Down but not out: Socceroos take heart from positives in defeat to USA | Jack Snape

Australia’s fate will be set after their final group game against Paraguay but there were some reasons for cheer from the performance in Seattle

The Socceroos are down, but they are not out. The 2-0 defeat to the USA was a sudden comedown after the glories of the previous week, a deflating diversion from a previously promising North American adventure.

Forty-five minutes, however, does not ruin a promising World Cup campaign. The second half revival in Seattle, when the Socceroos matched and pressured the hosts – even if their opponents might have eased off the accelerator – provided a blueprint for the Socceroos ahead of their match against Paraguay in San Francisco on Thursday (Friday AEST).