The Socceroos need a clearly articulated vision to thrive globally, Craig Goodwin says.
Goodwin, one of a dozen Australian men to score at a World Cup, believes a lack of identity for the Socceroos is an issue that needs tackling.
"Do we need a specific style?" Goodwin said on Wednesday.
"I think yes, that always helps if you're producing a system where you're trying to develop a certain type of player."
But the Adelaide United captain said the problem went deeper than just creating, then implementing, a playing identity for the Socceroos.
"We need a clear vision of how we want to go about it, or what we want to achieve from a league perspective, from a national team perspective," Goodwin said.
"And then, in my opinion, we need that to be public as well.
"We need that to be a clear vision: this is what we want, this is how we want to achieve it, these are the steps we're going to make to get it.
"But always we seem to be in this position, thinking like: do we have one, do we not?
"Yes, we need one. But it never really eventuates."
Spain and Japan were obvious global examples, he said.
"It's easy to point out Spain, but they play a consistent way, and you know what you're going to get from your Spanish players and they produce good football," Goodwin said.
"For us, I think the biggest thing is just having everyone on the same page.
"We go over consistent periods of different opinions of how to do things.
"And people talk about Japan and how they have a 100-year plan, and that works for them. It doesn't have to be the same for us."
Goodwin said forming a clear identity was easier said than done.
"The one issue is, it's never really been that clear as to how we're going to do something or what the vision is," the 30-cap Socceroo said.
Goodwin scored against France at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, when he emerged as a key playmaker for the Socceroos.
But he missed Australia's recent World Cup campaign when unable to regain full fitness following a groin injury that sidelined him for almost three months of the A-League season.
"Obviously having been involved so much in the qualifying, I would have loved to have been there," the 34-year-old said.
"But my fate was the injury and that's how it is.
"I take gratitude that I was able to go to the previous World Cup and do something special."
