Forget the late drama in qualifying for the World Cup, forget giving up a three-goal lead to lose to Ecuador, even forget Tim Cahill’s brilliant volley against the Dutch.
The Socceroos’ 2015 Asian Cup campaign truly kicked off overnight with a 3-2 victory over Saudi Arabia.
As promising as some of the signs were in the World Cup finals earlier this year, there is absolutely no doubt that there was at least one eye planted firmly on the Asian Cup, which kicks off in January.
The Socceroos have traditionally been among the footballing region’s top few sides since they entered in 2006, so coupled with the fact that the tournament will be played on home soil, expectations will be high.
Whereas the Socceroos flew to Brazil with zero expectations after being drawn in the group of death with Spain, Holland and Chile, there is a very real expectation that the home side will emerge victorious in early 2015.
Although the Socceroos have dropped to number 79 in the FIFA World Rankings, mainly due to the fact they had not registered a win since the 1-0 victory over Costa Rica in November of last year until Tuesday, anything less than an appearance in next year’s final will be seen as a huge disappointment.
Saudi Arabia, ranked just four spots below the Roos, put up more of a fight than was expected, pushing for a draw until the last minute of the game. Early goals to all-time leading scorer Tim Cahill and captain Mile Jedinak put the Socceroos on course for a dominant victory, however the side was unable to go on with the job.
Ange Postecoglou will be happy for the team to have returned to winning ways, but to end up with a 3-2 result after being two goals to the good in less than 10 minutes may worry the national coach.
Despite the scrambled finish to the game, the Socceroos did manage to control the majority of the contest, securing a 67 to 33 per cent possession advantage. And they did manage to create far more chances than their fellow Asian Cup opponents.
With the win in the bank, attention will now turn to two early October fixtures against two other AFC contenders, the UAE and Qatar. The fact the Roos will play three fixtures against relevant opponents will benefit preparations far more than ‘glamour’ friendlies against highly ranked nations.
There is a fair amount of work to be done between now and the kick off on January 9 next year, however looking back on Tuesday morning’s fixture there were a few positives to be taken from the game.
Tim Cahill continues to score at international level, Bailey Wright produced a strong performance on debut, including a goal, and Mathew Leckie continues to put valuable minutes in the national jersey under his belt.
Although Tuesday morning’s result is unlikely to see the Socceroos firm into favouritism to claim the tournament, there were promising signs within the 90 minutes. The simple fact is that a win is a win, which will mean far more than performances come January.
The Bear
Guest
Refreshingly positive! Also agree with Ben. Possession is a pointless trophy when playing many of these gulf nations. I hope AP understands this. And the backs have been briefed. Retention in midfield is critical.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
"The fact the Roos will play three fixtures against relevant opponents will benefit preparations far more than ‘glamour’ friendlies against highly ranked nations" This is important at this stage as the Arab Gulf nations play a quick transition game which can leave our back line exposed. Given we have Oman and Kuwait in our group then playing sides such as Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar is sensible (not least as I believe Saudi & UAE at least are better sides than either Oman or Kuwait). As you noted, we had 67% of posession yet still only just got over the line. In many regards this is where we need a Rogic type of player to come off the bench and unlock deep sitting defences, especially later in the game where tired tackles will result in fouls in dangerous positions, something a player with nifty feet will draw. It is also good to see Luongo putting his hand up as we are also going to need some vision and defence splitting passes to unleash the potential of the likes of Leckie, Oar, Kruse and Halloran who won't have the space they normally enjoy. South Korea are another matter entirely. They seem to have lost their mojo however have some very impressive players in their ranks so could come back with a vengance. Fortunately we play them last so hopefully by that time we are secured to go through in the group and the Socceroos are playing as a unit with two competitive games under their belt.