[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oHPp_wHCEo[/youtube]
Midway through the first half, I thought one word could describe the Socceroos’ drubbing of Qatar: Clinical.
It seemed too easy. Qatar may have come out with a 5 man defense, but the Australians were finding holes with little trouble.
In the end, it was the Socceroos’ aerial assault that killed Qatar. Josh Kennedy nailed his first header in the 10th minute; 7 minutes later, Tim Cahill doubled the lead with another well-placed header. By then, it felt like the contest was over. Qatar had had minimal possession and rarely proved threatening.
Marco Bresciano’s goal in the 32nd minute only confirmed what was already obvious: Australia had its first three points in the bag.
After the break, Qatar emerged with two fresh faces and a less defensive formation. An obvious move, considering. But it turned the game into a much more even affair, as the Socceroos noticeably reduced the pressure. Qatar’s passing improved and they were able to maintain posession – but outright chances were still rare.
Qatar may have been beaten, but they’re far from gone in this World Cup qualification campaign. A 1-1 draw in the other Group A match between Iraq and China (more) keeps Qatar just a point behind 2nd place.
Australia’s next qualifier is on March 26, when they play China, a match reportedly to be played at an altitude of 1900 metres to give the Chinese an advantage.
6 comments ↓
I think you’ll find the altitude that they are talking about is only 1800m above sea level. Due to the new FIFA regulations games cannot be played at 3000m above sea level. In reality altitude is only an advantage if the home team is used to it otherwise it will affect both teams equally.
Ah, you’re right. Just had a closer look and it seems the game will be played in Kunming – which is 1,900 metres above sea level according to Wikipedia. Will make the correction in the post:)
It’s a shame Archie wasn’t brought on at the end he would have exploded. Instead we had to suffer through another cameo from Graham Arnold’s love child Holman. Hopefully Pim wont persist with using him in future.
Yeah, I’m sure Archie would have been disappointed. The chance to play for the Socceroos in front of his home Melbourne crowd… Frankly, I wish he’d come on instead of John Aloisi. Aloisi ended up having a less than impressive session on the field, so hopefully Archie gets a heads-up next time.
I was more disappointed that Archie didn’t play, he would have done a lot better than what Aloisi did. Qatar was his type of team to play against and he would have scored for sure. My other disappointment was that the Socceroos didn’t score more, sure the jetlag set in but they could have gone all out attack in the first 15-20 minutes in the second half and scored a couple more and then sat back. In the end, it will come down to goal difference and those extra goals could make the biggest difference. As for China, the altitude could backfire on the Chinese- as Neil said, it could effect both teams. The Socceroos will be pre pared and we may see a lot more of the A-league guys get prepped up for this game, along with the others that didn’t play on Wednesday. We wont loose that match against China, we’ve defeated them before, nothing to say we cant do it again
How is holman in that team puzzles me, i do not rate him at all
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