Socceroo playmaker Massimo Luongo praised the new-look Australian midfield after they eased past Bangladesh 5-0 in their World Cup Russia 2018™ Qualifier on Thursday night in Perth.
The Socceroos were on the front foot from the get-go and steamrolled the Bengal Tigers with their trademark passing game and high-intensity pressing.
Five-star Socceroos overwhelm Bangladesh
And QPR’s Luongo, Celtic’s Tom Rogic and Aaron Mooy of Melbourne City were in the thick of it in central midfield.
“I’m very pleased,” Luongo told Fox Sports. “I didn’t expect where I’d be playing and was playing a little higher up but I linked up really, really well with Aaron Mooy.
“I’ve never played with him before but we seemed like we just fit. And clicked really well.
“And Tommy [Rogic] coming back into it showed how good a player he is and what we’ve missed out on.
"So all three of us, even Nathan Burns and Matt Leckie on the wings dropped in sometimes.
“It was smooth. The combinations we had were brilliant. Hopefully we can do that in our next game."
Luongo added the team got their reward for doing the “ugly things” such as pressing hard and closing down.
“It was a lovely evening and put on quite a good show for them [the fans]. I wish we could stay longer but we’ve got to get off to Dubai tomorrow and prepare for the next game.
“Both of them [Rogic and Mooy] ran that midfield. If I can link up with them two I’m quite excited to play the next game if we go along with the same lines as tonight."