In what was billed as the last chance for pre-Asian Cup experimentation, the Socceroos’ excursion to the Gulf has reiterated a batch of not-so-fresh concerns.
Ange Postecoglou has been defiant in his focus on the long-term, but a pair of cumbersome and stuttering performances against the UAE and Qatar will have brows creasing.
Friendly results are by no means the most tell-tale measure of success, but what is worrying is the way in which the Socceroos laboured to a scoreless draw against the UAE and a 1-0 loss to Qatar.
Against the UAE, the Socceroos were wasteful, toothless and largely uninspiring. While there was a certain defensive solidarity, it was washed away by a failure to create any real menace in the final third.
This morning in Doha, that performance was repeated and amplified. Ball retention was poor, decision-making left much to be desired and any attacking impetus was blunted before it even began.
What was heralded pre-game as Australia’s 500th international fixture, the loss against Qatar is now the fourth time in the last five matches that the Socceroos have failed to find the back of the net.
Against Qatar, there were eight changes to the XI who took the field on the weekend. Postecoglou tweaked things slightly to a 4-3-3, featuring Troisi and Mark Bresciano ahead of a holding Mile Jedinak in midfield and an attacking trio of Tommy Oar, Tim Cahill and Robbie Kruse.
Yet the inclusion of more tried and tested heads failed to spark any real imagination. The lack of chances created, particularly in the first half, was rather alarming.
The Socceroos rarely threatened a team ranked 96th in the world, with perhaps our best goal-scoring opportunity arising only from a second-rate defensive clearance.
Qatar were worth their win in the end, with former Asian Player of the Year Khalfan Ibrahim doing what the Socceroos couldn’t, capitalising on a failure to clear, sneaking beyond the backline and poking the ball past an exposed Federici.
Defensively, Australia lacked cohesion and confidence. Alex Wilkinson continued his steady pattern of form, but the re-called Nikolai Topor-Stanley and fullbacks Chris Herd and Aziz Behich did little to press their claims for regular spots.
Yet still, it is the final third that will have Postecoglou losing the most sleep.
This morning, the Socceroos’ attack was black-marked by a disproportionate reliance on crossing.
Having Tim Cahill as your target certainly gives you licence to bombard the box, but there’s an issue when those crosses are aimless, fail to clear the first man or float carelessly into the arms of the keeper.
If the Socceroos are to have a conscious focus on crossing the ball, it needs to be quite simply done better.
Last month, Tony Tannous stressed the need for the Socceroos to develop more dimensions in attack. But on recent showings, there seems to be little evidence of variation or innovation.
There were times when Kruse, Bresciano and Oar attempted to carry the ball with purpose or ignite an attack with some quick-fire passing, but the final option was almost always the wrong one.
The fact remains that Cahill has scored seven of the eleven goals of the Postecoglou era. Mile Jedinak has scored three of the remaining four.
And as much as we talk about the way Australia is becoming increasingly accustomed to playing in the Asian confederation, so too are our opposition beginning to understand the Socceroos’ limitations.
Qatar were well aware that Cahill would not be peeling off shoulders and making darting runs in behind and so were able to shift their defensive focus to cutting off the supply from wide.
There was a small, insignificant moment late in the second half that almost encapsulated this particular international break to a tee.
Mathew Leckie had the ball high and wide, bearing down on his marker. A second defender soon came across in cover.
Leckie slowed his run, put his foot on the ball and literally paused to turn his head in search of an off-the-ball option. This prompted Ivan Franjic to finally make an overlapping run, but by then the movement had died out and possession was spurned.
It was a minuscule moment that typifies the lack of fluidity the Socceroos are experiencing the moment. And with only one final tune-up game before the Asian Cup, against Japan in Osaka next month, there’s not a lot of time for improvement.
Of course, it should be noted that playing in the Middle East’s zapping conditions is no easy task – any evening game that requires drink breaks is hardly conducive to good football.
The game against Qatar also marked the Socceroos’ eighth consecutive match on foreign soil.
Though if the Socceroos are to move forward, to progress to that next tier of international football, they need to be handling these types of matches more efficiently.
I’m a big advocate of what Postecoglou is attempting to do with the national team and I’m more than prepared for the longueurs ahead.
Here’s hoping the wider Australian footballing public shares the same level of patience.
j binnie
Guest
Punter - Great care should be taken when describing the achievments of the players you seek to raise above the pack so to speak.Mark Bosnich played most of his "successful" football in England with Aston Villa making 179 appearances for that club against his 2 spells at Man U amounting to 4 seasons when he amassed 26 first team appearances, during which he did play in the WCC as the club were "between" first team goalkeepers at the time,Barthez replacing Schmeichel.(Fox like to ignore these stats when describing his past achievements). As you say Harry did win an ECC winners medal with LIverpool in 2005 when he played for 23 minutes in the final against Milan before being substituted due to his ongoing groin problems ,an injury that was to see his ultimate demise at the club in 2008. By the way if you are taking beaten finalists ,semi finalists,and quarter finalists in the EEC as potentially "capable winners" you are adding mutiple clubs to the list of teams "capable" of winning the trophy, from finalists alone ,another 6 teams !!!!!! Cheers jb .
Professor Rosseforp
Guest
"Things can only get better from here" -- I think that's what people said after the World Cup. Anyone who has ever read the book "When the air hits your brain, you're never the same" would know that in brain surgery -- as in soccer -- things can go from catastrophic to worse very quickly. This can either stay the same, or they could get worse. I hope not. I'm not smart enough, nor do I have enough in-depth knowledge of coaching and players to pick up what the problems are, but as an interested fan for many years, and as an ex-player at the lowest level possible, I still see 3 glaring errors: 1. lack of technical skills (much improved over the years, but still not good enough) 2. lack of rehearsed moves in free kick/corner/throw-in situations 3. attackers who have no idea how to put the ball into the net, even in front of an open goal where they have spent much of their life contemplating what to do. Added to this is the "rigorous" defending style that will always cause problems, and more recently, a lack of fitness for a full game -- these guys are incredibly fit, but the European stars are doing something our guys aren't -- and traditionally our fitness has been a major advantage.
Punter
Guest
JB, A team with the potential to win the champions league was based on the fact that Dortmund has reached a minimum of the 1/4 finals in the last 3 years including a beaten finalist & is regarded one of the best teams in Europe, Langerak & Amini were not toddlers in the last years. Bozza was in the team the won the world club championships, so his side had won the Champions league the previous year. Kewell won the champions league with Liverpool & was at Leeds when they made the semis. Viduka was in the same Leeds team. Sorry I wasn't clear.
j binnie
Guest
Jaji - There's always one. Arok didn't play against Israel,he picked a team and they played and they lost,so what???? 1974 to 2006 is 32 years or 8 World Cups and we didn't reach any of them Please explain jb
j binnie
Guest
Punter - I think we are getting our wires crossed here my comment was not based on youth teams it was in answer to the comment you made at 11.30am on15th when you asked how many players had played in the NSL and graduated to some top teams in Europe.You cited two youngsters at Dortmund and in a later comment cited Kewell.Viduca and Bozza who to the best of my knowledge never won European Championships when there.I simply pointed out some other names who had long successful careers in English and Continental football.Your hint about Dortmund as a "capable team" got me nosey and I went looking to see how "capable" they were and found that yes,they had won the trophy,in 1996,18 years ago,when your 2 nominees were little more than toddlers. Yes they got to a final in recent years but what may surprise you that in the last 25 years there has only been what I would call multiple winners in the comp,Barca with 4,Real with 4,Milan with 3 and Man U. and Bayern with 2 apiece.Now that is 15 out of 25 and the others are all singular winners,Red Star,Marseille,Porto,Inter,Liverpool,Ajax.Chelsea,plus also Dortmund.So as you can see it is not so easy for a young player to pick out a European Champion team to go to. I did mention Johnson's "keep up" effort which you appear to think there are numerous players today that could accomplish. Let's explain to the non reader of his book.He went to the car park at Middlesborough and proceeded to hit the ball against a wall with firstly his right foot followed by the same trick with his left foot.When he had accomplished 100 repetitions without the ball hitting the ground he deemed the practice over. If the ball hit the ground he started again.Yes you could be right,maybe Messi or Ronaldo but would you like to nominate someone from the Roar who could complete that exercise??????jb
Qantas supports Australian Football
Guest
What is your problem???
Arnold Krewanty
Guest
We were fortunate to have a superstar generation get us to the past 3 World Cups. Can't stay on top forever. Need more minnows games more often for both senior team and 20s.
Realfootball
Guest
Too personal thanks
Qantas supports Australian Football
Guest
Terrible comment. No thanks.
JAJI
Guest
Yep but Arok couldn't even beat Israel when it really mattered in qualifying for Italia 90
j binnie
Guest
Matt I only saw 20 minutes of the game so did not form an opinion as to how the team performed.What I did notice was that the Qataris moved into spaces much quicker than our boys did,they passed the ball quicker and far more accurately and in a lot of cases demonstrated better first touch of the ball, far better than our lads,These skills are recognised as being the basics for a good player so using that as a measure that made them a better side on the night in the 20 minutes I watched.Sorry to disagree with you but talent and skills are in the eye of the beholder as he or she sees it. Cheers jb
j binnie
Guest
RBB- Lets be objective. We took a squad of players to a World Cup,Forget who they were,they were at a competition that places them among the world's best with a world population expecting them to get beaten They showed a lot of spirit and "had a go" at Holland in the first game,a Holland team struggling with a "new" system of play introduced by their coach.We got a penalty and a once in a lifetime strike from one of our oldest players to lead at half time.After half time the Dutch coach reverted back to a more "normal" formation and with their better players pushed futher up the field they .started to take us apart. Now you may not agree with that summation but you will find that same Dutch coach tried the same formation when he took over at Man U. and was punished severely.He has since "shelved" the 3 centre back experiment at Manchester. Back to our lads. Bouyed by the apparent narrow loss and good press they again had a go at Chile,losing 1-3 but again showing some spirit and fight but those traits alone don't win games at that level.Next was Spain,playing their style of football that Ange himself likes to play and not surprisingly we lost 0-3.No shame ,no disgrace, but-----no points either. Back to the real world and a planned group of games aimed at getting match practice and player trialling in a run up to the Asian Cup comp.It starts with a 0-2 loss to Belgium,not a bad team in it's own right and then on to our mid eastern opponents where we have enjoyed a narrow win against Saudi and then a scoreless draw with UAE and a goaless (for us) defeat against Qatar. I ask you again ,what progress has taken place on the field????Certainly we have seen more "trialists",but how can you take "progress" out of what we have seen on the field.?? So whereto for Ange?.Bresciano and Cahill are still around from 2006 but who is going to replace them and when.He cannot look to the Under 19's for they too have been struggling for domination among the same class of opponent in recent weeks.Can he turn to the HAL where he has got Milligan and Mackay still in the squad,but who else is ready to play against ,not the Spains,Chiles and Hollands of world football but the recognised minnows of the world game still cutting their teeth in Asia.Thats our man's problem and I wish I could offer him a instant cure but the evidence of what we are seeing is that a 'cure" is not going to be easy.Call this pessimistic if you like but I've been watching the game for a long time and at this point in time I am not too confident of what tomorrow will bring.I honestly hope Iam wrong but as I have said before ,we can but hope. Cheers jb
Bondy
Guest
Mo The Sydney Derby is the only sport that sells out in Sydney of any " sport " annually, and with minimal promotion too. People can no longer say that we're not a footballing nation, hallelujah .. Smurfs vs Drive By's be there or be square ....
AZ_RBB
Guest
Can't wait for Saturday night. I can't speak for sporting events outside of Sydney but the Derby is so far ahead of every other sporting event in Sydney in terms of atmosphere and spectacle that it's not even a competition anymore.
Griffo
Roar Guru
"Where in the world is Lucas Neill?" That is an article I'd like to write. Since not being picked for the World Cup Neill has seemed to gone to ground and shunned the public eye. 100 days to go for the Asia Cup and there was some chatter that Neill was about to announce a signing with an English club but I either missed it, or it fell through. In a Qatari English language paper leading up to the game and Ange is quoted saying that he doesn't retire players (internationally), that is not for him to do. Ange also wants for the most part players to be playing fairly regularly. Neill isn't playing (we would know about it). He got little game time leading up to World Cup squad announcement, with Ange indicating physically he wasn't up to the World Cup. Neill was pulling out all stops and favours to make it to Brazil. Neill may not have retired, but he's not going to get picked again for the national team imo.
RBBAnonymous
Guest
@J binnie Well I thank you for your answer even though it wasn't exactly answered how I had hoped. I consider progress being from losing 6-0 against France and Brasil with what was the remnants of our golden generation to playing competently and respectively at the world cup. If you don't consider that a start or progress, then I would love to hear your version of it. Cheers
Punter
Guest
I must admit Troisi, great A-League player, but higher level very average player.
Punter
Guest
JB, we were talking under age teams & you mentioned yesteryear under age teams. This was the context of our conversation. I mentioned Dortmund, who has been in amongst the top 8 in Europe for the past 3 years, who has 2 young players sitting on the bench grooming them for future stardom. I then ask how many other Aussie players were in such situations outside of Bozza, Kewell & Dukes in yesteryear & you gave me some great Aussie players with successful stints in mid range clubs in Europe, so I'm not spitting hairs, I'm providing facts, none of those players were playing in top notch clubs, Slater's Blackburn wasn't that good. However, you did mention Craig Johnson, now this is one player who I followed very closely during his career, I read his book, there was little support from Australia as for keep ups, I think you would find many players now capable. I have been following football since the 1974 socceroos & the golden generation is called that because that was what they were (we were blessed with 2-3 outstanding players & many very good players), but not a believer in everything was better in yesteryears.
Paul Nicholls
Roar Guru
Hey Bondy. I read this too. I'll be there on Saturday night. 43.000 for a "plastic" league as some would call it. Not too shabby.
Professor Rosseforp
Guest
I'm not sure the results would have been reversed in the Iceland-Netherlands game. Iceland was playing at home, they were coming off two good results. Netherlands was looking shaky, and had a couple of injury worries. Robben and Van Persie have not hit peak form, Mostly Guus Hiddinck was outwitted by the wily Icelandic coach, who had seen enough of the Netherlands to realise their attacking was limited and could be stultified by a confident defence. I'm not sure I would back Iceland against Ronaldo or Messi, but their defence was great for the Netherlands. I certainly tipped the Iceland win. You could be right though, as there have been a few weird results. Malta giving Italy a real scare, although at this stage in group matches, Italy tends to do just what is required. Wales going well, and Ireland, too!