https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1sPO_2Y3oE
AUSTRALIA will go home from the World Cup in Brazil with three losses and after falling to the reigning world champion Spain 3-0 at the Arena De Baixada in front of nearly 40,000,
But with coach Ange Postecoglou fielding eight players under 26 in the starting line-up, the Australians did a wonderful job against a Spanish outfit determined to finish their World Cup on good note after having already been eliminated, like the Socceroos, from the tournament.
It was just that bit of class that proved the difference between the two teams with A-League- bound David Villa (36th minute), Fernando Torres (69th) and Juan Mata (82nd) scoring.
Still, Postecoglou, who has had just seven months to work with this squad, will take great heart and confidence from the fact the national team is now heading in the right direction.
Admittedly, this performance against Spain wasn’t as good as the ones against Chile and the Netherlands, but there were plenty of good signs nonetheless.
Postecoglou said he was disappointed with the result but said it in no way diminished what his team had achieved in Brazil.
“It was disappointing. They dominated after the first 15 minutes and we struggled to get into the game,” Postecoglou said. “There were a few tired legs out there. They had put a lot of effort in the previous two games and it probably just caught up with them.
“As for the reaction to the loss, People can think what they want but there is no way this result affects what we have done here.”
Players like Mathew Leckie, Ben Halloran, Oliver Bozanic, Maty Ryan, Matthew Spiranovic, Tommy Oar and Adam Taggart will all be better for the experience.
The knowledge they will have gained from the three weeks in Brazil will be invaluable, especially leading up to the Asian Cup at home in January.
Australia made two changes to the side unluckily beaten 3-2 by the Netherlands with Oliver Bozanic and Adam Taggart given their first World Cup starts in place of the injured Mark Bresciano and the suspended Tim Cahill respectively.
There had been suggestions Postecoglou would make some positional changes by switching Mathew Leckie from the wing to the strikers role, which would have meant no start for Taggart. However, given Leckie’s exceptional form out wide it would have been a brave move to take him away from that position.
Bozanic earned his start in the number 10 role after producing a wonderful 30-minute cameo when he came on in the game against the Dutch.
Spain, as expected, made a host of changes – seven in total – as they attempted to salvage some pride from what has been a disastrous tournament for them.
Pepe Reina, Raul Albiol, Juanfran, Koke, Santi Cazarola, David Villa and Fernando Torres all came in following the loss to Chile, which put them out of the tournament.
There was no doubt the Australian fans outnumbered their Spanish counterparts with the atmosphere inside the stadium spine tingling.
Urged on by those fans, the Socceroos started the game in great style and with confidence. They dominated possession and forced the Spanish back into their own half.
The passing was crisp and there was a lot of enthusiasm, though they created little in terms of chances.
Eventually, however, Spain started to settle into a rhythm and slowly but surely grabbed back the initiative. Villa, Cazarola and Iniesta were starting to show their class, Villa especially.
It came as no surprise when Spain took the lead in the 36th minute. Iniesta found Juuanfran on the right. He made it to the byline then laid the ball to Villa, who had met it side on. However, he produced a wonderful back heel, dragging the ball with his right foot with his back to goal and putting it past outstretched goalkeeper Maty Ryan.
As much as they did well in the opening 20 minutes or so, the Australians were now under pressure.
Predictably, Postecoglou made a change at the break, bringing on Ben Halloran for Taggart, who had a tough time and couldn’t get involved in the match. It meant Leckie was moved to the striker’s role with Halloran wide on the right.
The Australians were forced into another change after 61 minutes when James Troisi came on for Tommy Oar, who injured his ankle.
At this stage, the Socceroos were starting to come back into the match with a bit more possession but were still ineffective in the final third of the field, where the Spanish were coping with ease.
It was clear Australia were missing the influence of Cahill.
Still, there was more energy in the Australians and Spain seemed to be on the back foot in the opening 20 minutes of the second half.
Unfortunately, that threat petered out and it was Spain who made sure of the victory when Torres made it 2-0 in the 69th minute. Australia’s heads dropped as they knew there was no way back now.
It was wonderful to see Postecoglou reward veteran Mark Bresciano with a substitute’s appearance in the 73rd minute in what is his last World Cup and quite possibly his last in a Socceroos jersey.
source: theaustralian.com.au
STUDIO 3 NEWCASTLE AUSTRALIA 