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The Socceroos have every right to treat last night’s 0-0 draw with Japan as a moral victory. Missing Harry Kewell, Mark Viduka and a host of other prominent names, Australia demonstrated plenty of grit and guile to keep Japan at bay for the full ninety minutes
What the Socceroos also showed is that they have a coach at the helm who knows exactly what Asian football is all about.
The joke may have been that Pim Verbeek was playing a “4-6-0” formation, but the simple fact is that Australia left Yokohama with the point that they came for.
The visitors may have been outplayed by their under-pressure counterparts, but the fact is that after four final round qualifying games Australia not only top their group, but they are practically one step away from reaching the finals in South Africa.
It says much about the professionalism of Pim Verbeek that there is little cause for alarm with more than twelve months remaining until the finals kick off in 2010.
Contrast that with former Socceroos coaches – including the ill-fated Terry Venables – and Verbeek’s achievement in moulding a disciplined, well-structured unit should not be discounted.
Certainly Australia were under the pump for long stretches of this clash – and whether some personnel can trade past performances in for a ticket to future internationals remains to be seen.
Brett Holman, in particular, seemed to struggle under the glare of around 65,000 Japanese fans baying for Australian blood.
Yet it was another tremendous performance from old heads that seemed to get Australia over the line – or at least drag them towards the precious point that they so desired.
He may be 36-years of age, but Mark Schwarzer once again proved that he is one of the most indispensable of Socceroos in recent memory – not the least when he pulled off an outstanding save from Yasuhito Endo’s bullet-like volley with twenty minutes remaining.
Craig Moore was another who simply exuded confidence in a hostile atmosphere, and for all those who suggest that the A-League is not a fertile environment for Socceroos, they need only study the performance of the Queensland Roar captain – even if he is a player who previously reached the highest echelons of the British game.
However as impressive as the Australian rearguard action was – and things may have been so different had either Shunsuke Nakamura or Yasuhito Endo managed to get free-kicks on target – there can be no denying that Australia looked threadbare up front, particularly in the absence of the talismanic Kewell and Viduka.
One shot on target for entire ninety minutes speaks volumes for the mindset of a team looking to launch a smash-and-grab raid.
It didn’t quite come off, but in the build-up to the game coach Pim Verbeek rightly pointed out that all the pressure was on Japan.
Takeshi Okada may have managed to salvage his job for now, at least, on the back of this scoreless draw. But he will hardly relish travelling to a Melbourne Cricket Ground packed with more than 90,000 fans should Japan need to take something from their final World Cup qualifier to book a place in South Africa.
A word of praise must surely go out to the both sets of fans in the aftermath of this momentous clash.
Played in front of an electrifying atmosphere at Yokohama International Stadium, the Japan Football Association was gracious enough to organise a moment of silence for those suffering in the wake of the horrendous bushfires that continue to ravage south-eastern Australia.
It may not have been a full sixty seconds – but the moment was impeccably observed – and both the JFA and Football Federation Australia should be lauded for their thoughtfulness in recognising that the clash in Yokohama was, after all, just a game.
It was a hard-fought game, and one that did little to separate either side as the obvious stand-out team in the group.
However Australia will be celebrating a precious point picked up in difficult circumstances.
It was rarely pretty, but it was job done in Yokohama.