Olyroos coach Graham Arnold had declared his team was ready to shock the world at the Olympic Games. One game down and mission already accomplished.
The Australians stunned Argentina 2-0 in Sapporo on Thursday night to go top of a group that includes Spain and Egypt, who drew their opener.
Anrnold had also said his side was ready to deliver something special and Melbourne City’s Marco Tilio did that with the second goal after Lachie Wales scored a first half opener and Argentina went down to 10 men.
Tilio, a late callup who needed a Melbourne City staffer to break into his home to retrieve his passport while he was locked down in Sydney, scored with just his second touch for the team, curling home a stunning strike.
Marcos Tilio celebrates the Olyroos’ second against Argentina.
“We always believed in what we wanted to achieve,” said Wales. “We got here early and had a really good training camp. We believed in Arnie’s philosophy. We used words like ‘believe it receive it’ and it’s a dream come true.
“It’s a big moment in Australian football. Tonight we shocked the world. Onto Spain and hopefully we can shock the world again.”
Wales was full of praise for his teammates, who were outstanding across the park – including centreback and captain Thomas Deng, a refugee born in Kenya who has gone onto lead his adopted country at the Olympics.
The Aussie under 23 selection were well worth their win, aided by the red card to Francisco Ortega through two yellows in two minutes just before halftime.
While Wales’s first half goal was against the run of play – they had less than 40 percent possession throughout – Australia were more composed and in control in the second half and could have scored more than Titlio’s sublime on the run, first time finish, with Mitch Duke missing a late chance.
In the first half Riley McGree went close to a stunning bicycle goal, and he shot just over from far out in the second after butchering a chance for a second with Wales.
Neither scorer had been in the initial squad picked for Tokyo.
Tilio had not been involved in any of the qualification rounds and only got a late call up through injury to Ramy Najjarine.
Wales was left out but added when Olympic squad sizes were expanded last week in reaction to COVID positives.
Hudddo
Roar Rookie
I'm all for another team in Auckland the kiwis just have to match the Australian investment.
NoMates
Roar Rookie
With a Auckland side ASAP.
Rodney McMinge
Roar Rookie
Gomez ?
Ed Jonauskis
Roar Rookie
Just how good a player is Riley McGree?
Redondo
Roar Rookie
An Olympics tab - who would have thought!
Rugbynutter
Roar Rookie
wow wow - game for the ages...and as my profile name suggests not an active soccer follower but do have a passing interest and gees these boys played way above their on paper expectations... This is huge and something for them to long remember to have been Argentina 2-0 in an olympics.... Super proud of their effort as an aussie....
Redondo
Roar Rookie
Just out of interest...I had a look for a Roar live blog of the game when it was on last night and couldn't find anything. I thought - bugger, nobody is interested and this is a magic performance! Turns out Mike was doing one but I couldn't see it on the Roar football tab. Was I looking in the wrong place? Ditto for Mike's article today - can't see it anywhere unless I find an old Mike article and click through to Mike's profile page.
Rodney McMinge
Roar Rookie
Loved the win. Funny game. Our boys played with a lot of broken rhythm. The ball arriving out of sync to the feet ,or arriving at odd heights. A lot of time spent readjusting instead of moving the ball forward. However, Lady Luck was pretty even when it came to the bounce of the ball. They ( argentina ) tried to intimidate early and got a rude shock when we pushed back. If they can just keep the ball on the deck and get a chance to play football , we might all be enjoying a few game nights.
con tripodis
Guest
that is why we need a 16 team A league ASAP
Winter A League is Awesome
Roar Rookie
At least he is attempting them. Once he is firing on all cylinders than the passes become magic.
Winter A League is Awesome
Roar Rookie
Absolutely
Winter A League is Awesome
Roar Rookie
Arzani does passes that no one else dares. Just because they didnt come off, doesnt mean he shouldnt be doing them. He should definetely start again in the next game.
Hudddo
Roar Rookie
+1. The NZ team is also contributing to the A-leagues reputation, they have 8 in the squad currently plying there trade in the A-league. Really big night for the legitamacy of the Competition.
Winter A League is Awesome
Roar Rookie
Its great to see them come out playing for the win, rather than playing not to loose. This sort of belief starts at the top with Graham. City winning the finals not long ago also helps the City contingent come out with a huge amount of confidence. Arzani is better than Tilio especially as a center mid that creates plays in all directions. His passes didnt come off but at least they were being done. Arzani has the vision and confidence to do half field passes into space and that needs to be encouraged. He plays like Mooy. Otherwise we get the passes that slowly build up and end up on the wings in the corner which are easy to defend. Tilio works hard and is fast and can obviously score but he doesnt do the half field pass every 5 to 10 minutes.
Sydneysideliner
Roar Rookie
Glad someone gave Arzani a wrap. He was copping a bit of unfair criticism after the game, but that first half performance was in no small part down to his quick footwork. Through passing needs to be tighter, especially if Spain shut down that space we were able to work in against the Argies. Maybe he swaps places with Tilio just to keep the energy level high.
Sydneysideliner
Roar Rookie
It's a nice position to be in, where we can't decide on who should start but for positive reasons! You could put the same starting side out again, assuming they recover, and be confident they'll put in another solid 1st half. Or you could swap Arzani with Tilio, Genreau with Watts and be equally confident.
Sydneysideliner
Roar Rookie
Looking back at the highlights, it's hard to tell how good we were vs how bad Argentina were. We were very quick moving it out wide, but Argentina looked strangely lethargic, so expect that space to disappear against Spain. We'll need the likes of Arzani, Tilio and Genreau to turn on the creativity to break them down.
jamesb
Roar Guru
A wonderful win for the Olyroos and the A League. Apart from Souttar and Watts, the team that took the field last night were past and present A League players. The A League needs to be respected a little bit more. Graeme Dorrans, a former Scottish international who recently played for the WSW. He has gone back home due to family reasons. Back home, he conducted an interview, and this is what he had to say about the A League and the Wanderers : “The football side of things was good and the club have the best training facilities in Australia. “The training ground is first-class, it’s on a par with what Rangers have in Milngavie. “So it was great to be in that kind of environment again, it was brilliant for me. “The A League in Australia probably doesn’t get the credit it deserves. “People back here have this perception of it not being that great but that’s false. It’s a more-than-decent standard and the league is full of good players. “There is obviously a wage cap, which impacts things a bit, and every club has young players who need to be a part of the squad. “They don’t earn a lot of money and there are older players who do, so there is a gap. “It’s a bit like the MLS in regard to the wage gaps but there is quality throughout the A-League. “Western Sydney’s Bankwest Stadium is unbelievable and it was a brilliant experience that I would recommend to anyone.” https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/graham-dorrans-life-australia-amid-24556614 Now sure, not every foreign player has had wonderful things to say about the A League, but in Wanderers case, there was no training ground five years ago. So the A League continues to evolve.
coolncold
Roar Rookie
Tilio looks alike Addam in Addam's Family.
Will
Guest
Australian football suffers alot from cultural cringe or an general inferior complex to how we view the rest of the football world. There is a myth that we say our players aren't good technically or tactically enough, same with the coaches too. That our aleague is failing us(even though with small improvements it could be even better as a product such as a longer season and eventual pro-rel) but its a nice little league with great potential That our national curriculum is a flawed model when alot of these kids would have experienced the fruits of the labour which started a decade ago.(Hello youth development was always going to take alot of time anyway!) and develop some beautiful little technicians that could decide a game. The expectations were little but last night confirmed we got something good and can compete with the world's best if we give the players and coaches the best chance to fulfull this objective. Who would have thought sadly an pandemic would open this up and without it knows where the future of the national team will be. Now to build on this, started by expanding the aleague but also introducing a crucial link which is the NSD and create a longer season so the kids and coaches can develop even further and therefore increase our chance of not only competing but also being successful in competing on the world stage. Also a transfer system is a must in compensating the clubs who develop these players properly. Back the kids, coaches, back the NPL, back the aleague and what else we got because we should feel very proud we got something good in our own backyard! Proud moment for Australian football. Wish the lads all the best against Spain and Egypt too, go and get them!