Don’t let the scoreline fool you, this was always going to be a simple affair for Holger Osieck’s men. So when the result is almost certain before kick off, the focus has to fall on the process and how Australia played.
Unfortunately, I felt the Socceroos’ approach to the attacking phase of their game left a lot to be desired.
I expect Australia to ramp up their focus and concentration in their next game and therefore the performance to improve but I feel like this is was a wasted opportunity.
Quickly switching the play and putting a lot of balls in the air is easy to do against the 142nd ranked team in the world but won’t cut it against better opposition.
Watching Luke Wilkshire continuously put early balls into the box had me almost in “Verbeek era” convulsions.
However, considering they were up against a team 116 places below them, I’ll happily give Holger Osieck and his men the benefit of the doubt for now.
Speaking of which, despite this morning’s result I robustly disagree with those who argue that India shouldn’t be in Qatar
While the idea of putting in such a lowly team into a major tournament might not work in some parts of the world, Asian football requires Asian solutions.
India’s involvement in this tournament has helped to increase interest and investment in the game at a national level. That alone makes their involvement worthwhile (not to mention the rabid enthusiasm of their fans who so willingly cheered every Indian clearance).
Having a legitimate form of qualification that allows smaller nations a chance to step up to the plate and develop is a good thing. The problem would come if India continue to qualify for Asian Cups over the coming years but fail to improve.
As Scott McIntyre eloquently put it on The World Game radio show recently, “India is the future for Asian football, however that moment isn’t now.”
In the mean time, I am thoroughly enjoying this Asian Cup, one of my favourite football tournaments in the world.
The wide range of cultures and football styles on offer highlight what I love about the world game. It’s a wonderfully uniquely Asian event.
Something I hope the Socceroos will bear in mind for the rest of the tournament.
I’d much rather the Socceroos lose all their games form this point onwards with honour and respect then win the tournament with the offish behaviour we saw from some of the Australians at the 2007 edition.
Twatter
Guest
To Tortion. You say you have no connection with asian Football ok fair enough. Im just wondering if the Australian sports media and Melbourne sporting public would be interested in Australia playing Iran at the M.C.G. like they did in the 1997 W.C qualifier. That most are proclaiming they have no connection with asia where infact we have in football for close to two decades and will have for eternity now that we are part of the Asian Football Confederation.
Roarchild
Roar Guru
It's not like they have always dominated in cricket either and there are only 8 to 10 test playing nations.
dasilva
Guest
Fair enough. It was just an obscure fact I had in my head. Niw I just read up on it and you were right they qualified by default as all the other Asian nations pull out.
True Tah
Guest
dasilva by qualified Im not sure if india ended up playing any games to qualify.
dasilva
Guest
They also qualified to the World cup back in 1950 I believe and they chose to withdraw from the tournament because FIFA banned playing barefoot. (they defeated Australia in the olympics playing barefoot as well)
dasilva
Guest
Just because there is no competition with football codes doesn't mean there isn't competition for talent I mean, we hearing about Australian Cricket talking about competiting with AFL for talent (and in fact people have written articles blaming AFL for cricket demise although I don't agree with that). Zero competition from football code doesn't mean anything. In Japan, there is competition with Football with Baseball. In India it is cricket. In China it is table tennis etc.
Twatter
Guest
To Art Sapphire That link opened my eyes a liitle more into football in India, i didn't realy know they had a golden generation and didn't know they contested the 56 olympics and played us of the park. I dont think anybody is escaping the fact that cricket is the number 1 sport in India ( who cares realy) .But other sports do hold significance.
punter
Guest
Well India is a country with one billion people & generally cricket regarded as their favourite sport, yet they get beaten by Sri Lanka, a country with the same sporting prowess as Solomon Islands.
Twatter
Guest
To my left foot. You're letting envy get in the way of a true storie , you suggest how can they be a footballing nation without another form of football it's purely down to the fact they've never heard of aussie rules , nrl and rugby and lets face it they never will. You raise the point their only as good as the Soloman Islands i think if Australia played the Soloman Islands tomorrow most would expect a result of around 10 -0 possibly more, thats the whole point of us being out of the Oceanic Football Confederation . That now we stand a strong chance of not actually dominating a region which as most would conceed was unfair on everyones behalf. I think you're point's have got nothing to do wth the Soloman Islands or for that matter say an American Samoa but more so the sports you would like there in India aren't there and will never be there we play sports in this nation that are just that internal or played by a handful of countries. That this debate will still be going on in 100 years time.
Art Sapphire
Guest
MLF, I've provided enough information to start with. You can do it via the wonders of the internet. Or, head over and find out. While you are there, you can report back to us on the burgeoning AFL scene in the backstreets of Mumbai :)
MyLeftFoot
Roar Guru
Really? That would be a very strange response indeed.
punter
Guest
MLF, I know I thought the same when India lost to Sri Lanka in the world cup Cricket.
MyLeftFoot
Roar Guru
Art Sapphire Interesting article but it doesn't answer the question: How can it be that this “football” country, of one billion people, with zero competition from any other football code, puts together a team that is on par with the Solomon Islands?
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
Thanks, Art Sapphire for linking us to that excellent and informative article. What makes the article even more revealing is that the columnist, Dileep Premachandran, is associate editor of Cricinfo and Asian cricket correspondent for the Sunday Times (London) and Inside Sport! What a shame that Aussie sports journalists, who are aligned to one sport, cannot report about another sport as openly and honestly as Premachandran. ------------------ The points that really caught my attention in Premachandran's article include: * During the FIFA 2010 WC, India's victory in cricket's Asia Cup was little more than a blip on the sporting radar, with sports pages still dedicated primarily to Rooney's woes and the German New Wave. * An estimated 20 million people watched the World Cup opener between South Africa and Mexico! (That's the entire Aussie population!) more than had tuned in for the IPL's opening game in March. * In the football heartlands of Kerala, Bengal and Goa, you couldn't walk more than a few yards without finding a poster or cardboard cut-out of Kaka, or even the absent Ronaldinho and Ronaldo ------------------- I have no doubt India will - within the next 2 generations - return to mixing it with the other football power of Asia.
Art Sapphire
Guest
MLF and TT read the article I posted - it will answer all your questions.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
Whilst India's recent form at the International level has been poor, India's football pedigree is certainly far superior to the Solomon Islands and includes: a) 4th place at the 1956 Summer Olympics in .... Melbourne, AUSTRALIA!! and, in the 1/4 final India beat host nation Australia, 4-2 at Olympic Park, with Indian forward, D'Souza scoring a hat-trick. b) Runners up at the 1964 AFC Asian Cup
MyLeftFoot
Roar Guru
I'd take the Bollywood actresses too.
True Tah
Guest
MyLeftFoot - the answer is that cricket dominates to a huge degree in India - in terms of sponsorship and general interest. When a test match it on, most radios will be tuned to the station playing the cricket. Because cricket dominates so much, other sports struggle, hockey, futbol and Olympic sports - India hasnt exactly won too many Olympic gold medals from memory. I dont believe that being overly focused on the one sport is necessarily a good thing myself, and if futbol can one day challenge cricket in India, then it will be a good thing, but I doubt that day will be in my life time. If you're a young Indian sportsman, are you going to aspire to play for a struggling national team with a semi-professional league (this may change) or for a glamorous team where leading players date Bollywood actresses and earn mega bucks playing in IPL?
Art Sapphire
Guest
An excellent overview on the rise and fall of Indian national football team and India's love of football written by someone who knows his stuff - an Indian. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-cup/columns/story?id=806811&cc=3436&ver=global
MyLeftFoot
Roar Guru
Twatter I can only repeat my question: How can it be that this “football” country, of one billion people, with zero competition from any other football code, puts together a team that is on par with the Solomon Islands?