Socceroo on the verge of a glamour European move? He's heard the noise
BERKELEY: Socceroos star Jordan Bos has declared there’ll be no respect for Mo Salah on the field and played a straight bat to questions around his future amid his rapid rise.
Bos’ talents had already been a talking point heading into the World Cup after impressing at Feyenoord.
Jordan Bos and the Socceroos celebrate after their draw with Paraguay secured a place in the World Cup knockout stage. Getty Images
The plaudits kept coming for the wing-back after his performance against Paraguay in the final group match.
Teammate Milos Degenek went as far as saying Bos is in the “top five left backs for his age” and believes he’s one of the best Australia has ever produced.
Bos’ current club are no mugs, having finished second last season in the Eredivisie and qualified for the Champions League.
However, even bigger clubs could come in with Craig Foster saying on Stan Sport’s Added Time that he and Lucas Herrington “can play for any club in the world”.
Bos was playing a straight back when asked by media in Socceroos camp.
“I’m not too worried about, and not thinking too much about it. I’m just living in the moment and trying to do my best for the country and whatever happens, happens,” he said.
“Right now, it’s not on my mind at all.”
As for Degenek’s comment, Bos could only smirk when it was recited to him.
“I saw that and it’s obviously nice to hear, I’m not too sure how factual it is at the moment,” he said.
“He’s really had my back all throughout my career at the Socceroos, he’s been so supportive of me and believes so much in me. It’s nice he says stuff like that.”
How Bos will play against Egypt will be interesting considering he was picked on the right instead of the left against Paraguay due to Jacob Italiano’s injury.
His performance gave no reason for that to change, but predicting Tony Popovic’s starting side has been an impossible task throughout the World Cup.
Bos is unlikely to be marking Egypt’s star Mo Salah during the match considering the 34-year-old has been playing in the centre of the attack throughout the tournament.
Mo Salah battles for the ball with Iran’s Ali Nemati. AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson
Asked about the balance of respecting Salah’s ability while trying to get the better of him, Bos confirmed none of his teammates will be star struck.
“Obviously Mo Salah’s a top player and been at the top for a very long time and we’ll definitely have to look at how we stop him and Egypt,” he said.
“Off the field there’s some respect but on the field there’s no respect. It will be even and that’s how everyone goes into the game and that’s how I go into the game.”
If Popovic goes with the same combination on the right, it will give the chance for Bos and Cristian Volpato to join forces again after a dangerous showing against Paraguay.
The wing-back explained their connection is “free-flowing” more so than meticulously planned.
“We didn’t really discuss anything ... it was easy to play with him, we had a good connection on the field,” he said.
Volpato himself said in the mixed zone after the Paraguay match that he had a lot to improve on despite looking like Australia’s biggest weapon in attack.
Bos thought the winger was being hard on himself.
“If he said he wasn’t happy with his performance, I’m not too sure why he’d say that, he played a great game and if there’s more to come, I look forward to it,” he said.
