The future of Socceroos captain Lucas Neill is set to be put under the microscope after the sacking of Holger Osieck as coach, with former Australian goalkeeper Mark Bosnich calling for the veteran defender to step aside.
Osieck was the obvious fall guy as Australia slumped to their second successive 6-0 loss - this time to France - just eight months out from the World Cup in Brazil.
The loss followed an identical defeat to the tournament's hosts in Brasilia last month.
Speculation was fierce Osieck was in line to lose his job heading into the friendly against France at the Parc de Princes and so swift was Osieck's dumping post-match it appeared the decision had probably been made before the fixture.
But given Australia's woeful defending in both matches, and precious little time to right a sinking ship ahead of the game's quadrennial showpiece, captain and key defender Neill is unlikely to escape scrutiny.
Post-game, Neill admitted Australia were well off the pace and said some soul searching would be required.
But Neill's mate and Fox Sports pundit Bosnich went further - the former Manchester United shotstopper calling for the veteran of 93 international appearances to call it a day.
"I have known Lucas for a long time but I wouldn't be a friend if I didn't tell him the truth ... he is a big part of the problem," Bosnich said.
"It is as simple as that. He should retire.
"He probably should have retired after he got us to the World Cup.
"Anyone who watched that game will tell you that anyone who plays next to him is going to struggle."
Former Socceroo John Kosmina agreed with Bosnich's assessment and said Australia desperately needed to find someone other than Neill to partner Rhys Williams in central defence.
After the game, a crestfallen Neill admitted Australia had dug a hole for themselves.
"Very disappointing, very frustrating," he said.
"It wasn't acceptable. We have to have a good hard look at ourselves.
"The only positive is we have eight months to get it right. We need a massive improvement.
"We are not anywhere near the level of other teams out there.
"We wanted to test ourselves and we are not coming up with the answers.
"We are all over the park. We are half a yard behind. We have to pick up our pace. We are not playing with confidence.
"At the moment, we are letting the country down."
Share
