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The Socceroos suffered late heartbreak against Japan and will be forced to take the long way to the Qatar World Cup. Whether coach Graham Arnold joins them on the next stage of the journey is open to considerable conjecture.
Japan toyed with a seriously undermanned Australian team before Kaoru Mitoma, an 84th minute substitute scored in the 89th and 94th minutes of the 2-0 win.
Australia had their chances and they pressed for a goal knowing a draw was likely not enough. The defeat means they will finish third in the group – with Japan and Saudi Arabia advancing – and then face a cross pool playoff against either the UAE or Lebanon from group A.
If they win that they will need to beat the fifth placed South American team – a very tall order on Thursday’s evidence.
Former Socceroo Archie Thompson delivered some brutal truths after the game.
“The bottom line is Japan are just too good – too good in every single area of that game,” said Thompson. “For Graham Arnold, the changes came a little too late.
“We were talking about the second half and you want to leave it all out on the pitch. I just don’t think we even took a swing – there wasn’t anything going forwards.
“We rode so many waves in that first half. They hit the bar twice and you’re still in it.”
Thompson lamented what he believed are attitude issues – and gave a whack to Jamie Maclaren, who will miss the next match, a dead rubber against Saudi Arabia.
“I don’t want to kick this team while it’s down because we’ve still got an opportunity,” Thompson said, before giving the team a kick anyway.
“I’ve been saying it for a long time, I just don’t think this squad’s good enough.
“I don’t think the players in this squad are good enough. And the mentality – if you’re not good enough still match it with the effort and mentality and I’ve been hearing stories about too many players making excuses about players not wanting to come here or there and missing games.
“The talk about Jamie Maclaren missing the game against Saudi Arabia. For me those are the issues. They’re big issues.”
In driving rain on a sloppy pitch, it was a frantic opening 45 minutes with both teams creating plenty of chances. Liverpool’s Takumi Minamino, on loan at Southampton, could have had a first half hattrick, hitting the cross bar twice, while Mat Ryan was forced into several big saves.
Japan were getting too much time and space through Australia’s midfield where they most missed some of the big names among the 11 absent regulars. But on 25 minutes the Socceroos thought they’d opened the scoring when Gianni Stesness bundled in the ball from a corner, only to have it disallowed.
Referee Nawaf Shukralla ruled that Trent Sainsbury fouled goalkeeper Shuichi Gonda, who never looked like reaching the ball.
It clearly fired up viewers but former Socceroo Mark Milligan could understand why it was ruled out.
“It does feel a little bit soft but if Sainsbury makes any sort of contact on this ball it’s not a foul,” Milligan said. “The simple fact he doesn’t get any contact, that’s why I think it wasn’t overruled.”
While Japan had clear ascendency that wasn’t Australia’s only big chance of the half with Mitchell Duke squandering two excellent opportunities. His first was a glancing shot just wide when the ball arrived at his feet at pace, but with the second he had ample time to pick his spot but headed straight at Gonda from a superb cross from the excellent Ajdin Hrustic.
At half-time Graham Arnold reacted to Japan’s midfield dominance by removing Connor Metcalfe, on a yellow card for a careless grab on 15 minutes, and sent on James Jeggo in an effort to gain a foothold.
The Socceroos started the half brightly and better and Hrustic flashed a shot just wide from the top of the box.
But Japan looked more in control, and more coherent in attack. Only a scuffed finish from Takuma Asano on 61 minutes robbed the visitors of a sumptuous team goal as they had the Aussies chasing shadows across their defensive third.
Arnold gave Bruno Fornaroli a debut on 68 minutes and the 69th minute arrival of Marco Tilio sparked the team into life but the quality was missing in the final third.
Minamino had a chance cleared off the line by Sainsbury on 80 minutes before Mitoma grabbed the first. His second slipped through Ryan’s fingers – a howler that seemed unduly cruel on the man who kept the Socceroos in the contest for so long.
The loss continues a terrible fall from grace for the Australians, who seemed to have the group under control, and have already sparked questions as to Arnold’s future in charge.
“We got shown what we know to be true,” reflected Andy Harper in the post-game show on Channel 10. “Japan are a mile ahead of us. Their players are a mile ahead of us. Their system is a mile ahead of ours, their investment is a mile ahead of ours.
“The problem with this team – and the extent to which Graham Arnold is in control of this problem or not – is those three draws against teams we should have beaten.
“Oman had seven players out with Covid. We had that chance in our favour against a team we should beat. China was the same, a team that was so far gone and have their own myriad problems and we couldn’t beat them when we needed to. Saudi Arabia, had them on toast for 65 minutes but we couldn’t find a way to finish them.”
But Harper said Arnold was not the only one to blame as he launched into Football Australia with what he called a ‘full body cavity search’ looking at the failure of FA to sell out the game, and for fining Arnold this week over a Covid breach.
“Who’s in control of this horrible week? I can’t recall a more chaotic week with the Socceroos,” Harper said.
He said Arnold though was accountable for on-field issues – citing slow substitutions on Thursday and the draws that “killed the campaign”.