The Road to the Asian Cup Continues: Australia 3 - 2 Saudi Arabia

The Socceroos continued their preparations for the Asian Cup with a win in this morning's friendly against Saudi Arabia. It was actually the first win for the Socceroos in over ten months, a fact that should give the players some much needed confidence. However, the performance was poor overall and it raised more questions than answers. Australia's last few matches, including the World Cup, were promising showings that most agreed were a good base to build on with the ultimate goal being reaching the Asian Cup in top shape. When we struggle against nations such as Saudi Arabia though, it might be time to start worrying. Especially since Australia only has three more scheduled friendlies before the start of the Asian Cup and time is very limited. At the end of the day it's the result that counts in football and Australia did manage to win this match.

The Socceroos' formation was a familiar one, 4-2-3-1, but the personnel was slightly different as Ange Postecoglou looks at all his options before finalising the starting lineup. Australia started with Langerak; Davidson; Wright; Wilkinson; Herd; Jedinak; Brillante; Oar; Luongo; Leckie and Cahill. The Socceroos started the match strongly and were 2-0 up inside the first ten minutes. The first goal came from a familiar source, Tim Cahill scored in the 3rd minute with Australia's first attack of the match through some great lead up work from a counter attack. The second goal was just poor defending from Saudi Arabia as captain Mile Jedinak found a free header from a pin point free kick in the 7th minute. It's exactly what Ange wants the Socceroos to do, really impose themselves on the opposition and kill off the match before the opponent even has time to settle. Unfortunately the Saudis did settle into the match and managed to limit Australia's threat, the 2-0 scoreline remained until half-time. The Socceroos seemed in control and comforatble.

The second half offered more of the same with the Socceroos looking to put the match to bed and the Saudis looking to get the breakthrough but it was more scrappy than the first half. One clear issue that was highlighted in both this match and the one against Belgium was the re-occurring loss of possession in dangerous areas, particularly when under pressure. Ange's system of play is evidently risky at times and I would expect to see some errors against quality opposition like Belgium but those errors surfaced once again against Saudi Arabia. In the 71st minute possession was given away cheaply, which allowed Saudi striker Yasir Alsharani a free run at goal. Langerak was forced to come out and brought down the striker giving away a penalty and nearly getting sent off for the second international in a row. Hassan Muath put the penalty away and the score was 2-1. Saudi Arabia then went all out, attacking relentlessly, Australia were clearly rattled and losing hold of the match. Then in the 77th minute debutante Bayley Wright put the ball away to make it 3-1 and calm some of the nerves. The latter stages of the match were even scrappier as both teams made wholesale changes. Saudi Arabia scored a second in the 84th minute, the Australian defense at fault yet again. The match finished 3-2 with the Socceroos just making it difficult for themselves after such a commanding start.

The main positive to come out of the match was the promising performance from the younger players in the squad. Bayley Wright was solid in defense and grabbed a goal on debut, Massimo Luongo was Australia's best and Chris Herd looked comfortable on the ball. While Mathew Leckie and Tommy Oar continue their good showings and seem to be Australia's most consistent. Player ratings can be seen at the Football Federation Australia website http://goo.gl/A3iN1Q. Ange has successfully re-generated the squad with young blood. The main negative was of course the unforced errors that have plagued Australia since Ange took charge. They are to be expected in a way with the style of football we're trying to play but we continue to give the ball away in dangerous areas and lack the focus needed for the whole ninety minutes. This match unfortunately revealed that the Socceroos are far from being ready for the Asian Cup in January, it's obvious that nations like Japan or South Korea have far superior talents at their disposal. It is difficult to see how Australia can match it with the top footballing nations in the world if we are not even the most dominant team in Asia yet.