Four very strong performances, at times brilliant, Australia anticipating more, the Asian Cup on fire and everything to achieve for yourselves and your country.
Some points about the quarter-final.
Timmy Cahill’s first goal was magnificent, rightly lauded and celebrated, but his second is more important because it is what put Japan firmly on notice again. ‘I am here, and I’m coming for you’ is the message from another extraordinary and towering header, precisely what Japan fears the most.
Perhaps it is the only thing it cannot deal with.
In the first few games, goals were coming from everywhere but, when the situation gets very real, greats lead the way and few do so better than Timmy.
Australia will, to a man, be willing UAE to take Japan deep into extra time and penalties tonight - to stress both teams physically to the maximum, so that with an additional day’s rest and a more comfortable match, Australia’s freshness could be decisive.
Well done to Postecoglou on maintaining the core approach. Australia was expected to beat China, of course, but the manner in which it was achieved was excellent.
What I particularly enjoyed was that the team did not sit back at 1-0 up, but continued to press and dominate.
This is what we have wanted to see for a very long time. Credit to Ange for bringing it to life. This is the attitude Australia should take into every game, at every level, as I have long argued.
Was last night a triumph for the rotation of players in the Korea Republic match? Not really. Australia had a big advantage physically already, having stayed in Brisbane, avoided travel and with a day’s extra rest over China.
The test of that choice is in the next match, if indeed Japan is the opponent. If it is UAE, we may have dodged a bullet, so to speak.
Maty Ryan excelled again when called upon. Keep an eye on him because with each subsequent match now he becomes more and more important.
The skipper was back and, yes, had a difficult reintroduction to the game - clearly lacking the rhythm after several matches out.
But, and this is why Jedinak is the captain of an English Premier League team, he wasn’t affected by his start, got into the match and his presence in the second half was important for the team.
This is a key difference between amateur and professional players, the ability to deal with a lesser performance and move on.
Mile could not afford his first half against Japan but got it out of the way against China and is back in the swing. Beautiful timing.
Finally, let’s deal with the pitch. It has been said that it is ‘the same for both teams’. Literally, yes, but in a football sense it is not accurate.
The pitch quality impacts differently on different styles of play, therefore a team that plays aerially does not need the same pitch a team that plays on the ground requires.
Otherwise, why would Mourinho have let the grass grow maximum length when playing Barcelona a few years ago?
When playing a superior opponent, many teams narrow the pitch and let the surface grow to stop fast circulation of the ball, therefore the old cliche is in fact completely wrong, unless the two teams have an identical approach to the game and, even then, a heavy pitch could affect the team with less recovery to a greater degree.
China sat back until it went a goal behind, and it is a credit to the Socceroos that they still moved the ball quickly and created chances, playing mostly on the ground.
In fact, one could argue now that long grass may hinder the Japanese in Newcastle (should they qualify), not to mention making fatigued legs even more tired.
It was a hindrance to Australia in the past two matches, but the opposite could well be the case in the semi-final.
It is at least food for thought
Go Roos.
