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After being announced at 4pm (AEDT) on Tuesday afternoon, Graham Arnold's final selection of the 26 players chosen to represent Australia at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar was subject to much debate both in the media and in fan circles across the country.
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SBS Commentary team discuss Socceroos World Cup squad announcement
One hour after the official announcement of the Socceroos squad, the SBS World Cup commentary panel took to Facebook Live to share their thoughts and opinions about the players who were either included or excluded from the team, and whether Arnold ultimately made the right call on who to take to Qatar.
Bosnich and Aloisi provided a detailed breakdown of the Australian squad with the latter unsure if the selection of the inexperienced Garang Kuol was the right one for the burgeoning star's development.
"[It's] exciting because I saw it first-hand last week, Garang Kuol and [Jason] Cuminngs, and look, they're in great form, there's no doubt it," Aloisi said.
"Is it too early for Kuol? That's the question mark about that, because he hasn't started a game for the Mariners in the A-League [Men] and we know his impact and his ability - he's an exciting talent and I know he's going to be a great player.
"But this is the World Cup. Is it time to experiment? Is it time to pick the players that are playing that are in form? We know the impact that he can make off the bench so, Arnie knows that and that's why he's gone with him."
There were some big-name omissions from Australia's World Cup squad including Tom Rogic, Trent Sainsbury, Adam Taggart and Mitch Langerak.
It was the non-selection of Langerak which stood out to former Socceroos and Manchester United goalkeeper, Bosnich.
"Let's talk about [his] form, first and foremost," Bosnich said.
"Nagoya [Grampus] ended up finishing eighth in the J-League this season but their defensive record was as good as the team that was top of the league and that was Kevin Muscat's Yokohama F. Marinos.
"He's picked up award after award, whether it be from clean sheets or so forth. I was really shocked he missed out, to be honest.
"I had a few phone calls from people and I was like, well let's just wait until 4 pm because I really thought it was going to be a straight battle between both Mitch and Maty Ryan for that number one spot in the opening game considering Maty Ryan hasn't played for some time. He's also picked up an injury for FC Copenhagen - he wasn't even on the bench on the weekend."
Meanwhile, Aloisi expressed mixed emotions towards Arnold's selection of midfielders, praising the selection of Scottish Premier League trio Aaron Mooy, Keanu Baccus and Cameron Devlin, but lamented the absence of Tom Rogic, who has not appeared for the Socceroos since June.
"Cam Devlin's that type of player, that he gives you energy in the midfield," Aloisi said.
"Baccus has got legs as well in there. It's great that [Ajdin] Hrustic is back from injury, he's playing in Italy.
"I was a little bit surprised Rogic didn't get selected. I know that he pulled out of the last qualifier. I know that he had some sort of issues, but it would have been nice to have a little bit more experience in the midfield. Jackson Irvine's been doing well in Germany and so is Riley McGree (Middlesbrough), who I rate very highly.
"So, they've still got legs in there, and I think that's what Arnie's looking for, he's looking for players who have legs because we might not have a lot of the ball against France or Denmark, so he wants players who are going to be able to run, to win the tackles 9in the midfield, be aggressive without the ball, so it's important and I think that's the reason why he's got those players in there."
Former Premier League shot-stopper Bosnich also shared what he thinks is Australia's best chance of getting out of the group stage.
"I think the important thing is not to get beaten too heavily by France in that opening game," Bosnich said.
"If we get a point or we get a win, which would be absolutely amazing, brilliant, the most important thing is not to get beaten too heavily.
"And then, I do believe that Tunisia is beatable, and if we can go into that last game needing something out of that last game, a team normally takes on the character of the manager that it's playing under. In Graham Arnold, he likes to be the underdog and we saw how that worked in their favour in that play-off against Peru.
"From the start of the tournament, I give them half a chance but if we can go into that game, the final game against Denmark needing something, I believe that half a chance will turn into a full chance. Then, they'll have every opportunity to make history and emulate John Aloisi and the boys from 2006.
"So if you want to say about mapping out how's best to go about it [for the Socceroos], that's how I'd be feeling."
