Australia vs. Iraq: Socceroo player ratings

To be fair he plays as a central attacking midfielder for his club I wonder how he would fair if he was played in Holman position His ability to dribble pass players in the center may be dangerous and we don't have to rely on him crossing the ball from the wing which he is unreliable at.

That's true although Iraq did pack the midfield a bit not allowing as much time with the ball but Bresc's tight control did help possession in midfield (along with Kruse I thought with a bit from Milligan as well - Oar and Holman not so much) in first half especially. Rogić helped here in second half when he replaced Holman.

For me Oar had a better game, particularly the second half. He cut back inside more, took on players, kept possession and linked up centrally more than previous games (thinking about this again, more from the influence of Rogić making the defenders take notice, freeing up space for Oar). Encouraging performance, but I don't agree man of the match. Kruse did a similar thing but had more attention overall - he was closed down rather quickly at times. He did fade noticeably in the second half, where Oar looked like he had more in the tank and creating more chances with his inside runs on the opposite flank. Hence why it was Kruse and not Oar that Thompson replaced last night.

Holger isn't a genius. If Bresciano had have crossed that ball to Cahill he would have scored also. Cahill was stuck all game with Wilkshire's loopy crosses, which he could nothing about.

Loving the way australia's creating its own football mythology and reckon they could win the world cup within 50 yrs, but imagining the socceroos in the final next year with the phrase "in Rio" seems somewhat over optimistic! The cup is going to be played all over the country at 11 or so diff locations. The olympics are in Rio two years later though so dont throw away the t-shirt.

Oar can take on defenders and get past them with the ball,which few of the boys can do .

Disagree Ken. As Andy Harper said, Iraq lost 5 games by 1 goal and are a far better team than Jordan, and very likely Oman. they did have moments but realistically they didn't threaten our goal more than once or twice and we could have had 4 in the first half if our end product was better. We dominated large parts of the game but didn't get the goals early. Fact is we did what was needed to get to Rio. NOW is the time to get the re-generation started. we have the East Asian Cup and a ton of friendlies in lieu of Asian Cup Qualifying (as hosts). Get the kids in now and see if they are ready for the big stage (with a view to winning the Asian Cup in 2015). Well done Roos and Holger. great finish to a tough campaign.

The way Australia plays Cahill should never have been put in the forward line. yes his got decent aerial ability but not at his height when you have two defenders always on you. Kennedy should have been on from the start with Cahill playing either attacking midfield or as a second striker. If Osieck wants to play Cahill as the primary forward then he needs to play down the middle and not the wing. In all honesty if Australia played like like they did last night at the world cup they would barely manage a goal let alone a win.

I think you both are abit harsh on Tommy Oar. His end product not quite there, but that will come. His got the skills to beat the player & look to create, which is something we lack. I wanted Thompson on but not at the expense of Oar, so I did feel he did well.

I didn't rate Oar's performance against Japan, I thought he was poor then but his performance against Iraq - definitely should have been man of the match. He was quick, showed the ability to beat his defender, put a delightful crossfield through ball to Cahill, etc. Not entirely sure why Cahill got man of the match but at the end of the day who cares we're going to rio

It was a good summary for all those who don't have as much time as you clearly do!

Excellent summary. Tommy Oar was dangerous throughout the match. He took them on and looked most likely. Far better than Kruse and Holman always losing the ball. Holgar was brilliant. when are you going to man up and admit it kellett?

Schwarzer 7 - As noted, didn't have much to do Wilkshire 6 - Plenty of loose balls, was not on the same wavelength as the rest of the team with ball retention Neill 7.5 - Very, very solid Ognenovski 5.5 - Poor error in defense, wasted opportunity in attack McKay 6.5 - A better game from him, good distribution, not troubled hugely in defence for most of the game Milligan 7.5 - Another very solid game, seized his chance and is now definite first choice over Jedinak and Valeri Bresciano 6.5 - Got the assist, but general play was disappointing Kruse 7 - Not as penetrative as recent games, always a threat. Unfortunate to have his goal disallowed Holman 6 - Off the pace, his substitution off was one of the most important moments of the game Oar 7 - Much more impressive than against Jordan, primarily because he sought out the ball. End product disappointing Cahill 6 - Missed two huge opportunities in the first half to open the scoring. Brave from Holger to take him off SUBS: Rogic 7.5 - Just so dangerous with the ball at his feet. With the amount he creates in 20/30min cameos, can't wait to see him become a starter Kennedy 8 - You know why Thompson 6 - Not much to do, in all honest

I thought Bresciano went missing last night. He did provide the assist but didn't really provide those creative balls we needed to unlock the Iraqi's.

Precisely! I wasn't the only one who saw it!

This. Oar can be an incredibly unintelligent player at times when playing wide on the left - which is exactly what we saw tonight. A verrrrrrry frustrating performance from him. He just kept lumping crosses in without any aim. Dribble, dribble, dribble, cross. Dribble, dribble, dribble, cross. Dribble, dribble, dribble, cross.

If you honestly believe this is Ann excellent summary it's you who has no idea...

For Australia not to concede a goal... And Mark Schwarzer having to make what, one save? You give the defenders such a bad wrap but our goalie a great one. Where is the credit... Geez, you're a harsh marker mate. I hope i'm not the only one who views your analysis in the same light...

Tommy Oar... Omg! He was such a ball hog and his crossing was dreadful.

I can't fathom how you came up with these ratings... Kennedy 9/10? Ok, yes his job as a sub was to score 10/10 good work, but he did one thing. If that's worthy of a match rating 9/10 then i'm Jesus ;). The moment Rogic came on, despite his uniform already drenched, his impact changed the whole match. No longer were we playing out from Milligan. Bresciano stood up and realised it's now or never and he and Rogic laid the foundation that led to the eventual winner.