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Olyroos captain Oliver Bozanic has defended his goal-shy team and says there’s plenty of good young talent coming through despite their failure to qualify for London.
Australia will miss out on the Olympic tournament for the first time since 1984 after failing to score in and win any of their first five group games.
With one match remaining against Iraq in Gosford on March 14, the Olyroos cannot accumulate enough points to force their way into the playoffs between the three second-placed teams in the Asian qualifying groups.
After scoreless draws in each of their first three games, two of them at home, the Olyroos suffered successive away losses to Uzbekistan and the United Arab Emirates.
“We have been playing good football, but we were very unlucky with some decisions we got in Uzbekistan,” midfielder Bozanic told AAP.
`”It’s very very frustrating to not put it in the back of the net and we had two disallowed goals against Uzbekistan, but then the rest of the games we should have had goals.
“It’s very disappointing not to win those games and to not qualify.”
Several of Australia’s most dangerous attackers, including Tommy Oar and Matthew Leckie were not released by their European clubs for key games.
While some pundits have raised concerns about a possible lack of talent flowing through to Socceroo ranks based on the Olyroos results, Bozanic wasn’t concerned.
“I think there’s lots of good young talent in the A-League,” Central Coast player Bozanic said.
“It was a disappointing campaign for us, but it shouldn’t reflect on the young players in the team and where they are looking to go and the direction they are heading in.”
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