Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Sunderland: A host of players were handed their Australia debuts as the 2015 AFC Asian Cup champions slipped to a 2-1 friendly defeat to Euro 2016-bound England on Thursday.
With the friendly falling outside the FIFA window and a major portion of first-team regulars still on club duty in leagues throughout Asia it was an unfamiliar starting line up for the Socceroos as head coach Ange Postecoglou (pictured) explored his options ahead of the resumption of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in September.
Australia started with purpose and threatened the England goal inside the first minute when an attempted clearance from England keeper Fraser Forster was blocked by debutant Jaimie MacLaren following a passage of play that started with a surging run from deep inside his own half by Celtic star Tom Rogic.
England’s first foray into Australian territory just seconds later resulted in the opening goal when Raheem Sterling’s cross took a deflection off of Joshua Ridson and spun invitingly to debutant Marcus Rashford, whose sweetly-struck volley beat Socceroos’ stopper Matt Ryan at his right-hand post.
Having scored his first England goal with just two minutes and 18 seconds at the Stadium of Light played, rising star Rashford could have doubled his international tally after Sterling found the Manchester United attacker unmarked but the 18-year-old delayed pulling the trigger and his hesitation allowed Liverpool defender Brad Smith to clear the danger.
Australia dominated possession but despite some lively movement from Kruise and Rogic the Socceroos were unable to create any real clearcut chances, with the next threat on goal coming from England on the half-hour mark.
An intelligent pass from Rashford found Adam Lallana onside near the six-yard area but Ryan did well to stem the danger instantly following the Liverpool attacker’s sharp turn and shot before the Valencia keeper was on hand to keep out a dangerous shot from Lallana’s club mate Jordan Henderson with four minutes of the first half remaining.
England did double their lead ten minutes into a high-tempo, but initially scrappy, second half through Wayne Rooney, who made his England debut against Australia in 2003 when the Socceroos won 3-1 in London against a side managed by current Shanghai SIPG coach Sven-Goran Eriksson.
After Rashford had skilfully spun his marker, Sterling picked up possession before firing an intelligent cross-field pass to the unmarked Rooney, who scored his 52nd international goal in style after unleashing a blistering shot past Ryan.
England were dictating the match and the Socceroos were struggling to create chances but with quarter-of-an-hour left to play Australia were given a foothold back into the game when substitute Erik Dier headed into his own net as the Tottenham Hotspur defender awkwardly tried to deal with Milos Degenek’s dangerous cross from the right.
The Socceroos are next in action on June 4 in Sydney against Greece in the first of two friendlies against the Euro 2004 winners, with the second taking place three days later in Melbourne.
Australia resume their 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign on September 1 when they host 2007 AFC Cup winners Iraq before heading to the Middle East to face the United Arab Emirates five days later in the first two matches of the final round of Asian qualifiers.
In addition to Iraq and the 2015 AFC Asian Cup semi-finalists, Australia have been drawn in Group B alongside four-time continental champions Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Thailand, the only team in the pool yet to participate at the FIFA World Cup finals.
The winner and runner-up of each group will qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia finals while the third-placed teams of each group will advance to the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Asian Play-off Round.
The winner of the Asian Play-off Round will take on the side that finishes fourth in the fifth round of the CONCACAF qualifiers in a two-legged inter-confederation play-off.
Photo: AFP