Amid the time-worn cliches of “learning curves” and “wake-up calls” murmured by Australia’s downcast players in the wake of their dismal 1-0 loss to Qatar on Tuesday, it took stalwart midfielder Mark Bresciano to cut to the heart of the matter:
“There’s something not right [and] we’ve got to fix it because it is getting close,” the 34-year-old told reporters after the defeat in Doha, referring to the Asian Cup, which Australia host in three months.
Organizers have pinned their hopes on a successful Socceroos campaign to soak up the huge costs of staging the Asian showpiece, but the dour loss in Doha has sent alarm bells ringing Down Under.
Photo: AFP
After completing a barren Middle Eastern tour, the Australian players head off to their respective clubs and some may be grateful to return to their relative anonymity in Europe.
The few heading home to play in the country’s A-League will not be expecting to be mobbed by welcoming fans at local airports.
Following a scoreless draw with the United Arab Emirates in Abu Dhabi on Friday, Australia coach Ange Postecoglou dismissed criticism as: “Heard it all before.” Yet after the Qatar loss, in which main strike weapon Tim Cahill started, the 49-year-old was not so blase.
Photo: Reuters
“I keep saying I’m making these decisions and I’m making them for a reason, and that’s probably costing us in terms of performance and in terms of fluency,” he said after his shakeup of the side after the Qatar game fell spectacularly flat.
A successful coach at club level, Postecoglou took the job from sacked German Holger Osieck a year ago amid much fanfare. Given a five-year mandate to rebuild a team, he was also granted a free pass to blood OCCnew players at the FIFA World Cup in Brazil and enjoyed a very generous assessment of the team’s first-round exit from the finals after three straight losses.
Being beaten by the world’s best is one thing, but losing to Asian minnows is another and Postecoglou now holds an indefensible record of one win from 10 matches this year.
Long fancying themselves masters of their own backyard, Australia are now ranked 84th in the world and ninth in Asia, behind teams like Jordan (69th) and Oman (76th).
“Not far from panic,” former Australia ’keeper and TV pundit Mark Bosnich said after the Qatar loss.
Postecoglou maintained a calmer front, dismissing any effect the loss would have on the side’s confidence before the Asian Cup, but Mark Bresciano — a veteran of three World Cups and with Cahill, one of the last of Australia’s “golden generation,” — torpedoed Postecoglou’s “it’s all part of the plan” defense.
“Personally, I think a big improvement [is needed],” he said.
Australia have just longer than a month to work out how to score goals, with their final Asian Cup warm-up against reigning champions Japan in Osaka looming.
It may have served as a small measure of comfort that Japan also lost on Tuesday, although the Asian title holders did have more imposing opponents in the form of Brazil.
Still, the Blue Samurai are facing a crisis of confidence ahead of their Asian Cup defense after Neymar stormed through them in Singapore, despite the striker having a cold.
Neymar scored all four goals in Brazil’s 4-0 demolition of Japan on a pitch that resembled Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana beach in places and may have spared Javier Aguirre’s side further punishment.
“Disgraceful,” the Nikkan Sports daily raged, while the Sports Nippon stuck the boot into Aguirre for tinkering with his side, asking: “What was the point of these tests?”
While Japan could be forgiven a ninth defeat in 11 meetings against the five-time World Cup winners, they will hardly strike fear into opponents at the Asian tournament if they sustain their current form.
“This is the reality,” talisman Keisuke Honda sniffed, his forlorn expression all too familiar to Japan fans after their World Cup flop.
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