Socceroos win 2-1, now comes a nervous wait

Good one guys. Played great. If the goals had gone in there'd be not a word said about Ange. He's our Coach and he has a plan. Let's support him and the guys and stop whinging. .

Thanks Middy Truth is I visit quite often, particularly to keep up on A-League play and to learn about Aussie players I havent seen much of. Its just that I dont usually comment when I recognize that Im the least knowledgeable person in the room. If our (Ventforet Kofu's) recent addition to the AFC player quota -- known fondly around these parts as: "Boz from Oz" -- ever gets back into the NT picture, maybe youll see more of me.

. . . . and yet your rank-and-file supporters are still bleating about "luck" ? When you have a referee award a penalty kick that wasnt even a foul, against you, several free kicks on the edge of the box which also are clearly deliberate dives, and then disallows an equaliser goal that was at least six inches over the line, THEN you might start to wake up and understand how things are likely to work against you in Asia. When The National (the official news organization of the UAE) reports that "questionable officiating calls played a part in the (UAE) team's win", I think you can guess that perhaps the result was flattering. The point is not to moan over how spurious Japan's so-called "home loss" may have been . . . The point is that these things ALWAYS happen in Asian qualification, and if you are unable to pick yourself up and carry on, without losing all faith in your team or its ability to perform on a less "skewed" playing field (at the World Cup) then you may as well go back to Oceania. No team in history has ever made it through Asian qualification without looking far less impressive than they "should" (look at how poor Iran looked in their final two matches of the group!). That is the nature of the territory. Yet several have gone on to perform quite well at the World Cup itself. This is what I mean when I say that you still need to learn a few things about how to succeed in Asia. The fact that you are still arguing the point, after all that has transpired over the past 18 months, simply makes it clear that the lessons still need to be learnt.

Watch game. End comments.

Australian football sank to one of its lowest level this week - a vital home game and fans were left arguing that the cold weather wouldn't suit the Thai's, that a good/flat pitch would favour the Aussies, that a cauldron-like atmosphere (which didn't materialise) would see them over the line .... we did everything bar break out the lucky rabbits foot and make voodoo dolls of the Thai goalkeeper. We just weren't good enough. And fight now we're not good enough to get through the qualifiers either.

You can błame the players and blame the coach but they did the best they could ,the real blame here should be directed to the FFA and its cronies in charge .the current FFA are destroying our game . Without a successful Socceroos team our game will go backwards .For all the faults of the NSL it was a great nursery for future Socceroos.the NSL was inclusive of all major cities around the country's the wolves the stallions ,Olympic etc , the amount of teams espcially teams from regional cities and suburban Sydney produce do lot of junior talent . the A league is exclusive to capital city teams apart From two and not enough talent from these few teams .The A league is a failure when it comes to producing enough young talent .david gallop need some to resign he has no idea .

Yo Yo Yo Kangarooos are king of Asia no more!!! Defeat is inevitable! Bow down before the mighty elephant of THAILAND. SAUDI! SAUIDI! SAUDI! Love and respect to all. Greeting from Southern Chad!

"But unless Australia starts to learn the lessons of “how to succeed in Asia” there will be more struggles like this one, in your future." For heaven's sake. Australia has been part of Asia since 2006. We've qualified for 2 consecutive World Cups through Asia. We may still qualify for the 3rd consecutive WC. We are currently Asian Champions. We were beaten finalists in the previous Asian Cup after playing a wonderful game & were beaten in Extra Time by a world class goal. The opposition's Goal Keeper was named MOTM, so you can figure out which team had more goal chances that day. The way people are going on about Australia, you'd think Japan & Saudi Arabia have been outstanding. They have not. Japan has struggled in Asia this campaign. So has Saudi Arabia. Japan even lost a home game during this WC campaign. Australia has only lost 1 match this Stage. Hopefully, Japan finishes this campaign only losing 1 game. If this WC Campaign is an example of "Australia struggling in Asia", god help Asia if Australia ever plays to its full potential.

Matsu Good to see you back on these boards must be a few years between drinks .. always welcome your comments...

40 plus shots and you find the net twice in 90min. How many opportunities did the Thai team have? Considering the height of the Thai players would it have been logical to attack the top corners with a majority of shots on goal? A combination of stupidity poor execution and skill at finishing from the Socceroos in my opinion.

It isnt a question of luck . . . it has a lot to do with the way that the so-called "minnow" teams play, and whatever you want to say about their quality, they have had LOTS of experience playing this type of a game. FWIW, Japan (not to mention South Korea and Iran) often experiences very much the same trouble, because of the style of play. Trying to penetrate a 7-3-0 formation is tedious, and it takes a lot of patience and poise to avoid pulling the trigger too soon, rushing your shot, or just blowing the play out of frustration and exhaustion. IIRC our 2-1 win in Thailand was almost a photocopy of this contest. But the lessons you need to draw from such an experience are: 1) Dont ever underestimate anyone. 2) When playing a weaker opponent, assume that every call will go against you 3) Never let the pressure get you to overlook the basics: Dont shoot unless you see an gap, instead of taking a low-probability shot, pass off with your first touch, and when you do pull the trigger MAKE SURE IT IS ON TARGET. As Ive already said, I think there is a very high probability of at least a draw by Japan. But unless Australia starts to learn the lessons of "how to succeed in Asia" (and just as importantly, what NOT to do), there will be more struggles like this one, in your future

Exactly what was playing in my head as I typed that out!

How often do we hear the mantra about the unlucky Socceroos? Seriously the shot taken from the free kick at the top of the box would have missed a goal twice as high. Wright had an open shot at the back post and the ball hits him in the face? The day they take ownership for the result and stop crying about bad luck is the day they will become winners..

Worth listening too.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LR4XNqrqxrU

40 shots but only 14 on target and of those the vast majority were from distance. It was a very ordinary display and ref was shocking

That hurt to watch. Gobsmacked by how many chances we had but couldnt convert. Fair play to Thailand, they held us out - but we were our worst enemy with the missed chances. Frustrating to see how good we were without Kruse and Smith - which fans have been calling for sometime - as the play never broke down before it even began. Gersbach just showed the importance of regular football, so comfortable on the ball, able to pass the ball with ease, fitness at a high level. Why he didnt play before this is beyond me and, when Ange leaves, will be his achilles heel for holding out on clearly under-performing players out of pure stubbornness. Now, forgive me as I turn Japanese for the next few hours.

To be fair, this was probably the best we've played with the formation due to the players that were picked - such as no Kruse, and Gersbach playing in lieu of Smith. We just couldnt finish, and that has nothing to do with Ange. He's not the one putting it into the back of the net.

Agree. That was a weird and frustrating game. The Thai's played to stifle and defended like demons. I'll give them that for the defensive effort and I'll give a mild slap to the Aussie boys for not being composed enough in front of goal, hitting shots at the post (Cahill, Rogic, Mooy), wide (Rogic, Troisi) or miles high (Juric).

If rogic had been one foot more accurate tonight he very well could've put 5 or more past. Keeper kept out a few good ones though. I think Australia played him into the game of his life.

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