier to talk. I'm sure other countries would like to do that,
04:49but they don't have that quality. And when the ball sticks to their feet, it's very,
04:52very difficult to get the ball off them. And individually, one-on-ones, they're very,
04:56very strong. And that's what the World Cup is going to give you. And that quality,
05:01that one-on-one quality is going to be the difference. And, you know, we saw that this morning,
05:06Harry Kane, one-on-one, he was a difference. He was a difference. Norway, you've got Haaland,
05:12you give him one chance. One-on-one is a difference. The same with Messi, same with Mbappé.
05:16That's why the big players are turning up, which is great. So nobody's been asleep yet.
05:22They've all awoken. And I think, you know, it's been very, very entertaining for the world to see.
05:27Now we're going to talk about the giants that have fallen. Germany and the Netherlands,
05:32the exit has been a surprise, both through penalty shootouts. Yeah, what's your take on these two
05:40teams? Why do you think they have not been able to perform at their best? And why do you think
05:45they're out of the round of 32 instead of, you know, the upcoming stages? Well, you've got to be
05:49clinical. I've just spoken about the X factor. And I think Germany just did not have a striker.
05:56They don't have a Haaland, they don't have an Mbappé, they don't have a Kane. I mean,
05:59maybe you get a world-class striker in that German attack, then I don't think we'll be talking about
06:05their exit. And at the end of the day, you've got to perform at the top level, but you've got
06:09to
06:09execute. When you get chances, you've got to take them. They had enough chances to win two games
06:14against Paraguay, but they didn't take their chances. That's lacking that X factor quality
06:20that probably would have put them into the second round. As for Haaland, I'm not surprised because
06:25Morocco is a better team. So they've fallen to a better team. Where Germany have not fallen to a
06:30better team in Paraguay, I mean, they, to be honest with you, they probably play the least kind of
06:37football out of many teams. I mean, when they played Australia, they were horrible. I mean,
06:41they just defended and defended and defended, but they knew what they wanted at the end of the day.
06:45They wanted a draw to get them through, and they did that. So Germany did not, you know,
06:51of the possession that they had, the chances that they had. On the other game, I thought Morocco
06:57outplayed Holland, and it was the opposite. It's not the Dutch football. Dutch football is open,
07:02great football. And that's why it's called Dutch football. The whole world wants to play Dutch
07:06football. But I think Ronald Koeman got it absolutely wrong. They were too defensive.
07:11They allowed Morocco to get more possession, to create chances when they had to.
07:19And at the end of the day, they're going home. They're going home because Morocco were better
07:23than them.
07:24You spoke about Koeman, and also Julian Nagelsmann as well. There's been lots of talks that these
07:30coaches got it wrong in these matches.
07:32They did.
07:32Yeah. Your take on that, what do you think they need to do after this, with regards to
07:37how they're going to progress in future big tournaments? Do you think they should stay
07:41on, or do you think there should be changes, or do you think these coaches need to start
07:44thinking about, you know what, we have the talent, but we need to make sure that these guys
07:48are playing football, instead of just being too tactically resolute on what you want to
07:52do?
07:53Yeah, I think they're just a little bit too robotic. And when you've got class players,
07:58you've got to unleash them. Let them play. And I think that's the difference between France,
08:05say Argentina, say Portugal, even Portugal. I know they haven't performed at their level,
08:10but they play with freedom. They still create chances. They will get goals. I think with
08:16France, Deschamps lets them play. I mean, you look at them, the individual brilliance, and
08:21you let them play. I mean, that is my quality, so you've got to let me perform to that quality,
08:26where I think both coaches got it wrong. I think tactically got it wrong. They should
08:30have played probably a little bit more freedom. They had players on the bench who probably should
08:34have started the game, but they didn't. So again, it's down to which players that you
08:42start, which they didn't do the right thing for me. So do they stay in their job? No.
08:48Koeman, he'll be the first one I'd get rid of, because that is just horrible. That tactics
08:53was horrible against Morocco, and I think the whole world is talking about it. I think every
08:57ex-player and every Dutch player would be happy for him to move on. Same with Nagelsmann.
09:03I think I'd love to see Klopp. I really would love to see Jürgen Klopp take over the German
09:08team and play that free-flowing football that he had under him at Borussia Dortmund and at
09:13Liverpool. And I think that would probably suit the German players, because they've got
09:17some quality. They've got some quality. But at the end of the day, as we said earlier,
09:21they've only got themselves to blame, because I don't think they played up to their level.
09:27Was it the coach? Was it tactics? Probably a combination of both.
09:31What about Paraguay? Do you think they can go all the way with them?
09:34No, I don't think so. I think their luck will probably stop in the next game.
09:41They've ridden their luck in the last two games. Australia should have beaten them.
09:45And obviously Germany should have beaten them. And on both occasions, they've gotten away
09:49with a draw, obviously winning on penalties on the other one.
09:53I think that little bit of class has got to sort of come through. And the next team that
10:01I think they play, it's going to be difficult for them. So look, they've done absolutely
10:05unbelievable to get where they are. I mean, to get to the round of 16s, I mean, kudos to
10:10them. And they should be proud of their performance so far.
10:13Now we're going to talk about the Socceroos. They're going to face Egypt in Dallas on July
10:183rd. How do you see the game going and what do you think Tony Popovich needs to do to
10:22ensure that what happened at the group stage? Because they had a really good start then
10:26after the momentum was a bit wavering. But for this game against the Egyptians who are
10:30led by Hossam Hassan, how do you see the game going? And yeah, what are Australia's chances?
10:35Yeah, Tony's got to get his line-up right, his tactics right. He got it spot on in the
10:40first one against Turkey. Soak and punish on the counter. And we did that very, very
10:47well, even though we didn't get much possession. But you've got to defend well. But also when
10:52you get the chances, you've got to score, which we did. And I thought tactically he got
10:57it right. I thought the players he had on the park he picked was right. Second game, I thought
11:03he got it horribly wrong. And it showed. And we didn't get it right. Yeah. Third game, I thought
11:10he got it right. And we were unlucky not to beat Paraguay. So it's all about his selection.
11:16Look, it's a do or die. So you've got to, if your best players are available, you've got
11:21to play them. I always believe in that. So I'm a coach. So if my best players are available,
11:27I'm going to play them. Okay. So I've got to believe that they can do the job. It'll be
11:32a tough game. Egypt is a very good team, especially in attack with Marmush and Salah and you've got
11:38Tregeguet. They've got players who can score goals, but they've got some deficiency at the
11:44back. And I think this is where our strengths are with, obviously, Urukunda. You've got
11:49Metcalf. You've got Toure. So you've got Volpado now. Young Volpado is coming into the scene.
11:55So we've got players who can score goals. I honestly feel the team that defends better
12:02will win. Both teams got attacks who can hurt the defence. And I believe that we've got
12:10better defenders with Suta and Co at the back, better than Egypt. So I'm tipping us to win.
12:17I'm tipping us to go to round 16 and again face Argentina like we did in the last World
12:22Cup.
12:23So physicality is going to be a factor?
12:24Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. And we've got some big boys at the back. We've got Burgess
12:30and you've got Harry Suta. You've got Cercati is doing very, very well. Our wingbacks, we've
12:37got quick wingbacks. They're strong. They're fit. And I think our engineering has been very
12:42good. O'Neill for us, he's been superb. Young O'Conn, who I played with his dad with Australia,
12:47he's been a revelation. And of course, the speed. And this World Cup, the speed has been
12:54the difference. You look at France with their speed. You look at this morning with England
13:00with their speed. You look at Congo with their speed. They're causing problem. And Australia
13:05have got that. And so has Egypt. Don't forget, Egypt has got that quality up front. So I think
13:12overall, I think Australia might be a little bit better than Egypt. So I am tipping Australia.
13:18Now, the bigger picture, I mean, just now you mentioned about France being the favourites
13:22and so on. What about the other teams? How do you see teams like England, Brazil, even Norway
13:28doing in the round of 16? How do you think that would go?
13:31Yeah, look, Brazil, I think, is starting to get their game now. I feel sorry for Japan. I really
13:41picked Japan to go all the way, nearly up to the semi-final. But just the draw, every
13:47time they draw, they could have won the game. They played very well. And they should be proud
13:52of their effort, Japan. Brazil, I can't see Brazil winning, to be honest with you. I really
13:57can't. I just don't see enough creativity in that Brazilian team. I think they're relying
14:01too much on Vinicius up front. When Vinicius plays well, yeah, they got a chance. We've spoken
14:09about those X-factor players. Well, he's definitely an X-factor. But how many X-factors have they
14:14got apart from Vinicius? No one. They had Rafinha, but he's been injured. So they're the two X-factors
14:20that they've got. I think it's an aging team. I think it's an old team. There's just too
14:25many old players and not too many creative players. So it's not the Brazil of old that
14:30we all love. I mean, we all grew up loving Brazil. And I think the whole world wants to play
14:34like Brazil. But Brazil is probably not one there. Norway, I think they've done well to
14:41get where they are. Let's see how they go the next round. I can't see them going past
14:46the next one. Then you look at England. England on their day, they got world-class players and
14:53they showed it there. They can go far, but they've got to meet up. I think the big dogs have
14:59got to
14:59meet up, I think, in the quarter-final. The other one is France. I think France has got a tough
15:04run.
15:06I think Spain could be the obstacle. That was my favourite, actually. So my favourite was Spain
15:12and then France. So they were probably my two favourites. But I think they've got to meet up
15:15in the semi-finals, I believe, if they can get through the round of 16s in the quarter-final.
15:22So that's the obstacle, I think, for France. And so I think the winner out of France in Spain
15:27will go all the way and win the World Cup. England will face Mexico and many have spoken
15:32about how is it like playing in the Azteca, basically a call turn. A lot of English pundits
15:38and fans have said that it's not going to be an easy task for the English players. But
15:42what do you think needs to be done by England to ensure they get a result against Mexico? And do
15:48you
15:48think if they beat Mexico, they can actually go all the way to the final? And a lot has been
15:54spoken about some players that have not been performing. Yeah. What do you think you need
15:58to do to...? I think they need to up their game. At the moment, they're playing in stages. They
16:07play great for 15, 20 minutes and then they sort of disappear. So you've got to be consistent. Football
16:13is about consistency. And to win a tournament, you've got to be consistently good the whole tournament,
16:19pretty much, you know, or every game and to win those games. And at the moment, I mean,
16:24even this morning's game, they were second best probably against Congo in the first half. Second
16:29half, they up, they up the intensity, they up their game and they started to play a little bit more
16:35free
16:35with a little bit more freedom and they created chances a little bit more. Look, on their day,
16:40when they do that, I think as a team, they can be very, very dangerous. Can they go all the
16:46way to the
16:46final? Well, they've got to beat a lot of good teams. They've got to meet a lot of good teams
16:50along the way to get to the final. They probably will beat Mexico. I don't think it's going to be
16:57an easy game. I agree with you. I think Mexico with the whole country behind them, they're not an easy
17:04team. And they've got some dangerous players, Mexico. But I just feel England's got a little bit more
17:13quality going forward than Mexico. And I think that's where the difference is going to be,
17:17you know. Harry Kane's been amazing for them. And like I said to you, you've got Saka, you've got
17:22Gordon, you've got Rashford, you've got Meduiki, you've got Bellingham. And the list goes on,
17:27you know. I mean, he brought Eze on. I mean, Eze is one of the best players in the Premier
17:31League
17:31and he can't get in the starting lineup. So you see the quality there. And it's just that extra quality
17:37could be the difference, I think, against Mexico. Who is going to lift the World Cup?
17:43I still think it's going to be France. If they can get past Spain. So like I said to you,
17:48the winner out of France and Spain, I think we'll lift it. Sir, it's been an absolute pleasure talking
17:54to you. Learned a lot from you. Amazing insights. And I hope you will enjoy the rest of the World
17:59Cup
17:59fixtures and also the kicks that you're going to have in Malaysia with another legendary player,
18:04Fendi Ahmed. So thank you for being part of this show. Thank you. And thank you to the staff for
18:09for having me. It's always a pleasure coming back and really appreciate, you know, all the articles
18:15that you guys have written about me and my teams over the years. You know, I've made some great friends
18:20from a lot of great journalists that's been part of the star here. And I wish you guys all the
18:28best and
18:28continue doing the great work covering, not only the World Cup, but continue doing great work covering
18:34local football because I think Malaysian football needs some, needs some, a lot of positivity,
18:41a lot of positivity. I think from, from, from the journalists these days and try and pick, pick
18:48things up and hopefully, you know, big improvement along the way. Thank you. Thank you so much.
18:53That's it for episode seven of the stars podcast.
18:56The games are continuing. Please do watch them. Also subscribe to our podcast. That's about it. Ciao.
19:04Ciao.
19:05Ciao.
19:10You