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World Cup nightmare has come true
Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2017 8:26 am
by johnydep
https://indaily.com.au/sport/soccer/2017/09/06/long-road-russia-socceroos-fall-finals-hurdle/ wrote:Long road to Russia as Socceroos fall at finals hurdle
The Socceroos' World Cup nightmare has come true after Saudi Arabia's 1-0 win over Japan denied them direct qualification and forced them down the arduous intercontinental play-off route.
Australia needed a big favour from Japan – either a win or a draw in Jeddah this morning – to bail them out after last night’s hollow 2-1 victory over Thailand.
But substitute Fahad Al-Muwallad’s 63rd-minute goal capped off a frustrating night for Ange Postecoglou’s men, who will have to do it the hard way to ensure a place at Russia 2018.
Australia now faces two difficult home-and-away ties – the first against Syria in October – to book a spot at a fourth straight World Cup.
The winner of that will go on to battle North and Central America’s fourth-placed qualifier in November for a spot at the global showpiece.
Despite an incredible 45 shots on goal, the Socceroos couldn’t find the margin against Thailand at AAMI Park that would have seen them overtake the Saudis on goal difference – meaning a win by any score for the home side would have done the job.
A close-range shot from Al-Muwallad in the 63rd minute was all the Green Falcons needed.
It relieved palpable tension among the 60,000 screaming fans at the King Abdullah Sports City, who were hoping to see their side qualify for their first World Cup since 2006.
Japan, who qualified with last week’s 2-0 win over Australia, had nothing left to play for but often looked the better side and had two certain goals cleared off the line before Al-Muwallad’s opener.
But they could not produce an equaliser against an opponent intent on running the clock down, consigning the Socceroos to a third-placed finish in Group B and piling even more pressure on Postecoglou’s shoulders.
If there is a silver lining, it is that the Socceroos could have faced a far more established opponent than Syria.
A stoppage-time equaliser from Omar Al Soma in their 2-2 draw with Iran kept the war-ravaged nation in contention for a debut World Cup, earning them third spot in Group B at the expense of Uzbekistan.
Australia could at least be spared a trip to the Middle East with Syria, ranked No.80 in the world, having played their home matches in Malaysia during this phase of qualification.
The identity of the other play-off opponent won’t be known until CONCACAF qualifiers are completed on October 10 but it is likely to be Honduras, Panama or the United States.
-AAP
Could be a blessing in disguise.
Re: World Cup nightmare has come true
Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2017 8:45 am
by Brian the Postman
Maybe Ange does deserve the chop, after all Farina got the chop because he went winless at the confeds cup.
Despite his Asian cup success his previous world cup was a disaster (both tactically and selection wise) and the qualifying route should not have gotten to this point.
Re: World Cup nightmare has come true
Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2017 8:50 am
by churchill
Brian the Postman wrote:Maybe Ange does deserve the chop, after all Farina got the chop because he went winless at the confeds cup.
Despite his Asian cup success his previous world cup was a disaster (both tactically and selection wise) and the qualifying route should not have gotten to this point.
I think its too late to change coach as the playoff series starts in 4 weeks time October 5 plus the FFA are a clueless board and I have no faith in how they are running our football.
Re: World Cup nightmare has come true
Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2017 10:16 am
by ozzie owl
Brian the Postman wrote:Maybe Ange does deserve the chop, after all Farina got the chop because he went winless at the confeds cup.
Despite his Asian cup success his previous world cup was a disaster (both tactically and selection wise) and the qualifying route should not have gotten to this point.
Although Ange seems to have lost the plot in this campaign the next games only four weeks away, so any change is unlikely.
Re: World Cup nightmare has come true
Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2017 10:57 am
by Old Redback
To be fair the next coach will still have the same ordinary players.
Re: World Cup nightmare has come true
Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2017 11:10 am
by God is an Englishman
Moved out of asia to make it easier to qualify due to the intercontinental play offs and then get an inter continental play off
Re: World Cup nightmare has come true
Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2017 11:30 am
by Delete Your Account
God is an Englishman wrote:Moved out of asia to make it easier to qualify due to the intercontinental play offs and then get an inter continental play off
Moved out of asia to play more 'meaningful' games.
Well, we just got more.
Re: World Cup nightmare has come true
Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2017 11:33 am
by God is an Englishman
Slinky_Pete wrote:Moved out of asia to play more 'meaningful' games.
Moved out of asia?
looks like we're both muppets
Re: World Cup nightmare has come true
Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2017 11:37 am
by Bomber
Qualifying is a good thing, but seriously, this team, and no disrespect intended, isn't good enough to challenge getting past a first round even if they get there. They deserve to be where they are at the moment and quite frankly, unless they do some serious "re-consideration" about the football that needs to be played and some of the selections they persist with, they wont get to Russia.
Re: World Cup nightmare has come true
Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2017 12:15 pm
by blue moon
I think Mooy is the only world class playing in the squad, for the rest there isn't really that much between a top state league player and an Aussie international
Re: World Cup nightmare has come true
Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2017 12:18 pm
by magnet
blue moon wrote:I think Mooy is the only world class playing in the squad, for the rest there isn't really that much between a top state league player and an Aussie international
Mooy is not a world class player
Re: World Cup nightmare has come true
Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2017 12:23 pm
by Delete Your Account
God is an Englishman wrote:Slinky_Pete wrote:Moved out of asia to play more 'meaningful' games.
Moved out of asia?
looks like we're both muppets
I actually copied & pasted your words, just for this
Re: World Cup nightmare has come true
Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2017 12:24 pm
by Grosso
LMAO
Re: World Cup nightmare has come true
Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2017 12:53 pm
by Mad_Max
Grosso wrote:LMAO
What's so funny?
Italy will have to qualify via a playoff as well.
Re: World Cup nightmare has come true
Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2017 1:16 pm
by Grosso
Mad_Max wrote:Grosso wrote:LMAO
What's so funny?
Italy will have to qualify via a playoff as well.
Italy will qualify. We have Spain in our group. Your shitcuntaroos struggled to score against Thailand.
You probably wont even qualify for Russia and you dont deserve to.
Re: World Cup nightmare has come true
Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2017 1:20 pm
by Brewie
Two schools of thought ont his:
1. The pool of players at Ange's disposal is the shallowest it has every been. He does not have the players available to select
or
2. The tactics (including player selections) employed by Ange mean he is not getting the best out of the players he has at his disposal.
Most likely it is a combination of both of these.
Ange appears to have backed himself into a corner with his tactics and is in a state of denial over them.
Defensively the Socceroos are woeful, always looking vulnerable. He does not have the players of sufficient quality to play 3 at the back at international level.
Playing out from the back at all costs is what you expect in junior football, not at international level.
The team moves the ball very slowly, passes are too often of a very slow ball speed and passes are frequently played behind the player rather than infront.
Several players do not have the level of technical skills or decision making skills required but continue to be selected.
Has Ange done the best he could with the players at his disposal or would a more pragmatic coach get more out of this ordinary team?
Re: World Cup nightmare has come true
Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2017 2:01 pm
by ozzie owl
Mad_Max wrote:Grosso wrote:LMAO
What's so funny?
Italy will have to qualify via a playoff as well.
Still only one laughing at his own jokes.
Re: World Cup nightmare has come true
Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2017 2:22 pm
by Bomber
Brewie wrote:Two schools of thought ont his:
1. The pool of players at Ange's disposal is the shallowest it has every been. He does not have the players available to select
or
2. The tactics (including player selections) employed by Ange mean he is not getting the best out of the players he has at his disposal.
Most likely it is a combination of both of these.
Ange appears to have backed himself into a corner with his tactics and is in a state of denial over them.
Defensively the Socceroos are woeful, always looking vulnerable. He does not have the players of sufficient quality to play 3 at the back at international level.
Playing out from the back at all costs is what you expect in junior football, not at international level.
The team moves the ball very slowly, passes are too often of a very slow ball speed and passes are frequently played behind the player rather than infront.
Several players do not have the level of technical skills or decision making skills required but continue to be selected.
Has Ange done the best he could with the players at his disposal or would a more pragmatic coach get more out of this ordinary team?
Good points and all valid. End of the day if you have "average" cattle then you cant expect miracles, so as a coach you have to adapt and adjust in order to obtain best possible outcomes. This means being flexible enough to understand that you may at times have to bulk up at the back, and patiently plan attacks instead of running around with headless chooks that are playing a formula that only the best in the world can possibly thrive at. Gee whiz, some of our blokes still cant even cross a ball! Others like Kruse wouldn't know how to time a run if witches hats were his only opponents.
What also go me is how Ange was defending his players citing "some of these guys its their first WC qualifying campaign" - well Ange, the blokes who are making a mockery of this team aren't guys playing in their first WC, so the blame must lie within!
I'd at least give him some credit if in the next play-offs he came out and made some admissions about selections and formations and tweaked it suitably. At least then the opposing coaches wont have it so easy and we might just get the results required.
Re: World Cup nightmare has come true
Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2017 2:30 pm
by limozeen
HE may not have 2006 quality players at his disposal but he's got average players and setting them up in a formation that exposes all their weaknesses. It's a suicide mission.
Re: World Cup nightmare has come true
Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2017 2:54 pm
by Brian the Postman
Mad_Max wrote:Grosso wrote:LMAO
What's so funny?
Italy will have to qualify via a playoff as well.
Grosso isn't Italian, he is Greek.
Re: World Cup nightmare has come true
Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2017 2:57 pm
by Delete Your Account
Grosso wrote:Mad_Max wrote:Grosso wrote:LMAO
What's so funny?
Italy will have to qualify via a playoff as well.
Italy will qualify. We have Spain in our group. Your shitcuntaroos struggled to score against Thailand.
You probably wont even qualify for Russia and you dont deserve to.
Italy struggled against FYROM, netting a winner in the 92nd minute, and conceding 2 goals.
Re: World Cup nightmare has come true
Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2017 3:13 pm
by Mad_Max
Brian the Postman wrote:Mad_Max wrote:Grosso wrote:LMAO
What's so funny?
Italy will have to qualify via a playoff as well.
Grosso isn't Italian, he is Greek.
He's got even less to laugh about then.
Re: World Cup nightmare has come true
Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2017 3:41 pm
by Bomber
Brian the Postman wrote:Mad_Max wrote:Grosso wrote:LMAO
What's so funny?
Italy will have to qualify via a playoff as well.
Grosso isn't Italian, he is Greek.
A Greek with an avatar of an Italian kissing a World Cup? I know they are closely related but............
Unless you know his
true identity?
Re: World Cup nightmare has come true
Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2017 4:17 pm
by Old Master
You may think Australia's press is being merciless to Ange over our failure to qualify directly, but how bad must Gareth Southgate feel when his team is top of the group by 5 points, with two games to play and he gets a report like this:
England 2-1 Slovakia: How did England's players rate in World Cup qualifier?
4 September 2017 From the section Football 196
England team that started the game against Slovakia
England lead Group F by five points with two games to play
Marcus Rashford scored the winner as England beat Slovakia 2-1 to take a five-point lead in World Cup qualifying Group F with two games to play.
However, Gareth Southgate's side started poorly and had to come from behind after Stanislav Lobotka's opener, which was cancelled out by Eric Dier before the break.
So how did the starting XI rate? Here's BBC chief football writer Phil McNulty's verdict from Wembley:
Joe Hart (goalkeeper) 5
Totally unconvincing for Lobotka's goal but important second-half save from Adam Nemec. Is he really England's best current keeper?
Kyle Walker (right-back) 5
Very fortunate not to be sent off for a foul on Vladimir Weiss right at the end of the first half. Not his best night.
Gary Cahill (centre-back) 6
Looked on edge as Slovakia pressed early on.
Phil Jones (centre-back) 7
Some solid and important interceptions. Did himself no harm.
Ryan Bertrand (left-back) 7
Always a good option going forward and further cemented his place in the side.
Eric Dier (central midfield) 6
Salvaged a poor first-half performance with a goal before helping England establish a measure of control.
Jordan Henderson (central midfield) 6
Struggled to cope with Slovakia's mobility in midfield early on but improved as the game progressed.
Dele Alli (attacking midfield) 5
Worked hard but finishing uncharacteristically poor. And what was that gesture all about?
Marcus Rashford (attacking midfield) 8
England's match-winner. Recovered from a mistake that led to Slovakia's goal to be the game-changer for Gareth Southgate. Outstanding.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (attacking midfield) 4
Poor night for Liverpool's £35m new boy - too many good positions wasted.
Harry Kane (forward) 6
No luck for England's main marksman on this occasion but a tireless worker and always a threat.
Group F
England lead Group F by five points
Re: World Cup nightmare has come true
Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2017 4:38 pm
by God is an Englishman
How dare the press report the facts that the other team scored first - DISGUSTING!
Re: World Cup nightmare has come true
Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2017 4:47 pm
by Old Master
God is an Englishman wrote:How dare the press report the facts that the other team scored first - DISGUSTING!
I think it was the bit where it said, 'England got of to poor start' that upset Gareth.
Re: World Cup nightmare has come true
Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2017 6:33 pm
by God is an Englishman
Old Master wrote:God is an Englishman wrote:How dare the press report the facts that the other team scored first - DISGUSTING!
I think it was the bit where it said, 'England got of to poor start' that upset Gareth.
How dare the press report that fact - disgusting.
Re: World Cup nightmare has come true
Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2017 7:15 pm
by Chocco
I was told today that Ange said this or similar in an interview:
Do you have a plan B?
No, my plan B is to make Plan A better.
If this is the case then if you have no plan then you are only planning to fail.
Re: World Cup nightmare has come true
Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2017 8:39 pm
by Grosso
Bomber wrote:Brian the Postman wrote:Mad_Max wrote:
What's so funny?
Italy will have to qualify via a playoff as well.
Grosso isn't Italian, he is Greek.
A Greek with an avatar of an Italian kissing a World Cup? I know they are closely related but............
Unless you know his
true identity?
more racism from you three
what does it matter what Grosso is
Re: World Cup nightmare has come true
Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2017 8:54 am
by Brian the Postman
Grosso wrote:Bomber wrote:Brian the Postman wrote:
Grosso isn't Italian, he is Greek.
A Greek with an avatar of an Italian kissing a World Cup? I know they are closely related but............
Unless you know his
true identity?
more racism from you three
what does it matter what Grosso is
Are you suggesting that being Greek or Italian makes you less than everyone else?