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Socceroos outclassed and exposed in opener

Roar Rookie
14th June, 2010
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The Socceroos have kicked off their World Cup campaign in disastrous fashion, suffering a 4-0 defeat to Germany.

Australia went into the game underdogs against a team many believe could take out the tournament, but the dedicated fans still held onto hope of victory, until Podolski and Miroslav Klose’s goals early in the first half sunk Socceroos supporters’ hearts.

After the break, it went from bad to worse, after the teams main goal scorer Tim Cahill was harshly dealt a red card for a challenge on Bastian Schweinsteiger and two more goals coming from Muller and Cacau threatening to make Australia an embarrassment on the world stage.

Germany, simply, outplayed and outclassed Australia. Manager Joachim Low had revealed rather boldly that they would aim to embarrass their opposition, and they did.

Moments of opportunity were few and far between for the Socceroos, Garcia’s shots on goal fell wide of the posts and Pim Verbeek’s seemingly curious decision to not play one recognised striker up forward proved un-rewarding as Cahill struggled to make an impact.

The loss comes as a harsh reminder that, though 2006’s heroics gained us respect on arguably the biggest sporting event, qualifying and competing in the world cup are vastly different, and expectations are high despite the strong opposition in our group.

Problems were across the board for Australia. Defenders could not cope with Germany’s highly-skilled strikers, midfield bursts were rare and Cahill’s elevation to lone-striker failed to reap any benefits and his eventual send off made any hopes of a comeback dashed.

Questions were also raised about Verbeek’s tactical decisions. Kewell, Bresciano and Kennedy were all kept from the pitch despite the clear need for something special to ignite Australia.

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Critics have been quick to write off Australia after the defeat handed to them by Germany, and the now almost certain absence of Tim Cahill in the next match will further hinder Verbeek’s task, but the faithful still believe Australia are a sneaky chance in its next games against Serbia and Ghana.

Australia now has six days to re-group and compose for a must-win game against world ranked 32 Ghana on June 19th.

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