Socceroos assistant boss Rene Meulensteen has hailed Tom Rogic for the Celtic star’s role in Australia winning a World Cup qualifier with Vietnam, via quotes by the Glasgow Times.
Rogic scored in the second-minute of first-half stoppage-time to double Graham Arnold’s side’s lead on Thursday. Jamie Maclaren opened the scoring in the Group B tie, while Craig Goodwin and Riley McGree later stretched the scoreline.
The result kept Australia in third-place but within three-points of leaders Saudi Arabia. They are also one-point behind Japan in second, while six clear of fourth-place Oman after the first seven games. Saudi Arabia and Oman play an eighth fixture on Thursday evening.
Rogic now has nine goals and four assists in 53 Australia caps, as the Celtic ace continues a lively campaign. He has three goals and created a further nine over 31 outings under ex-Socceroos boss Ange Postecoglou. Each goal and six assists came in Premiership games.
Meulensteen hails Celtic ace Rogic for role in Australia win
Celtic ace Rogic thrilled Australia assistant coach Meulensteen with his efforts to help beat Vietnam on Thursday. As well as scoring the Socceroos’ second, the 29-year-old provided the assist for Maclaren to break the deadlock.
But former Fulham manager Meulensteen felt Rogic’s presence on the pitch offered more than just his goal involvements. Instead, the midfielder was the metronome that made Arnold’s side tick in search of securing second-place and an automatic qualification spot.
“There were a lot of outstanding performances but Tommy was certainly one of them,” Meulensteen said. “A well deserved to be Man of the Match.
“He was an enormous driving force for us, he picked up the right positions for us to play through the lines and he’s got that skill, ability and intelligence to find those clever passes to get in behind, to set it up.
“He really illustrated that, especially in the goal that he scored. It was an outstanding performance from him all around and that’s what you want from players of that calibre. They are the difference makers for us and he certainly did that.”
Australia play Oman on Tuesday before crucial World Cup qualifiers with Japan and Saudi Arabia in March. Arnold and Meulensteen will expect further key performances from Rogic as long as the Celtic star is available.
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