Australia
5
Match Complete
Nepal
0
| J. Maclaren |  | 90' | ||
| 83' |  | R. Dhimal | ||
| H. Souttar | | 59' | ||
| H. Souttar | | 23' | ||
| J. Maclaren | | 19' | ||
| J. Maclaren | | 6' |
| 36 | Shots | 1 | ||
| 10 | On Target | 0 | ||
| 7 | Fouls | 14 | ||
| 7 | Corners | 1 | ||
| 2 | Offsides | 0 | ||
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 | ||
| 0 | Yellow Cards | 1 |
Match results:
Australia have done what was expected of them, but no more in what eventually turned out to be a five-nil defeat of Nepal in their second qualifying match on the long road to the 2022 FIFA World Cup at GIO Stadium in Canberra.
Final score
Australia 5
Nepal 0
Match preview
The Socceroos will look to keep pushing ahead during the second round of FIFA World Cup qualification when they take on Nepal in Canberra. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 8pm (AEDT).
Australia shouldn’t drop a match during this second round of qualification, with their group containing Jordan, Kuwait, Nepal and Chinese Taipei.
They started their campaign to qualify the 2022 World Cup in Qatar with a 3-0 win on the road against Kuwait, and now get to play their first home game against one of the minnows of Asian football.
While Australia aren’t at a historical high point, ranked 44, Nepal are currently sitting at 161 and unfortunately, the rankings difference will tell you all you need to know about this contest and the likely outcome.
Nepal have been hindered by having to play their first four qualification games away from home due to earthquake damage at their only stadium which is capable of hosting international football, but in truth, it wouldn’t matter where this match is being played.
The Nepalese started their campaign with a 7-0 flogging at the hands of Kuwait, and while they did bounce back to beat Chinese Taipei 2-0 in their second match, those teams are likely to battle for the bottom two spots in the group.
The only adversity in Australia’s preparation for this match is the loss of Massimo Luongo, who misses with a minor knee injury. He is replaced in the squad by Dimitri Petratos, who is a chance to feature from Graham Arnold’s bench.
The Socceroos are mainly made up of players based in Europe, with only Rhyan Grant, Jamie Maclaren, Petratos and Andrew Redmayne included from the A-League. Maclaren is a chance to play based on his exceptional pre-season and FFA Cup form for Melbourne City, but the likes of Aaron Mooy and Matthew Leckie should have a field day against the inexperienced Nepalese side.
Nepal have made no changes to the side who beat Chinese Taipei, with 21-year-old Anjan Bista their key man up front, having scored both goals in that match.
Rohit Chand, who plays for Persija Jakarta, will need to lead the defensive effort, while goalkeeper and captain Kiran Chemjong, who is set for his 63rd cap, could be in for a busy night.
Prediction
There is a significant class difference between the two sides, and playing in Canberra, something will have gone wrong for Graham Arnold’s side if this match is still alive at halftime.
It should be a flogging.
Australia 6-0 Nepal.
Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of this match from 8pm (AEDT) and don’t forget to add a comment in the section below.
Game information
Kick-off: 8pm (AEDT)
Venue: GIO Stadium, Canberra
TV: Live, Fox Sports, ABC
Online: Live, Kayo Sports, Foxtel App, Foxtel Now, Iview
Betting: Australia $1.01, draw $23, Nepal $126
Overall record: Never played
Referee: Thoriq Munir Alkatiri (Indonesia)
Squads
Australia
Mitchell Langerak (GK), Andrew Redmayne (GK), Mathew Ryan (GK), Mustafa Amini, Aziz Behich, Brandon Borrello, Milos Degenek, Apostolos Giannou, Craig Goodwin, Rhyan Grant, Ajdin Hrustic, Jackson Irvine, James Jeggo, Mathew Leckie, Awer Mabil, Jamie Maclaren, Mark Milligan (c), Aaron Mooy, Dimitri Petratos, Brad Smith, Harry Souttar, Adam Taggart, Bailey Wright
Nepal
Kiran Chemjong (c, GK), Bikesh Kuthu (GK), Bishal Shrestha (GK), Rohit Chand, Ananta Tamang, Devendra Tamang, Dinesh Rajbanshi, Suman Aryal, Ranjit Dhimal, Ajit Bhandari, Saroj Dahal, Sujal Shrestha, Bikram Lama, Heman Gurung, Sunil Bal, Santosh Tamang, Tej Tamang, Bimal Gharti Magar, Anjan Bista, Nawayug Shrestha, Ravi Paswan, Abhishek Rijal
The Ball Bobbled
Roar Rookie
If the ACT is so desperate for an A-League license then you would have expected a sell out - even if just to support their case let alone support Australia
The Ball Bobbled
Roar Rookie
Well it was officially reported that the 5000 tickets allocated to the Nepalese football clubs were sold out within the first hour - secondly the Nepalese Assn president said a further allocation was taken up and they "expected at least 8ooo " to go down - so i think its fair to say i did have "absolutely some idea." Also i watched every minute of the pre game on Fox as well as the match and post match. Further it was obvious even on tv that the support Nepal was more noticeable than that for the Socceroos
Mark
Guest
‘said to number 8000 +’ Exactly, you have absolutely no idea, do you? You probably didn’t even watch the game on tv, let alone attend to have any basis on which to support that statement. It was 1000, at best. I was there.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Thursday night. Still a weekday. But still, it was almost a sell out. What were you expecting?
Martyn50
Roar Rookie
Tuesday night, would of been an empty stadium. Was played yesterday
Redondo
Roar Rookie
If they play Nepal then buggger-all
Scott Pryde
Expert
18,000 is about 4,000 away from a sell-out. On a Tuesday night, what exactly were you expecting?
Martyn50
Roar Rookie
Not a big crowd turn out. 18,000. If this is all that can turn up for an international what will the domestic games bring? 8/9,000?
The Ball Bobbled
Roar Rookie
The Socceroos played like a team that had been thrown together for the first time - nothing exciting about the scoreline against the quality of the opposition - still there was always a lot of legs to get past in the box - - best part of the action was watching those Nepal fans, said to number 8ooo +, having such a good time in and around the stands. I wouldnt be too optimistic about an A -League licence going to the ACT after the poor turnout by locals either. Sure it was a Thursday night but this was Australia on the park - notwithstanding the standard of play which many might have come to expect i suppose.
Tyke
Roar Rookie
Come to think of it, our lack of goals was very disappointing in the second half, as we basically played 3 up back and 4 up front, I think GA will be privately very disappointed
Tyke
Roar Rookie
Hrustic was good off the bench, Grant a bull terrier as usual, Mooy classy, Milligan reliable, Mac high work rate, Awer brought some confidence and creativity as usual, Behich clumsy, Goodwin doesn’t add anything extra. Souttar over Sainsbury any day of the week, anyone over Sainsbury for that matter
Tyke
Roar Rookie
We were terrible quite frankly, against a team not even all professional, that got beat 7-0 by Kuwait, a team also not made up by professionals. Was it only one goal from open play? Zero penetration, it was not ruthless like GA would have wanted, the Aussie fans were disappointing too, it was the Nepalese fans who bought the vibe and were making noise all game, it felt like they had home ground advantage. Very, very disappointing. I will have to watch the goals again tomorrow, I don’t think there was anything impressive with Mac’s goals, although he played good, but I didn’t even realise he was on a hatrick. I did realise Souttar was on one, but he wouldn’t have got the first two without my encouragement????
jbinnie
Guest
Scott - On reflection I doubt if GA would have been impressed by his players tonight. He would of course wax lyrical post game about a 5-0 scoreline but as 'Redondo" states above there were just too many basic errors being made against an outclassed opponent for him to be truly impressed. Good to hear him post game use a word "penetration" which has been an inherent flaw in Socceroos teams over the last few seasons, and despite some changes after half time this situation did not improve. Cheers jb.
jbinnie
Guest
Bloke7 - Oor Wullie (note the spelling ) had some more mates for-by Soapy Soutar, his other pal was Fat Bob and between the three of them they led the local copper, PC Murdoch, many a merry dance. Thanks for the memory. Cheers jb.
Stuart Thomas
Expert
I'm working on my Harry Souttar impersonation right now. Hitting the streets with it tomorrow.
Stalinski
Roar Rookie
No.
Redondo
Roar Rookie
Ordinary performance everywhere - lots of poor touches and poor passes and slow slow ball movement. Hrustic looked good though.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Thanks for joining me here on The Roar this evening for our live coverage of this 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying match as Australia went past Nepal with ease in Canberra. Hopefully you enjoyed the call. I'll be back on Tuesday evening at 10:40pm (AEDT) for Australia's next match against Chinese Taipei, but first, it's the biggest weekend on the Australian motor racing calendar at Bathurst. You can join us from 4pm (AEDT) for qualifying, 5:05pm (AEDT) on Saturday for the top ten shootout, and 11:30am (AEDT) on Sunday for the Bathurst 1000 itself. And of course, football coverage on The Roar is just ramping up. We will have live coverage of every A-League game this season, starting tomorrow evening with Sydney FC travelling to play Adelaide United. Join Lucas Gillard for the season opener from 7:30pm (AEDT). Bye for now, and enjoy the rest of your evening.
Redondo
Roar Rookie
What on earth went wrong with Alex Gersbach that makes Behich our left back.
Nick Symonds
Guest
Boyle will be good when he's back, Taggart is on fire in the K-League and now Maclaren has scored a hat-trick. Have the Socceroos gone from a striker drought to a striker glut?