The Socceroos have fallen to an agonising 1-0 defeat to England, with Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins’ second half goal the difference on a night that could easily have gone the other way.
On their first visit to Wembley Stadium, Australia matched their more heralded hosts and, until the hour mark, had enjoyed the better of the chances, only for their lack of top-end attacking quality to let them down.
Unfortunately for them, England have an abundance in that area: they could leave Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane out, but still call upon the likes of Jack Grealish, James Maddison and Watkins, who has been on fire in the Premier League.
The game’s best moment, Grealish – all $139m of him – produced a superb touch and cross for Watkins to finish. The Socceroos dozed for a second and were brutally punished.
Arnold handed a debut to St Mirren right back Ryan Strain – one of six with Scottish connections in the Socceroos line-up – and it was the defender who will have the toughest time sleeping tonight, as he was presented with a golden chance to open the scoring late in the first half, only for his shot to be blocked on the line.
Conor Metcalfe, the St Pauli midfielder, hit the post late on and had another effort saved by England keeper Sam Johnstone, with the custodian also denying Keanu Bacchus and Kye Rowles.
“I was happy with the way we played,” said Arnold, audibly struggling with his voice after a frantic night in London.
“We created chances, we did very well, and against a top team like England, it’s disappointing to lose.”
(Photo by Tom Dulat/Getty Images)
The first half ended goalless, though how remains a mystery. Australia had several superb chances to open the scoring, with Mitch Duke firing wide from a Martin Boyle cross, Rowles twice coming close from set pieces and, finally, debutant Strain having a shot cleared off the line by Lewis Dunk.
England, for their part, missed a fair few. Watkins had the best of their opportunities, rounding Matt Ryan but hitting the post, while James Maddison failed to connect with a Conor Gallagher cross that flashed across the face of the goal.
The balance of play was what might have been expected – England had 67% of the ball – but that suited the Socceroos down to the ground, and the hosts were consistently unable to deal with the pace of Craig Goodwin and Boyle in transition or the height of Souttar, Rowles and Duke from set pieces.
It was a proper game, too, which benefited Australia. Referee Stéphanie Frappart dished out four yellow cards, probably a record for a friendly match, as tackles flew in and the Socceroos sought to get into the faces of their more illustrious opponents.
England came out with a little more verve, but it took them to the hour mark to breach the defence.
When it came, it was a momentary lapse from Australia, which against the level of quality – even in a second string England – was able to immediately pounce.
The goal began from a Trent Alexander-Arnold cross that sailed over the defence to the back post, where Grealish was able to control instantly with his first touch, then return across goal with his second for Watkins to slide home.
Both sides rung the changes, with the inevitable result of a much scrappier, disjointed game.
Jordy Bos, brought on as a left winger, was immediately impactful and won a corner, from which Australia should have equalised as Metcalfe rose high, unimpeded at the back post, but his header only found the upright.
On their next foray, he again connected, but Johnstone was up to the task.
Pedro55
Roar Rookie
No prizes for second
Paul
Roar Rookie
Yes true. With the national teams playing in the world cups more often now there's more exposure to leverage for an overseas opportunity. I couldn't help but think it after Reynolds/Mcehelney bought Wrexham and Rees bought Southend.
Kanggas2
Roar Rookie
I’ve often thought this idea had potential, probably 20 years ago when buying a championship club was far cheaper than now , stacking with Australians kids and a talented mix of other nations players and recruiting the best coaches they could afford. Obviously since the a league inception, this idea is probably redundant now .
Paul
Roar Rookie
I'm not a regular watcher of the EPL so Iapologise if this is a stupid idea or it's been suggested before. I remember years ago when businessman Gerry Ryan backed an Australian cycling team that competed in the Tour de France (Orica Greenedhe or similar) which was a pathway for Australian riders to get into the big leagues of cycling. Would it be a completely stupid idea for the FFA go in with someone like Justin Rees at Southend FC and have a development pathway in the EPL?
Kanggas2
Roar Rookie
Sydney side Pretty much agree with your rugby league comment. The rugby league World Cup is not a genuine competition unfortunately. Definitely a shame that test cricket is not recognised as important by other countries. The best team ever came from tiny nations like Antigua Barbados Jamaica . Still at the moment, the top 3 nations are playing at a very good level. Will that continue in time , who knows.
Kanggas2
Roar Rookie
Grem
Roar Rookie
Perhaps Kuol and Tourre will be what we need - in time.
Grem
Roar Rookie
There have been 9 rugby union world cups. NZ have won 3 and Australia 2. That means Australia and NZ have won over half of all rugby rugby world cups. Great competition, yes, a World Cup, no. In any serious World Cup, Australia and NZ will not be dominating. So when 9 out of 10 wants to compare results then he needs to compare accurately. A Socceroos loss to England in football is very different to the Wallabies losing to Fiji.
Sydneysider
Roar Rookie
"other sports are not elite because soccer has 200 teams" no they aren't elite, they only have a handful of nations that play it seriously and I'm a league fan. I don't care for the RLWC. of the other world cups, the rugby one has potential for growth. the cricket one has a test championship and a T20 world cup. Too many formats for cricket - one has to prevail eventually and with cricket now in the Olympics, T20 will be the one. One day cricket to fall away. Test cricket will eventually be played only by the big 3 - Australia, India, England. too many sporting options now thanks to digital media. So Australia ranking 27 in football is very good for a sport with a hugely competitive top 50.
NickA
Roar Rookie
Both points are fair – I think we’ve gone from a NT that struggles to create chances to a team that struggles to convert. That’s a pretty positive step for me. Rowles, Strain definitely should have scored – Metcalfe’s chance was a little harder I think (he timed and met it perfectly – just needed a bit of luck from the post). It’s nice to see Baccus, Metcalfe have a crack from range; Boyle & Goodwin not afraid to take players on; Burgess and Souttar not afraid of playing out from the back. We are playing pretty progressive football (where possible – difficult against a team that dominates possession). Players are backing their abilities more than I think they have in the past – that can only be due to the regular game time at club level most of them are getting, but also the positive results against better opposition. The only thing holding us back now is having talented finishers.
Kanggas2
Roar Rookie
lAustralia Fiji Samoa were zero chance of ethe rugby World Cup Grem. You love soccer , so do I , but it’s gets boring hearing you say other sports are not elite because soccer has 200 teams. Sports can be elite with less competition than soccer. The fact that you class countries with small populations like new zealand as unworthy if winning a rugby union is ridiculous. You’re better than that Do you realise that France is a rugby union nation traditionally, only the recent migration has seen it trend towards soccer. Should we congratulate France for being good at 2 sports or belittle them for loving rugby as their national game. Reasonable people can see elite players in any sport and not have to fact check that 200 countries play soccer as you do every week Rant over All the Best
Kanggas2
Roar Rookie
No doubt that English team would beat 80 percent of national teams.
Kanggas2
Roar Rookie
I’m talking about Kane Bellingham Saka foden stones . Absolutely Elite players There was no one on the field at their level on Friday Both Maddison and Grealish could be if they keep up their impressive performances. Whatever we think of England a or b team , it doesn’t matter, we all just want the Australians to get to a higher level.
Grem
Roar Rookie
There is a big difference between 8-10 teams being your world (union and cricket and I know they’ll produce a longer list with countries that don’t really play the game) and 8 teams out of 220 having won the World Cup of football. If your World Cup has a strong chance that New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, Samoa, etc may win it, then you’re kidding yourselves that it’s a World Cup. Of course the Socceroos need to improve, but they are competing strongly in the most difficult sport on earth to succeed in. Our experimental squad losing to England’s experimental squad (and it was there for the taking, but we didn’t finish) was a great effort.
Para+Ten ISUZU Subway support Australian Football
Roar Rookie
Metcalfe, Rowles and Strain; that's precisely my point, those three players were presented with golden chances and failed to convert. If they had the good finishing touches of the many world-class players going around it would have been 3 in the bag. Our midfielders need to work harder on their finishing prowess.
Sheffield WesDay
Roar Rookie
I dont agree that they were a second string team. Any one of the players on the England bench plus probably 10 others that were not selected for their squad could start in any match for them. At that level, players on the pitch and selected in squads have more to do with the managers style and current form. When you have a stable of players like England do, there is no B side (except for McGuire possibly).
Sheffield WesDay
Roar Rookie
Burgess and Souttar were strong, but I much prefer the combination of Rowles and Souttar. YOu get the same strengths and weaknesses in the two big men, but I feel Rowles' positioning, mobility and passing compliment Souttars height and strength. between the two of them, they should be able to deal with most situation thrown at them.
NickA
Roar Rookie
I disagree that it is a reality check - losing to a second string England team who all play at the elite echelons of the game. The reality check should be - wow, 'we can actually keep up with this level of player', not 'we got beaten by their reserves'. Their reserves are better than 80% of national teams around the world. I do understand your point though
NickA
Roar Rookie
I really like Yengi, hoping he continues to kick on how he is
Garry
Roar Rookie
Yengi is a chance too