Australia’s next opponents are arguably world leaders in time-wasting and gamesmanship – and defender Harry Souttar says the Socceroos can’t get sucked in like they did last time they met.
You can almost set your watch to it. And the Socceroos can only hope the referee does too, and account for it via added time.
that ultimately set the table for Graham Arnold’s decision to step down as head coach of the national team. And they“It still stings a lot,” said defender Harry Souttar, who conceded the own goal in the 89th minute that sealed just the second defeat for Australia in a live World Cup qualifier on home soil since 1981.
Skipper Maty Ryan raged in the post-match mixed zone about Australia’s “naive” approach to the game and their bluntness in the final third, which played beautifully into Bahrain’s defensive approach. The more the Socceroos got frustrated in their search for a breakthrough goal, the more they rushed things. The more their opponents played for free kicks, and drained the clock by rolling around on the floor, the faster this vicious cycle accelerated.
No Socceroo will deflect their share of the blame for what happened that night. Ultimately, they lost because they were nowhere near good enough with the ball to break down Bahrain’s stacked defence – and while Popovic’s 3-4-2-1 formation has reshaped their attacking patterns, the goals are not exactly flowing yet, asshowed. In three games, they have scored only four goals: three came in one night against China, while the other was an own goal.
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