Australia head coach Ange Postecoglou on Monday cut a disappointed figure after their 3-2 opening FIFA Confederations Cup defeat to Germany, but expects the Socceroos to bounce back against Cameroon tomorrow.
Having been hammered 4-0 by Brazil in Melbourne last week in a friendly ahead of the tournament in Russia, Australia stumbled again, losing to the world champions, who fielded an inexperienced side in Sochi.
Lars Stindl, Leon Goretzka and Julian Draxler — the latter from the penalty spot — scored for Germany, with Celtic midfielder Tommy Rogic and Tomi Juric netting for Australia.
Photo: Reuters
Juric’s effort on 56 minutes was allowed to stand despite a suggestion of handball leading to a review from the video assistant referee.
Having found themselves 3-1 down just after the break, Australia rallied and Juric’s effort reduced the deficit before he, Robbie Kruse and James Troisi all tested Germany goalkeeper Bernd Leno late on.
There was to be no equalizer, though, and Postecoglou was disappointed about the way his side started the game.
“It’s disappointing, we were barely clinging on in the first half,” Postecoglou said. “The second half was better, we composed ourselves and got back into things. It’s a loss and the loss falls on me, it’s my responsibility. It was no fault of the players, they [Germany] took advantage in the first half and they were way too good.”
The Socceroos, who lost all three games on their previous appearance at the Confederations Cup in 2005, next face a crunch clash with the African champions in St Petersburg in their second Group B outing.
Germany coach Joachim Loew said Australia have developed since Postecoglou took charge in 2013.
Indeed, Loew believes the Socceroos have come a long way since their 4-0 rout at the hands of Germany in the group stage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
“From what I have seen there has been a positive development from where Australia was in 2010 — they liked long balls then and that was easy for us to defend against,” Loew said. “They aren’t playing long balls any more, they are courageous and cheeky enough to boldly attack. Not many teams are doing that and they have developed positively in the last three years.”
With all of his World Cup-winning stars left at home, Loew warned Chile tomorrow in Kazan would be a tougher test for his youthful side.
“Chile will be a different game, they play with a lot of intensity and we will need to play well over 90 minutes, not just over 60,” he said. “Chile is one of the world’s best teams, not just in this tournament, they have a lot of experience and fantastic individuals.”
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