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A 20-year-old rising star put his name up in lights with a standout performance against Argentina, despite the Socceroos falling to a 2-0 defeat to the reigning World Cup champions.
Meanwhile, a 26-year-old defender impressed despite playing just 17 minutes off the bench in his second international game – and after missing out on the 2022 World Cup squad, he could be in line for more minutes in the future.
Here’s how every Australian performed in the huge international friendly in Beijing.
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Mat Ryan: 5
There was nothing he could to stop Messi’s second-minute goal except pick the ball out the back of his net, while it would have taken something special to deny the second goal.
But Ryan raced off his line well in the 36th minute to intercept a pinpoint Messi through ball just before an on-rushing attacker, and made a number of strong saves to keep the scoreline more than respectable.
There were some minor concerns, however, with some wayward passing and once or twice struggling to judge or clear crosses.
In previous years, reports from England claimed that Premier League teams viewed Ryan as having a weakness against crosses.
But it has not been a typical issue in international matches for the green and gold gloveman (though he was decked out in lavender in Beijing).
And he was certainly not at fault for the two goals, while he saved what could easily have been a third goal with a sublime stop from Julian Alvarez.
Jordan Bos: 7.5
It was a standout performance from the 20-year-old in just his second cap, with his first half effort particularly impressive.
If Aziz Behich’s marauding runs were the highlight from an Australian point of view in the December meeting with Argentina, Bos did his finest impersonation in Beijing.
In many ways, this game felt like a changing of the guard at left back. With Behich absent, Bos was solid in defence and attack, and looks set to be the long-term solution at the position.
No Australian won more tackles or duels.
He played some sublime passes and crosses, with a team-high 73 touches, and charged forwards with the ball with youthful exuberance – even if that meant taking a touch too many once or twice, or a poor shot when other options were probably stronger.
Better decision-making in the final third will come with experience, and there’s no doubt after tonight that more minutes in the green and gold are coming.
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Nathaniel Atkinson: 4
Atkinson finished his season at Hearts in Scotland in good form, but Argentina’s dangerous front line posed a much sterner test – and he was caught out at times.
The right-back had a rather difficult night, particularly against dangerous Fiorentina attacker Nicolás González.
He didn’t have much an impact going forward – making just 27 touches in his 73 minutes, although his passing was safe and secure. Much of that was down to the strategy of allowing Bos to use his attacking skills, with the other defenders shifting to cover him – therefore keeping Atkinson in a more defensive-minded role.
Atkinson was unlucky to earn a yellow card for a fine slide tackle early in the second half, but made a number of solid challenges – particularly when he halted a charging Alexis Mac Allister in the first half-hour.
Harry Souttar: 4.5
He struggled early on – perhaps reflecting his lack of recent game time at Leicester – but grew into the game, like most of his teammates.
He made a team-high four interceptions and was typically strong in the air, but did have a handful of tough moments – like in first-half stoppage time, when Souttar’s attempt to nab the ball from Alexis Mac Allister saw the Aussie left sprawling on the ground by the Argentine midfielder.
However, Souttar continues to forge a good combination with Kye Rowles, often perfectly timing his covering runs for the fellow centre-back.
A perfect example of that came seven minutes into the second half when Souttar made a sublime touch with an outstretched leg to stop Angel Di Maria getting on the end of a long route-one ball and having a one-on-one in the Australian area.
And Souttar showed some fine footwork belying his immense size to dribble out of significant trouble three minutes later.
Kye Rowles: 4.5
In short, Kye Rowles received a footballing lesson from the greatest of all time.
Messi curled the opening shot around Rowles’ attempted block in the second minute – though it would be rather harsh to say the Aussie should have done better.
But he was utterly caught out by the superstar later in the opening half when Messi perfectly timed a run behind the backline and left Rowles for dead, only for Messi to overhit his chip shot.
Rowles was humbled in the 79th minute again by Messi, who turned and jinked past the Australian more than once despite Rowles’ desperate – and illegal – attempts to restrain him.
But Rowles is far from the first to be on the wrong side of a harsh lesson from the diminutive legend – who has made the world’s best look silly time and again in his career.
Even so, there were still plenty of positives!
Rowles had 73 touches (equal team-high), both attempting and completing more passes than any other Aussies at 96.9 per cent accuracy. He added a pair of tackles and clearances as well as an interception.
MIDFIELD
Aiden O’Neill: 5.5
It was a solid but unspectacular effort from the midfielder, who signed for Belgian club Standard Liege in recent days.
The 24-year-old was dependable with his distribution, completing 92.1 per cent of his 63 passes. But he struggled to have an impact on defence, losing all three of his duels. He desperately attempted to shut down Messi before the opening goal, but was flummoxed by the tricky Argentine and left red-faced on the grass.
In the first half, he lost the ball a little too frequently by trying to run through the central channels – something that was a key issue early on, with the Socceroos struggling to maintain possession.
But O’Neill settled as the game wore on and put in a very strong shift in what was just his third cap, before being taken off after 63 minutes.
Keanu Baccus: 5
Baccus fouled an opponent in the first 30 seconds of the match, setting the tone for a physical and tough contest where the referee put away his whistle for much of the match.
The midfielder was Australia’s most fiery player, and he constantly toed the line between aggression and losing control but never quite stepped over it.
He passed well, tackled hard – sometimes too hard – and picked up an interception, and his tough approach was key to Australia’s period of dominance after the opening 15 minutes.
Mathew Leckie: 4.5
It would be incredibly harsh to judge Leckie’s performance on his role in the match’s biggest moment, for it was he who slipped to the ground and gave Argentina the ball that led to the early goal.
But he was one of Australia’s more impressive players in the first half, doing plenty to inspire his younger teammates with his intensity. But his passing was a little sloppy and he failed to make much impact in the final third.
He also made another a poor mistake late in the first half to give away the ball and gift Argentina another strong chance, and faded after halftime.
He was kept quieter than McGree on the other flank, and was taken off after 73 minutes after his second-half shift to centre-forward did not pay off.
Riley McGree: 6
It was a classy performance from the in-form attacking midfielder, fresh off a strong season with Championship side Middlesbrough. Playing out wide, his movement was exceptional, making incisive runs into space and stretching the defence.
He combined well down the left flank with Bos and put in some good crosses before being taken off after 73 minutes.
STRIKERS
Jamie Maclaren: 3
The Melbourne City striker was starting his first game for Australia since starting against Oman in February of last year.
But after another sensational domestic season where he netted 24 league goals, chances were far harder to come by against the world champs and Maclaren had a very quiet night. He took just one shot, a bold first-time volley that went backwards.
With Australia playing with dual strikers, Maclaren was attempting to run off the back of target man Mitch Duke. The strategy did not quite work out, with Maclaren making just 10 touches including four made passes before being taken off at halftime.
He worked hard defensively with some intelligent pressing and made a couple of tackles.
Mitchell Duke: 3
Duke is a tireless and selfless worker, throwing his body about to win the ball for his teammates. But he wasn’t at his best in that department in this game – struggling as he battled for the ball and winning just one of eight duels.
He managed 12 pass attempts at 58.3 per cent completion. While it is not unusual for Duke to make few passes and have a low accuracy – as a hold-up man when the Socceroos tried long balls to play out of trouble – both stats were well below his best.
And in the end, strikers are judged most of all on their work in front of goals, and Duke missed an absolute sitter. From just outside the six-yard box and right in front, having got in front of his defender, he simply had to score.
He was taken off after 63 minutes.
SUBSTITUTES
Ajdin Hrustic: 5.5
Had a solid performance after replacing Maclaren at halftime, with 37 touches in his 45 minutes.
He was comfortable on the ball and frustrated Argentina’s defenders, winning three fouls – a team-high despite playing just the second half.
He made 27 passes at a fine rate of 88.9 per cent accuracy, but his crossing was sometimes wayward.
Nevertheless, playing in a wider position than usual showed his flexibility and he had strong moments.
Denis Genreau: 4.5
Genreau was oh-so-lucky that his first touch in the game didn’t lead to a Messi free-kick goal, after fouling the maestro just outside Australia’s area. However, the resulting attempt did go out for a corner, and Argentina scored from that corner. It wasn’t a great start, and the game certainly changed from there – and with substitutes coming thick and fast from both teams. Genreau failed to assert himself on the game, with his passing wayward at times under pressure.
Brandon Borrello: 4.5
Replacing Duke, Borrello played a very similar style of game – throwing himself about with great physicality and winning a couple of fouls in the process. He never had a sight at goal – nor a touch in the final third – but was dependable elsewhere.
Alexander Robertson: 4
He had very little impact in his 17 minutes, besides a speculative long-range shot – and was brushed repeatedly by Messi when he tried to grab the legend’s No.10 shirt at full-time.
Connor Metcalfe: 4
Like Robertson, struggled to find a way into the game.
Ryan Strain: 6.5
There were plenty of promising signs from his brief time on the field, in what was his second cap for the Australian side.
He won all four of his duels, made two clearances – the most of any Aussie outfielder – and nabbed an interception.
Perhaps it was the slower pace of the game after the substitutions and the second goal seemed to seal the result, but he injected himself into the match with great intensity and got on the ball with far more regularity than the man he replaced.
He had 22 touches in 17 minutes, compared to Atkinson’s 27 in 73 minutes.
26-year-old Strain passed well and looked lively, and could well have done enough to earn a start in the future.
After missing out on the World Cup and being left on the bench against Ecuador earlier this year, it was the perfect reminder to Arnold that he can contribute to the side.
