Holger Osieck’s Socceroos will look to sharpen up for Tuesday’s 2014 World Cup Qualifier against Oman when they meet Malaysia in Canberra tonight. Join us for live scores and a blog from the commencement at 8.00pm AEDT.
Tonight provides Australian fans an opportunity to look into the future at some of the talent that will leading the Socceroos in 2014 beyond.
Kewell, Cahill, Emerton and Schwarzer have dutifully led this team from the front for the past decade with almost 300 caps between them, but all will be missing tonight.
Osieck will be looking to the likes of Robbie Kruse, James Troisi and Adam Sarota to step up and their absence and fill the breach, and it will be interesting to see which players are able to stamp their mark on the game.
After countless years spent as an understudy to Schwarzer, Reading’s Adam Federici finally gets his chance in between the sticks after an impressive start to the season with the Championship side, edging out SønderjyskE shotstopper Nathan Coe.
On face value, the home side should stroll through the 90 minutes tonight, yet the scare that Thailand sent through the Socceroos team in Brisbane last month should be ample warning that the Socceroos must not take any team lightly.
The Malaysians come their first ever match against the Socceroos on Australian soil ranked 147 in the world, and are themselves already out of the 2014 World Cup after being eliminated by Singapore in July.
Yet they have historically performed strongly against local rivals Thailand and this should serve as a warning for the Socceroos tonight.
The two sides have only met one before, and indeed it was the Malaysians who triumphed on that occasions, grabbing a 1-0 in Jakarta in 1992.
Traditionally, the Socceroos have fallen into bad habits when faced with inferior opposition, a notion highlighted in the Thailand game when an ugly long-ball game was unsuccessfully utilised to try and bully physically small Thailand rearguard.
Even with the 2014 World Cup nearly three years away, it is critically important for each and every member of the Socceroos squad to have a complete understanding of Osieck’s footballing philosophies each and every time they step out onto the field.
They mightn’t be stretched too far tonight, but a solid performance will stand the Socceroos in good stead for Tuesday’s game in Sydney against Oman, where a win will virtually seal progression to the next phase of qualifying.
An attractive performance will also be unquestionably beneficial to the FFA’s attempts to spread football to regional Australia, and a healthy crowd is expected in the nation’s capital with no NRL, AFL or Rugby World Cup matches to compete with tonight.
The result mightn’t be important. But for our next generation of Socceroos that we will come to rely on in Brazil, the performance most certainly is.
Can Holger continue to impress the Australian football public with an optimistic, attractive brand of football? Join us from 8.00pm AEDT tonight as we pore over the next instalment of the Socceroos’ journey to the 2014 World Cup with live scores and a blog.
The Cattery
Roar Guru
Of the blokes getting some rare game time, all of Williams, Sarota and Troisi showed good touches, Spira did what he had to do - the main benefit of this game was to give these blokes a run in a full international, and it would do their confidence no harm at all, even if the opposition was rather weak today.
Chad Bennett
Editor
But ultimately, nothing more than a friendly in every sense of the word tonight. Malaysia provided little resistance and the Socceroos will need to be wary of any complacency going into Tuesday night. Thanks for joining us tonight, be sure to check in Tuesday when the important stuff starts, and the Socceroos look to take a giant step toward World Cup Qualification. Oh, and enjoy the A-League this weekend!
Chad Bennett
Editor
FULL TIME: Socceroos 5-0 Malaysia Well, to give the visitors a shred of credit, at least it didn't turn into a cricket score, though that may have been more to do with Australia taking their foot off the accelerator more than anything. In the first half, Kennedy was the standout, and the Nagoya Grampus target man was involved in everything , including many sharp passing moves, and was rewarded with two goals. McKay and Brosque were also busy in the front third. The second half allowed Osieck to showcase a few of the fringe members of the squad, and Sarota in partciular was very good, and should begin to feature in the national team's plan going forward into 2014. Troisi, and Zullo (in both halves) were also impressive.
Chad Bennett
Editor
90' Socceroos 5-0 Malaysia Two minutes of injury time.
Chad Bennett
Editor
88' Socceroos 5-0 Malaysia Lucas Neill gives away a free kick around 25m out, and they'll have a final chance here. Neill has been awfully quiet, though that's not fault of his own. Free-kick amounts to nothing. Ball rebounds and a cross is put in, which Coe fails to deal with, although he is bailed out by a free-kick. Which wasn't there.
The Cattery
Roar Guru
Fantastic work by Sarota on the right, worked the full back over, got onto his left, put it directly onto Mckay's head who headed over point blank.
Chad Bennett
Editor
86' Socceroos 5-0 Malaysia Very nice play there though. Mile finds Sarota out wide, who cuts inside onto his left foot and finds McKay completely unmarked, five metres out!!! The PFA Player of the Year can only head over the bar, though. Not his strength, by the looks of it.
Chad Bennett
Editor
85' Socceroos 5-0 Malaysia Socceroos have really slowed down now. Seem to be playing out time.
The Cattery
Roar Guru
Not a great challenge by Kilkenny then, that could easily have got a card.
Chad Bennett
Editor
Hasn't had a lot to do, has he?
Chad Bennett
Editor
80' Socceroos 5-0 Malaysia Australia certainly have slowed right down, but the Malaysians are actually getting a few touches on the ball here. Not particularly penetrating, but even still. Where has it been for the eighty minutes?
The Cattery
Roar Guru
Spira has had a solid second half, but his header from a Malaysian corner nearly fell at the feet of a Malaysian player, but he backed up, and eventually cleared the ball from danger.
The Cattery
Roar Guru
Unless my eyes have deceived me, I thought I saw just then some Mariners fans standing with the Malaysians and chanting with them in support of Malaysia.
Chad Bennett
Editor
Nice to see 100 or so Malaysian fans adding a little colour and atmosphere to the game tonight, even if their side has been, well, awful.
Chad Bennett
Editor
75' Socceroos 5-0 Malaysia Nice little drag-back from Kilkenny to open up a little space in the middle of the park, tries an ambitious shot from 27-28m, but the shot is deflected for a corner.
The Cattery
Roar Guru
Unfortunately, he must have fallen short by only inches, but a very nice ball in from McKay.
Chad Bennett
Editor
71' Socceroos 5-0 Malaysia Great ball from McKay, as he ghosts into the box and receives the ball from Sarota, who has also been good. He slides a ball across the six-yard box, but Kruse is unable to stretch out and slot into an empty net. How did he miss that?
Chad Bennett
Editor
70' Socceroos 5-0 Malaysia Shot on goal for the Malaysians!!! Rhys Williams is turned by his attacker, who is able to get a right-foot shot on goal, but it is straight to Coe.
The Cattery
Roar Guru
McKay goes to left back, Jedi takes the central position that McKay had taken over during the second half.
The Cattery
Roar Guru
Brosque took the pass from Kruse, was allowed oodles of time and space, turned, could have had a cup of tea, but a very, very nice finish from around 20m.