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It’s hard to know where to start. Here the Socceroos are, 0 points from 2 games, 6 goals conceded, effectively out of the tournament with one game still to play.
And yet…
How could you not be totally enamoured with the way our national team has taken the fight to their two opponents in this World Cup?
How often does a team that loses two games in a row receive deserved and almost universal praise for the thrill ride it has taken fans on?
The 3-2 loss to The Netherlands was easily the best game of the tournament so far, an attacking smorgasbord of end-to-end action which earned both teams a post-match standing ovation from the 50,000 crowd in Porto Alegre.
The old adage that it is better to win ugly than lose pretty simply does not apply in this case. It was never going to happen – he is simply not of that mindset – but Ange Postecoglou could have decided to park the bus and throw away the keys, getting a 0-0 result in one of those games if the Socceroos were lucky.
Instead, the Socceroos attacked and threatened to tear apart Chile and The Netherlands in successive games.
The mould was set in the game against South Africa, when Australia hammered the visitors in the first half, attacking from absolutely everywhere before running out of gas.
It continued against Chile but the game was blighted by a nervous start from the defence. Oh, to have swapped those 15 minutes for some other quarter hour from the Pim Verbeek era, where the team camped in their third and conceded nothing but gained little more.
Or maybe not, for in Porto Alegre a new dynasty was born.
But for a few moments where class and experience told over exuberance and youth, the Socceroos would be celebrating the biggest win of their international existence.
One of those moments was the Dutch opener, when Arjen Robben pounced on some defensive hesitation from Alex Wilkinson and streaked away to score, evading Wilkinson’s attempts to stop him by any means necessary.
Another was straight after Mile Jedinak slotted home a penalty to give the Socceroos a lead that threatened to take the roof off the stadium. The Socceroos attacked again but rather than hold the ball in a wide position and try to pick out a runner, Tommy Oar slung the ball into the far post, looking for Tim Cahill to rise above yet again.
Only minutes later, Jason Davidson was tempted to track a wide runner into the box when perhaps stepping up would have been the better option. As a result he played Robin van Persie onside and one of the world’s best strikers buried the proffered chance.
As an old goalkeeper, I know what Mat Ryan will be feeling over the coming weeks. He is destined to be the greatest goalkeeper the country has produced, but knows he should have stopped the Netherlands’ third, a routine shot from sub Memphis Depay which he’d have gloved 99 times out of 100.
It’s a measure of the fortitude of the youthful keeper that he composed himself and produced three magnificent saves following the goal to keep the Australian dream alive. Unfortunately, he also knows which incident he’ll be reminded of. That’s the lot of the goalkeeper.
On such moments games are won and lost. But the Socceroos won a legion of admirers.
As Craig Foster said in his post-match comments, sometimes you have to lose in order to win. This World Cup was always going to be a learning experience, but it’s the Socceroos’ opponents who have learnt as well.
The Dutch celebrated their win with enormous relief, having been tested in ways the reigning world champions were incapable of just days earlier. One of their main tormentors was Matthew Leckie, who gave the Dutch defence nightmares with his pace and forays into the penalty area. He laid on a gilt-edged chance for Mark Bresciano in the first half, had a goal disallowed virtually from the kick-off in the second, and could have made a hero of himself had he managed to steer home Tommy Oar’s awkward cross into an inviting net when the score was 2-2.
Odds on that Leckie will not be playing second-tier football in Germany much longer.
To the Socceroos fans in Brazil; you’re a big part of this. The atmosphere in Port Alegre was molten, a sea of noise and colour, a lot of it gold. It isn’t often that Dutch fans get out-shouted.
And that goal? Likely to be the last great act of Tim Cahill at the World Cup finals, it will be replayed for years to come. A classier act in Australian sport would be hard to find.
The Socceroos won everything but the game. We’ve got that to look forward to.
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