To Peru! If you are in Australia, set yer alarm clocks again because this one will be Monday night Doha time, which means 4am Tuesday AEST. The intercontinental playoff is the final step. And it will be a step in up in terms of opposition, and the squad will need every day between now and then to refresh and refocus. Mat Ryan says this rare extended period in camp has paid off in spades, and also had some nice words for Arnold, who has come under immense criticism.
“I’m proud of the boys for the effort tonight,” Ryan says. Since we have come into camp, things have been really positive. We have been homing in on the things that have been letting us down so far and it’s amazing when you can get a manager around the group again.
“Obviously the last two camps he has been down with Covid-19. The environment in preparation has been much better in terms of the logistics around the place and all that. I think you have seen the result of that in performances.”
On that note I will bid you farewell. Joey Lynch’s match report is on its way and we will have more coverage between now and next Tuesday’s crunch clash. See ya.
We are hearing from Arnold now. The coach must be relieved, because his team’s survival also means his survival. Is he relieved?
“Not really, proud of the boys,” he says. “We have been able to get together for the last week and prepare for this game well, and it is the first time we have been able to play a friendly against Jordan for three years. Being able to prepare the boys was good, and you saw that in the performance.
“We have got to give credit to UAE, they played well as well. But we knew they would sit back and we didn’t want to play a game where we open up the field too much because they have got some quality players. We made sure we stayed nice and compact the whole game.
“I thought there was a lot less space for the opposition tonight.They got in behind a couple of times on the right-hand side – we have got to tidy that up. But overall I thought defensively we were good, and I saw a good reaction tonight. That is what I have been driving to the boys ... about the Aussie DNA, and that is fight, scratch and do whatever you have got to do to win the game. However we win it, who cares? Just win it.”
If there are positives for the Socceroos, one is definitely the resilience after conceding the equaliser. That should go without saying for a national team but it has not been the case this qualifying campaign. Last week’s friendly win against Jordan was the first time they had come back from behind and won.
Hrustic has some thoughts on this.
“We never dropped our heads,” he says. “I told the boys at the start, ‘let’s do it’ ... we have put so much work in and we have been working our arses off, so to say.
“We conceded a goal and we shouldn’t have. We kept going, kept fighting and we took our chance, and the goal for Australia was for all the boys, for the staff, because we have been through a lot and it hasn’t been easy. I don’t think everyone realises how much work we put in, so I’m happy. Really happy.”
And so, the Socceroos are alive! They are still in with a shot of making a fifth straight World Cup. How was this match? It was a slow-burner. The first half was cagey, it was a little passive. Both sides took their time to settle into a rhythm, before the show finally started after half-time. Irvine was key, Boyle an insatiable livewire and Hrustic came alive when he needed to. Here are the three goals from the match, in their order.
IRVINE OPENS THE SCORING!!!!!!
— 10 Football (@10FootballAU) June 7, 2022
Martin Boyle cuts it back to Jackson Irvine who finishes from close range 🔥#UAEvAUS is live now on 10 and Paramount+ pic.twitter.com/Ul5VWFPT9q
UAE EQUALISE!
— 10 Football (@10FootballAU) June 7, 2022
Caio Canedo strikes back for the UAE just moments after they went behind. #UAEvAUS is live now on 10 and and Paramount+ pic.twitter.com/vXYoXKAsSh
HRUSTIC ON THE VOLLEY!!!
— 10 Football (@10FootballAU) June 7, 2022
Ajdin Hrustic strikes from the top of the box and his shot is deflected in 🚀#UAEvAUS is live now on 10 and Paramount+ pic.twitter.com/XTDdmMMOVl
Irvine, who scored Australia’s first goal, is feeling pretty great.
“Obviously it’s a great feeling,” he says. “But you have that moment of elation when the final whistle goes, and then straightaway you are focused. It’s a great result which means we can go into the week full of confidence. The job is only half done and we will have a tough preparation week again. Recover, get ready to go again. We have a great squad with a good energy about us, and I’m excited.”
Boyle is speaking with Channel Ten.
“It’s never nice [to equalise] but look, we controlled the game, we kept the ball well, we kept minimal chances and we kept putting the ball wide to create chances,” he says. “And obviously we got the breakthrough.”
Speaking of Boyle, Michael Watson has written in.
“Delighted to see Martin Boyle getting so much of the action,” he emails. “He was cracking for us at Hibs so much so that we collapsed with a whimper as soon as he left!”
For those just waking up in Australia, the Socceroos’ hopes of making the finals in Qatar are safe ... for now. Full-time brings an outpouring of emotion from the bench and the field – this must have been an intense week in camp under heavy scrutiny. Now they must prepare to face Peru in a final, sudden-death playoff next Monday in Doha (early Tuesday AEST).
Full-time! United Arab Emirates 1-2 Australia
90+3 mins Abdulrahman is on the ball. He wants to get closer to Australia’s goal. The Socceroos have men behind the ball, waiting for the referee to blow the whistle he is slowly bringing to his mouth. And there it is. Australia have progressed to a final playoff for a spot in the 2022 World Cup!
90+2 mins Behich, under pressure in his own third, clears long. Mooy is on the move now down the right but can’t keep the ball in play and the UAE regain possession at the halfway mark.
90+1 mins Arnold brings off Leckie and Hrustic and introduces Milos Degenek and Awer Mabil. Three minutes of stoppage-time.
90 mins One of those subs is Abdulrahman, who finally gets his time – all 40 seconds of it. He fouls Hrustic and is called back for it. Arnold is gesticulating wildly, shouting “5-4-1”.
89 mins Eisa, in an attempt to defend then play out an Australian attack, moves so far off his line he may as well be a midfielder. Risky business. The UAE make a triple substitution, which means they’re out of changes. The Socceroos still have a couple if they need it.
87 mins Well, the Socceroos will probably want to defend a bit now. The UAE have a throw-in which gets sucked into a penalty-area scramble but Ryan has rushed off his line for an acrobatic leap to gather.
Goal! United Arab Emirates 1-2 Australia
84 mins Mooy swings in a corner, it’s headed clear to the top of the box, where Hrustic strikes is first time and strikes it sweet. Eisa gets a touch but he is beaten, and beaten good.
Updated
Surprised to see Mooy still out there. His 60 minutes last week was the first hit-out in a long time for the former Huddersfield and Brighton man, who is on the books of Shanghai Port but training out of Scotland. Mooy goes long to Boyle, who is one on one with Abbas but gets away a cross to the back post. No one is there to meet it.
81 mins Another big chance for Australia as Boyle feeds Hrustic, who makes a lovely touch in his pass to Maclaren. The striker forces a big save from Eisa and they return for another crack with not quite as much verve as the last.
80 mins This has been a free-flowing contest with very few stoppages, which means that the clock may not tick too far past 90 minutes. Boyle gets the better of his man and then looks for Mooy behind and to the middle. He and his teammates pass diagonally back and left before a long switch to the right.
Updated
77 mins The UAE make a double substitution, bringing on Ali Saleh and Yahia Nader for Abdullah Ramadan and Ali Mabkhout respectively.
75 mins At this rate there’ll be extra-time. Leckie and Rowles trade passes. And Hrustic shines again with a gorgeous switch of play to a high-lying Behich on the left. He drives the ball across the face of goal, fires the cross to Maclaren. The ball bounces of him, onto a defender, and then off Boyle.
73 mins Arnold makes his first substitution and it’s spark he’s after, bringing on Jamie Maclaren for Goodwin.
71 mins The Saudi-based Boyle has no problem with running a defenders. He relishes it. Goodwin takes the corner and aims for the back post but Eisa is alert to the danger. The UAE look to have tweaked their formation from a 4-2-3-1 to a 4-3-3, and as I write this Hrustic, who has been uncharacteristically off colour this match, penetrates the middle for a half-chance.
69 mins Al Hammadi twirls the ball around his feet cleverly and then sends it back to his keeper. They probe for a bit before Australia take possession. Boyle does Boyle things and keeps the ball in play to earn another corner.
66 mins The UAE break free and have the numbers. A cross flies in for Mabkhout and there looks to be a foul on the edge of the box as Abdullah hits the deck. Arruabarrena is absolutely losing his mind in his technical area. The referee waves play on regardless. As you were.
63 mins Irvine, who unwittingly had a hand in the UAE’s equaliser, swings in a peach of a cross from the right. Leckie is in the goal mouth looking for the header but the ball falls to Goodwin. He cannot quite catch it on the half-volley but that was a good chance.
60 mins Nothing is ever easy, is it. The UAE have the share of possession now as Goodwin gives the referee a piece of his mind after going down under a challenge from Hamad, to no end. He is directed to pick himself up, and he really should because Ramadan has the ball at his feet again.
Goal! United Arab Emirates 1-1 Australia
57 mins Three minutes later the UAE have answered via none other than Canedo. No defenders want to commit to Abdalla as he sashays down the left and whips the ball across to the Brazilian, who thunders it home. All square.
Goal! United Arab Emirates 0-1 Australia
53 mins Well well well! Almost out of nothing, Australia winn the ball high up the field. Hrustic is on the move, encounters a cul de sac and then escapes and gets the ball away to to Boyle guides it down into the right, evades two defenders and crosses for Irvine. The FC Pauli midfielder tucks it away past Eisa to give his country the lead!
50 mins Chance! Al-Maazmi has been menacing and he gets in behind Atkinson again before cutting inside and forcing Ryan into his most difficult save yet.
48 mins Leckie can’t bring down a ball over the top and Eisa gathers with little fuss. Arnold is cutting a very nervous figure in his dugout. This will be the last match of his tenure if it does not go to plan.
Second half!
46 mins This match is basically Armageddon. It should be biblical. It has felt like watching chess. But let’s see what awaits. I’ve had my half-time Kit Kat as the clock ticks past 5am in Sydney. No chances from either side after the break.
That was a mostly guarded first half. Two shots apiece. Both of the UAE’s were on target, both of Australia’s were off. As expected, the UAE have been dangerous on the counter under Argentine manager Rodolfo Arruabarrena, a former Boca Juniors and Villareal defender. The Socceroos have been tentative. They have tried to play direct and it’s been easily dealt with. Arnold has obviously instructed Behich and Atkinson not to push forward, but they are ceding space behind them regardless. May as well push forward, I say. Goodwin and Boyle have been the standouts thus far
Half-time! United Arab Emirates 0-0 Australia
45 mins As the clock ticks down the local crowd get vocal, clapping and chanting as another Australian foray is redirected by their opponents. There will be no stoppage-time this half.
44 mins Canedo has materialised on the left flank, where he is practically toying with two green and gold shirts. Ultimately, though, the balls goes out of play.
42 mins Behich vies for the ball with Canedo and looks to have had the last touch before it bobbles over the byline but Australia are given the corner nonetheless. It comes to nothing. The UAE have a throw-in now at the touchline but it is duly taken care of by Behich, who backpasses to Ryan.
40 mins A (very) long ball from Australia’s defence find Behich right up at the far corner. What is he doing all the way up there, then? That’s the furthest forward we’ve seen either of the full-backs this match. Behich flicks the ball back and inside to Jackson Irvine but no luck this time.
38 mins Mooy is in a tangle on the ground with Ramadan and the pair get back on their feet just in time for Mat Leckie to remonstrate with the referee about who should be given possession after the ball ricochets out. It will go to the UAE.
36 mins Goodwin has the ball at his feet now and the cross is good. Oh! A goal? Nope, it shaves the top of Rowles’s head. In an instant the UAE have another shot on target from Al-Maazmi, from a tight angle for a second time. He whizzed past Atkinson again and forced Mat Ryan into a reflex save.
33 mins Mabkhout, meanwhile, has been waiting patiently for his moment. The assumption is that it will come (he has 80 international goals). Hrustic releases Leckie and there’s an opening but the UAE get back in shape too quickly. In the process, Behich looks to have fouled a player but it’s Mabkhout who is shown a yellow card for a subsequent challenge on Goodwin.
30 mins The Socceroos’ desire not to concede early has been clear in these opening 30 minutes. They have made some headway but, true to form, are not exactly penetrating in a manner which will elicit a goal. Caution reigns supreme here, and even still there have been some testy moments.
28 mins Rowles goes in for what looks like a good challenge on Canedo. He gets the ball on first contact but then appears to clean up the back of his opponent’s leg and does not look happy at all as the referee awards the UAE a free-kick. Its taker, Ramadan, is profligate and whips it well over the bar.
25 mins Boyle is quick, he is thrifty, he pings a one-touch pass to the left for Goodwin. The Adelaide United man has all the time in the world but rushes his cross. Ie, he aims to send it to seemingly nobody in particular, and to nobody it arrive.
23 mins This is becoming rather end to end all of a sudden as Australia make another menacing entrance into the penalty box. There is quite a bit of space in their midfield, though.
21 mins Before you can blink the UAE are back on the attack, breaking Atkinson’s right full-back position (again) and crossing into the box. A goal-mouth scramble of sorts ensues before the ball pops back out. Their naturalised Brazilian forward, Caio Canedo, commits a foul in the process.
18 mins Just as I’ve typed this Ali Salmeen attempts an audacious through ball. Abdullah Ramadan tries to pick it up but fouls Boyle instead. The ball flies straight up the other end, where Hrustic delivers Australia’s first real chance into the penalty. It sails towards the back post but is a little high for Goodwin.
16 mins All in all the first 15 minutes have played out in the expected manner. The UAE are set up in two defensive and are sitting back off the ball, inviting the Socceroos to try and break them down.
14 mins Behich to Goodwin to Mooy, then retreat. Australia’s full-backs are staying quite deep, presumably to avoid leaving themselves open in the way they did against Jordan.
12 mins Australia have had the share of possession and territory here but their opponents are always dangerous on the counter. The former try a diagonal long ball which comes to nothing and possession is back with the UAE.
10 mins Counter-attack! The UAE race off in transition and Australia’s defence is slow on the uptake as Harib Al-Maazmi dashes down the left before a late intervention averts the danger.
7 mins Leckie tees up Hrustic, the Eintracht Frankfurt man who recently helped the German club to the Europa League. No luck this time but they keep at it in the UAE’s half until Leckie clips the heels of Abdulla Hamad.
6 mins The UAE are getting numbers behind the ball as Australia apply the pressure. Boyle is dribbling and weaving through bodies and displaying positive signs.
4 mins Craig Goodwin and Mooy are standing over the ball for the free-kick before the former does the honours. It is punched away by Khalid Eisa with little fuss.
Peep! We're away!
2 mins The time for introspection is over, for the action has started in this seventh meeting with the UAE. Atkinson has played his part early to stop an early Emirati raid before the flag goes up for offside. And Australia have their first set piece after an unfortunate challenge by Khalifa Al Hammadi.
Having said that about that Asian Cup quarter, that was a tight match. Expect this to be the same. I can see extra-time. The players are walking out of the tunnel at the air-conditioned Al Rayyan Stadium for the national anthems, and it’s worth taking a moment to think about the human rights controversy surrounding Qatar’s hosting of this World Cup. This piece from Barney Ronay is excellent.
If you are catching up on what has happened for the Socceroos on the road to Qatar, this wee preview should get you up to speed:
And the UAE’s XI is here, with Ali Mabkhout leading the line. For context, Mabkhout scored the only goal in Australia’s quarter-final loss at the 2019 Asian Cup, after swooping on a poor backpass from Milos Degenek. He has scored 14 goals this qualifying campaign and Australia need to stop him from adding to that tally. Meanwhile, Omar Abdulrahman has been named on the bench. Will we see him brought on a little later for some spark?
And the starting XI's are out - Huge moment for Kye Rowles and Atkinson. Bailey Wright back in. Boyle as the striker for @Socceroos pic.twitter.com/eRUOwqQThU
— Adrian Arciuli (@Adrian_Arciuli) June 7, 2022
Let’s get straight into teams because they have landed and, well, I did not pick this one. Huge day for Nathaniel Atkinson and Kye Rowles, who start at right-back and centre-back respectively and Bailey Wright retains his central defensive place from last week’s friendly win over Jordan. Aziz Behich, who came off the bench in that match, is back in the XI at left-back. Worth noting that Rowles or Wright have earned a call-up after Trent Sainsbury pulled up with an injury during the week.
As promised by Graham Arnold, Aaron Mooy gets the nod despite having not played any competitive football for six month. Head of strength and conditioning, Andrew Clarke was apparently pleased with the way the midfielder pulled up after an hour-long stint in the friendly. Ajdin Hrustic, too, is in and will offer creativity in the absence of Tom Rogic, and Scotland-born Martin Boyle looks to be the striker! I mean ... OK. But sure, why not? Let’s roll with it and good things might happen. Adam Taggart is out through injury too.
STARTING XI 🗒
— Socceroos (@Socceroos) June 7, 2022
Here is our team line up for our FIFA World Cup AFC Playoff against UAE.
Kick-off 4am AEST, live on @10FootballAU, 10 play & @ParamountPlusAU#AllForTheSocceroos pic.twitter.com/x78l61doiu
Preamble
It’s squeaky-bum time! The culmination of four years and proverbial blood, sweat and tears. The Socceroos are in Qatar – somewhere they want to be in November but somewhere they decidedly do not want to be now. Their World Cup hopes are hanging by a thread somewhere off Doha’s corniche and only a win against the United Arab Emirates up the road at Al Rayyan Stadium will stop them dying a short death.
How did we get here again? Australia could have avoided this with a couple of more favourable results against opposition they should have beaten. But a third-place finish in the third round behind automatic qualifiers Saudi Arabia and Japan has consigned the national team to this life-and-death playoff. Win here and they play Peru for a spot in the finals. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves because while the UAE might be ranked 68th to Australia’s 42nd recent past tells us the latter has trouble against the former. Nothing like the present to change the narrative!
