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Australia’s 1-0 defeat to England was a combination of some of the most free-flowing football we’ve ever seen in the Graham Arnold era, coupled with the same old problem of failing to hit the back of the net.
The Socceroos were genuinely hard done by to finish up on the losing side of the ledger, even if their best chances all came on the break or via set pieces.
And having worked so hard to keep an experimental England side at bay, they’ll be genuinely annoyed to have conceded the winner to Ollie Watkins after failing to deal with a second ball.
It was a bit tough on Ryan Strain that he was the player who failed to deal with Trent Alexander-Arnold’s swirling cross, given the fact the former Adelaide United and current St Mirren defender turned in an otherwise impressive performance on his starting debut.
There were still a couple of defenders in the way of Jack Grealish’s shot-turned-cross back across the face of goal, but having dodged an earlier Watkins effort when the Aston Villa man really should have scored, there was no reprieve this time around.
Even then, Arnold’s side were hugely unlucky not to have opened the scoring themselves, having fashioned several clear-cut chances in an entertaining first half.
Mitch Duke deserved better than to see his instinctive volley flash wide of Sam Johnstone’s near post just after the 20-minute mark, after the reliable Martin Boyle had dinked over a well-weighted cross.
The Aussies should have taken the lead soon after when Boyle once again chipped over a cross which the England defence failed to deal with, only for Kye Rowles to blaze his effort over the crossbar.
Then it was the marauding Strain’s turn to almost open the scoring following Australia’s best move of the match, after a long ball from Keanu Baccus was brought down by Boyle, who expertly turned inside his defender before the laying the ball off for the oncoming Strain.
If ever a player looked like he was starting his first international, it was Strain at that very moment – who concentrated on getting his shot on target, only to see his somewhat weak effort on goal cleared off the line by Lewis Dunk.
So it was that it was no real surprise to see England open the scoring in what was a scrappy second half, with Watkins bundling the ball home after Grealish drove across the face of goal.
We’ve been there and seen it all before with the Socceroos, who somehow had nothing to show for what was a quietly effective display.
(Photo by Tom Dulat/Getty Images)
Again, it was no big surprise to see starting midfielder Connor Metcalfe thump a late header off the post after he rose highest to meet Boyle’s in-swinging corner.
Metcalfe has battled his way into the starting side at unbeaten 2. Bundesliga heavyweights St. Pauli, and the former Melbourne City midfielder turned in a composed display playing in behind Duke.
That said, virtually every player that got on the park turned in a decent performance – although it was interesting to see Rowles selected on the left-hand side of defence when Jordan Bos is clearly the more practical long-term option.
Meanwhile, French whistleblower Stephanie Frappart made history when she became the first female referee to officiate a men’s international at Wembley – before proceeding to produce a series of questionable decisions that all predictably went against Australia.
Nevertheless, much as a hardcore section of Aussie fans can’t bear to hear it, Arnie has turned the Socceroos into a genuinely entertaining side to watch.