Newcastle United star Garang Kuol was given a ‘4’ rating for his performance as Australia were beaten by France.
The final score was 4-1 to Les Bleus, thanks to a Olivier Giroud brace and goals from Kylian Mbappe and Adrien Rabiot.
Daily Mail Australia writer, Andrew Prentice described the youngster as ‘anonymous’ for his display against France.
Kuol came on for the Socceroos replacing Craig Goodwin in the 73rd minute to make his World Cup debut. However, he really struggled to make an impact. He made 5 touches across the 17 minutes he played.
However, the winger is only 18-years against one of the best international sides in the world. Kuol has shown bags of promise for such a young player in the A-League, this season he’s got 2 goals and 2 assists in 4 games.
He’ll be joining Newcastle in January from Central Coast Mariners.
Here’s what Prentice had to say about Kuol, ‘Garang Kuol – 4
‘Australia’s rising star was largely anonymous when thrown on for Goodwin, possibly was overawed by the occasion.’
TIF’s view on Prentice’s comments…
We believe that whilst Kuol didn’t do much against France, the rating was arguably harsh. He could’ve been given an ‘N/A’ rating since there was so little time left for the 18-year-old to make an impact.
However, perhaps 17 minutes was long enough for a rating to be applied by Daily Mail standards. Furthermore, Prentice did state that the occasion could’ve played a factor.
Newcastle fans shouldn’t worry about Kuol, as we stated he’s a young lad playing against one of the world’s best international sides.
Australia still have Tunisia and Denmark to play. The two sides drew 0-0 against each other, meaning the Socceroos World Cup campaign is far from over. A win for Kuol’s side could change the landscape of Group D.
So, Kuol still has at least two fixtures to make his mark at the World Cup. Having said that, considering it’s his first World Cup, he may still need time to develop and considering his age, he has plenty of time do so.