If only there were an Asian Cup around the corner.
The Socceroos have taken another assured step in the right direction, dominating two-time reigning Asian champions Qatar in a commanding 3-0 friendly victory in Doha on Saturday morning (AEDT).
Originally booked as a warm-up match ahead of a tournament which has now been delayed by 12 months, there was little riding on the match aside from the opportunity to advance the team’s overall development and blood some new faces.
Both boxes were sufficiently ticked.
Coach Tony Popovic rolled out his strongest available team, and their first-half performance was as aggressive and dominant as they have been during his tenure, proving that the recent promise of the Brazil friendly series at home was no flash in the pan.
They went 3-0 up before the break, with all three goals – from Riley McGree , Tete Yengi and Nestory Irankunda – coming on the back of mistakes forced by the Socceroos’ high press, which a hapless Qatar failed to deal with. Two of them came directly from errant passes by Qatar’s goalkeeper, Mahmud Abunada, who endured a nightmare performance.
Popovic rang the changes in the second half, handing debuts to Eli Adams, Sam Klein, Kasey Bos and Diesel Herrington, while the returning Gianni Stensness also came off the bench for his first minutes for Australia in more than four years.
Naturally, the Socceroos lost a bit of momentum as a consequence of all of those substitutions, but while they could not find an additional goal, they still kept a clean sheet while denying Qatar a single shot on target for the match; they did not fire their first shot until the 72nd minute.
Popovic had little to complain about afterwards, aside from the fact they could and should have scored more.
“We were very aggressive,” Popovic said.
“It was testing conditions, wasn’t easy for the players. We could see that they were finding it hard to breathe and move in these conditions. The pitch was quite hard underneath. It’s not what they’re accustomed to in Europe.
“I think [we could have added] a few more goals from our good play, and we started the second half well, and I think when we made all the changes, I think we lost a lot of cohesion and we lost our way a little bit. But it was important for those boys to get minutes and to rest some of the boys that need to back up against Jordan, and some debutants, which is always a special moment.”
Another positive was Connor Metcalfe’s performance in central midfield next to Paul Okon jnr, which further cemented the FC St. Pauli star as a viable option to play there at international level instead of his usual wide attacking position.
With first-choice players Mohamed Toure, Cristian Volpato, Jordan Bos, Jackson Irvine, Lewis Miller and Aiden O’Neill all currently sidelined through injury, the performance showcased the growing depth of the Socceroos and hinted again at the serious potential of this current generation of players.
They will play again next week in another friendly against Jordan, the team Qatar beat in the last Asian Cup final four years ago, which will also take place in Doha - the result of several days of delicate behind-the-scenes negotiations by Football Australia, after Socceroos players expressed their unwillingness to travel to Amman due to security fears.
That game could prove to be Popovic’s final match in charge of the Socceroos if he is unable to come to an agreement with Football Australia over a contract extension.
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