One could almost feel how sweetly he connected the ball with Mousa Al-Taamari’s left boot. A scorching shot from outside the box that was just wide of the goal. Jordan’s striker had been threatening to do so for the previous 17 minutes, at one point ahead of a few players in a single move. Australia’s defense was all over the sea and this friendly seemed to follow a similar path to other recent games.
But the Socceroos did not lower their heads. Although they were passive and unconvincing, they managed to tie the game before the break. And after an improved second half, the score in Doha was 2-1, ensuring that Australia will have the confidence of a victory in the decisive play-off qualifier for next week’s World Cup against the United Arab Emirates.
Nor is it an ordinary victory: it is Australia’s second in its last eight games. With this strike rate, this should seem encouraging. Except he doesn’t. There were bright spots, generally convincing that it wasn’t.
Australia scored twice, both on set pieces. The Socceroos have never had any problems with stoppage time. What they seem to lack is the ability to create real opportunities from open play, especially against opposition from the Middle East, which in the past has proven difficult to move.
They also benefited from the absence of the VAR. Moments before the tie in the first half, Bailey Wright awarded a clear penalty that was not awarded. And Awer Mabil’s acrobatic winner smelled offside.
For Wright, this was an international record for the first time since 2019, and came after a happy time at Wembley, where the central defender last month helped Sunderland win their play-off final. off of League One to seal the promotion to the championship. .
In the 38th minute, it was not good. An unpleasant challenge from a Jordan player inside the area should have resulted in a point shot and a possible second goal for his counterparts. Instead, the game continued, and shortly after Wright was instrumental in the tie in Australia, rising for a free kick from Craig Goodwin’s free kick.
Goodwin was one of several starting XI players who Graham Arnold said was designed to put minutes on the legs of those who had no recent matches. Another, Aaron Mooy, was clearly out of training, but improved throughout the game, a promising sign given Tom Rogic’s untimely retirement from the team for personal reasons.
Then there was Nick D’Agostino leading the line, Riley McGree behind him and Goodwin and Mabil in the bands. None of this seemed like a general rehearsal for reality. Even all four sides were shaken, with left-back Jason Davidson starting for the first time since October 2015 (Aziz Behich relieved him in midfield and later became the subject of a another softer penalty appeal) and Kye Rowles making her international debut. in central defense.
Some of those who arrived late to the field, such as Mat Leckie, Martin Boyle and Adam Taggart, rested. Other key players of Ajdin Hrustic, Jamie Maclaren and Jackson Irvine were used as substitutes. I didn’t feel like this team was finishing four years of preparations, that the machine was working properly. The feeling was that the parts are still being assembled, trial and error testing is still being done.
After the game, Arnold was as authentic as we’ve seen him throughout the campaign. Finally, he dropped the “everything is great” façade in favor of a proportionate response to the action, acknowledging that “there is still a lot of work to be done”.
“What we’ve been driving since we got into camp is about the reaction when you lose the ball,” Arnold said. “I was disappointed with the campaign because of the mentality of this and we have been working on it. Tonight he was happy with the pace of work, the chase and the fight for the second balls.
“I will be honest, I think this is the first time we have come back since I was in charge, when we went down 1-0 and came back. It was very interesting and good to see the reaction when we went down 1-0 because in the past, in the last games, when we went down 1-0 or something happened, we fell. “
There may be a touch of self-preservation lurking in those words. It could also be a motivational strategy, one week away from the most important match of the national team in the last four years. Next Wednesday, as they say, the time of the talk will end.