- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
The Australian Kookaburras must put in a near-perfect performance if they want to improve their position at the Rio Olympics when they take on Belgium, who are firing on all cylinders. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 9:30am (AEST).
The Kookaburras started their campaign with an unconvincing victory over local rivals New Zealand on the opening day of the Games.
The performance against the Kiwis wouldn’t have filled fans with confidence, and those fears were realised against Spain, losing 2-1.
» Kookaburras vs Belgium match report
Spain weren’t supposed to be tournament heavyweights, but they still found a way to get the better of the Kookaburras. It is a major worry for the Australians – their defence, when put under pressure, is ordinary, and their attack doesn’t look threatening. In fact, Australia have scored just one goal in 97 minutes of hockey, which comes down to a lack of team cohesion.
To make matters worse, mid-fielder Aran Zalewski will miss the clash with suspension, which will heap the pressure on the combination of veterans Mark Knowles and Jamie Dwyer. It’s critical those two get things right if Australia are to improve upon their woeful attacking performances.
Belgium have arguably been the best team so far, recording a pair of thumping wins to get their campaign underway, defeating Great Britain 4-1 and Brazil a massive 12-0.
What’s even more worrying is how much they have been able to share the goal scoring, how aggressive they have been, and the fact that every player looks like they could turn into a major threat at any moment.
However their defence is an unknown quantity at this point, because it simply hasn’t been called into action.
Despite the Belgians’ good form, Australia easily accounted for them last time these sides met, at the Champions Trophy, taking a 2-0 win. In fact, Australia have won seven of the last ten meetings between the sides.
Prediction
Belgium have been on fire, and the Kookaburras haven’t – even a marked improvement may see them struggle.
With the only thing going for the Aussies being a historical edge, that isn’t going to be enough.
Belgium 5-1 Australia
Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of this important men’s hockey fixture from 9:30am (AEST) and don’t forget to add your comments below.
Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde