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Game over in Amman and Australia slip off the top of Group B from an un-fancied but determined Jordan.
They win 2-0, and every bit of it was deserved! Jordan go top of Group B, following a penalty in the opening 30 seconds of the second half from Hasan Abdel Fatah, and then in the dying moments of normal time, it was a goal to win it from my man of the match, Hamsa Aldaradreh.
Special night for Jordanian football, while the Australians need to lick their wounds and prepare for next month’s visit of Kyrgyzstan in Canberra.
The good news for Australia is they have negotiated three tough away games, and can look forward to facing Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Jordan on home soil.
Final score:
Jordan – 2
Australia – 0
Australia face their toughest test in the second round of World Cup qualification, as they travel to Amman to face fellow Group B highflyers Jordan. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 12:45am (AEDT).
So far, so good, as Australia have lived up to their billing as Asian Cup champions with tricky trips to Central Asia negotiated, plus a predictable mauling of Bangladesh.
Yet if any game is to challenge the Socceroos, it is a trip to Amman, where the Socceroos lost on their last and only visit.
A win for either side is likely to see them progress to the third round, with third-placed Kyrgyzstan not expected to mount a challenge to either side. But having lost last time in Jordan, Australia go with sufficient motive to reassert their champion status, while Jordan will look to a partisan home crowd to throw the Socceroos off.
Unlike the previous three teams to have faced Australia, Jordan will not be phased by the challenge, which may alter Ange Postecoglou’s mindset, albeit not his team.
Having deputised for the injured Mat Ryan last month, Adam Federici is expected to be retained. Of intrigue will be how defensive Postecoglou chooses to be, with Mark Milligan possibly partnered by a more subverted Aaron Mooy following the return of Ballon d’Or nominee Massimo Luongo.
In attack, Tim Cahill and Matthew Leckie will likely be up front, with the focus on exploiting Jordan through Luongo’s midfield bursts.
Another key component in Jordan’s favour is their more experienced side, with five of their number possessing more than 50 caps, including centurion goalkeeper and captain Amer Shafi. Yet the real emphasis for any upset will come from midfielder Abdallah Deeb, who has 23 goals from his 79 caps.
Width will come from Baha Abdel-Rahman, while Jordan will hope either Odai Al-Saify or Hamza Al-Dardour can bely their relatively poor strike rate with a contribution.
While odds-on favourites, this is the game Australia can try a few things against competitive opposition, with lost points not meaning much in the grander scheme of things. With a bye coming on the following matchday, a win for Australia will all but assure their progress from Group B.
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