Australia head coach Ange Postecoglou insists Celtic playmaker Tom Rogic deserves as much hype as England and Manchester United sensation Marcus Rashford.
Rogic and one-time St Mirren midfielder Aaron Mooy more than held their own on Friday against the likes of Danny Drinkwater, Jordan Henderson and Jack Wilshire as the Socceroos went down to a narrow 2-1 friendly defeat to England at the Stadium of Light, with teenager Rashford and Wayne Rooney sharing the goals.
But Postecoglou insists Rogic, who has been linked with Arsenal, Valencia and Fiorentina, and Melbourne City midfielder Mooy deserve just as much praise.
He said: “The English are pumping up Marcus Rashford on the basis of a deflected cross and a decent volley (to score against Australia), after which he didn’t do much.
“But he plays at Manchester United and he’s got a big, fat contract, and I’m sure he gets elevated to a different level because of that.
“For some reason we seem to think that Tom Rogic or Aaron Mooy are less worthy of that sort of merit.”
Speaking to the Australian Herald Sun, he added: “Is there any independent observer out there who can tell me there were any better midfielders (in the England game)?
“And that’s on the back of Aaron not playing for several weeks.
“I don’t have an issue about us or our players having to prove themselves. We need to have more belief in ourselves and hopefully the perception outside will change as we continue to play these teams and continue to play our kind of football.
“The most important thing is we continue to get games against opponents like this and play our football to change perceptions externally.”
