The Socceroos face Peru for a place in the World Cup finals. What have they learned from their victory over the UAE on Wednesday?
The Socceroos are just 90 minutes away from qualifying for their fifth consecutive World Cup, but next week’s opponents, Peru, will be a far tougher test than the UAE team they defeated in anAustralia will certainly be hoping that’s not the case. The two nations
where the Socceroos had the better of the first half but were plagued by a familiar failing - their inability to score from open play., playing in behind, were unable to take their chances. It was the quality of Peru’s finishing that made the difference in 2-0 win with veteran Paolo Guerrero sealing the win with a 50th-minute goal after Andre Carillo had put the Peruvians in front early in the first half.It was all about the Socceroos’ failure to find form in the final qualifying group phase.
and a draw and defeat with Saudi Arabia were the difference between those two qualifying directly and the Socceroos having to go through the play-off route.Getting past the UAE in the Asian play-offs has got Australia to this point. Peru arrived in Doha because they are the fifth-placed South American nation. Their 2-0 win over Paraguay in the last qualifying game edged them into fifth, one spot ahead of Colombia.Effort, aggression, commitment and desire are qualities prized by coach Graham Arnold, and he said in the lead-up to the UAE game that he had not seen enough of them recently. He got plenty on Wednesday, but he also knows that while they are important, they are not enough on their own.
To beat Peru, more skill and guile will also be needed to shut down and then open up a better opponent.Credit:Nathaniel Atkinson was a bold gamble at right-back, but he really had a baptism of fire playing on the dangerous Harib Al-Maazmi, who fired off shots which forced Mat Ryan to make saves. Peru will be more incisive going forward, so tightening up at the back will be essential. Fran Karacic may get a chance ahead of Atkinson.
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