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[EdDog]

First 15; what ecstasy. So proud of Craigy boy. A very short list the number of world cup goal scorers for the Socceroos. And the first who's scored whilst playing for an A-League club. Unreal.

After that; very disappointing, particularly the second half.

Atkinson rinsed all night. I think Arnie has to give him more support or change it up as we got absolutely gutted down that side.

Cumdog for Duke was a terrible sub for me and meant we could no longer get our foot on the ball.

To lose by 3 goals after the start we had is a huge let down.

Must win game next up.

[sevengoals]

Bugger.

[Interloper]

The Irvine header that hit the post was Australia's 4th shot. They did not create another one after that point.

[EdDog]

The Irvine header that hit the post was Australia's 4th shot. They did not create another one after that point.

Damning statistic.

I think we've gotta leave Duke on all game. We don't have another player who can be a presence up front.

Also to concede 3 headed goals from open play is a pretty poor defensive effort. Just gotta get closer to the attacker.

[Interloper]

The Irvine header that hit the post was Australia's 4th shot. They did not create another one after that point.

Damning statistic.

I think we've gotta leave Duke on all game. We don't have another player who can be a presence up front.

Also to concede 3 headed goals from open play is a pretty poor defensive effort. Just gotta get closer to the attacker.

Duke was already at the point of giving away a yellow card in desperation after only 55 minutes though. It's not really sustainable for 90 minutes. Which was a shame, because in hindsight he was likely Australia's best.

Maybe a crazy plan like starting Cumdog with fresh midfielders behind him to help with pressure, with a planned substitution for Duke after 30 minutes would have worked. But I don't think Arnold has an ounce of lateral thinking in him.

The quality of the opposition will mask the garbage-tier management that was on show today. This is basically the third world cup in a row where the goal has been harm-minimisation with a token amount of experience for promising youth.

[EdDog]

Thinking back to the game against France in Russia, we only just lost that 2-1.

Could have been a cricket score last night.

I get it was a top team but they were stronger when they beat us by only one goal last time round.

I think we have to cop some criticism for the way we set up and our gameplay. Simply not good enough.

[sevengoals]

I thought Cummings was absolutely, totally out of his depth.
What was Arnold thinking?

[sevengoals]

Morocco 0-0 Croatia

Game over.

[Interloper]

Thinking back to the game against France in Russia, we only just lost that 2-1.

Could have been a cricket score last night.

I get it was a top team but they were stronger when they beat us by only one goal last time round.

I think we have to cop some criticism for the way we set up and our gameplay. Simply not good enough.

The most embarrassing thing has been the reaction that this was somehow inevitable, despite the Australian team somehow managing to avoid such embarrassments in the past. You could almost draw more conclusions about the state of the game in this country based on that alone.

There was hell to pay for similar results in the past (4-0 with 10 men vs Germany for example.) This morning's second-half performance was the worst competitive match from the national team since the draw with Solomon Islands in qualifiers in 2004. It should have brought about serious discussion of the merits of firing Arnold on the spot.

I thought Cummings was absolutely, totally out of his depth.
What was Arnold thinking?

He looked abysmal. But was set up to fail by the strategy

[EdDog]

I thought Cummings was absolutely, totally out of his depth.
What was Arnold thinking?

Wholeheartedly agree. Selected based on internet popularity rather than merit. Can think of many A-League players who should be there ahead of him.

Boyle and Souttar are decidedly better than their homegrown counterparts but Cummings is stealing someone's spot.

[sevengoals]

Germany 1-1 Japan
75min

Japan playing football equalise late in the game ...

[sevengoals]

Germany 1-2 Japan
83min

Japan score a second!
You bloody beauty!

[sevengoals]

Germany 1-2 Japan

Final score.


Japan defeats Germany.
Saudi Arabia defeats Argentina.

Both teams coming from behind to win.

[EdDog]

Japan looked decent and deserved the win.

Shows that the big guys can be beaten with some grit and determination.

I think France look better than Argentina and Germany but perhaps that was us making them look good.

[sevengoals]

Spain 7-0 Costa Rica

Final score