Read Kieran Pender’s match report from Moscow right here:
Final thoughts
This was a game played at scintillating pace, and in large parts was bossed by the underdog, Australia. In the end, 1-1 felt a fair reflection on both sides, but after doing so much of the leg work to establish a well-earned advantage, it’s hard not to contemplate the notion that Australia just missed a chance to notch a famous win.
It feels a little cheap to say that, though - to want more after your expectations had already been exceeded, so it’s worth pointing out that Australia really did excel today. In what was surely their best performance in the last twelve months, did we start to see a little of Postecoglou’s approach bear fruit today? Channelling the zeal of captain Tim Cahill in his 100th appearance, Australia regularly split open the Chilean midfield and defence through Irvine and Luongo’s industry and Troisi’s creativity. The latter in particular was very dangerous throughout the match, and this must have been one of his best games in a Socceroos shirt. Like a number of his team mates he does retain the capacity to be a little wasteful, but today he regularly created opportunities for those in front of him and of course finished his goal with aplomb.
At the back, Milligan was his assured self and the back three generally appeared more fortified than they did on previous outings.
Chile, of course, are not ranked four in the world for nothing. Through Vidal, Vargas and Sanchez, they did just about enough to be good value for their goal, and from there were comfortable in seeing the game out. I think they were a little surprise by Australia’s zip in attack today, and struggled for solutions until they notched their own goal. They will obviously need to be better for the tournament’s latter stages.
From Moscow (not really, my couch in London), I’ll bid you farewell. To those who joined - and especially those who wrote in - thank you kindly. I trust you’ll enjoy the rest of the tournament, where the esteemed MBM commentators at The Guardian will have you covered.
Cheers, and catch you soon.
Sam
Full Time: Australia 1 - Chile 1
After a quiet wind-down to the game, it finishes 1-1. Postecoglou warmly greets his Chilean counterpart Juan Antonio Pizzi, and that is that. A great game to watch, when it’s all said. Some final thoughts to follow.
Four minutes of stoppage time to play
The spirit has been sapped from the game, though Postecoglou is still swearing on the touchline, which is perversely nice to see.
89 min: Leckie gets the ball towards Kruse from the left - the former Bayer Leverkusen man lets it roll across him before shooting on his preferred left foot. His contact is fairly weak and it hits a Chilean defender before it’s cleared. Nearly done here.
87 min: Gonzalo Haro takes a free kick 70 metres from Australia’s goal after Leckie fouls Sanchez. He tries to lob Ryan from that distance but it’s neither long enough, deep enough or straight enough. Ryan gathers.
85 min: A bit of the sting out of the game now as long balls are interspersed with passing along the back line. Australia will still go for the win, and as I type Leckie finds some space before his ball in beats everyone.
83 min: Sustained Chilean possession now, and Sanchez gets the ball on the right edge of the box. He performs approximately 77 mesmerising stepovers before delivering a dangerous ball in. His compatriots reel it in and recycle possession. The mainly Chilean crowd are starting to sense that they’re going to be okay.
79 min: A little bit of a rest for everyone now after McGowan goes down for some treatment. He’s having some head bandages applied now, which will infinitely increase his warrior cred. It also signals the home straight of this match, as there’s now about ten minutes of normal time remaining. Australia remain a good chance of winning, though two goals will be extremely difficult.
Alex has written in, summing up how all Australians feel here: “just hope we can get two more goals….Can only imagine Ange’s hand movements!”
I get an unhealthy level of happiness from his gesticulating.
75 min: Australia continues to open Chile up here. Luongo tries to play in Kruse, though his first touch is a little heavy. It allows onrushing Bravo palm the ball out of Kruse’s path, and after a bit of a stand-off together at the end of the box, Chile clears.
72 min: Substitution - Bailey Wright on for Trent Sainsbury
72 min: Chance goes begging for Australia! Troisi chips a beautiful ball in to the path of a free Ryan McGowan, but he completely mistimes his half-volleyed side-foot, and the ball skews wide. Cue more wild gesticulation from Postecoglou. It’s just getting away from them now.
So to recap: Australia needs to win by two goals to progress, and find themselves two goals down (effectively) following Rodriguez’s goal.
69 min: Chile on the march now. Sanchez marauds down the left touchline and wriggles free of Milligan. He crosses it in but Vargas heads wide. McGowan appeared to try and handle it along the way, but thankfully (for him) made no contact.
Goal! Australia 1 - 1 Chile (Rodriguez 66')
And Chile hit back! Australia fails to clear their lines and it means Vargas is able to play in Rodriguez with a header. Sainsbury et al had stepped up and the youngster beat the trap. He buys himself enough space to slot it past Ryan, who did get a hand to it but it wasn’t enough. Parity is restored.
Updated
64 min: Jamie MacLaren has the ball on the right touchline but he doubles back and rolls the ball to James Troisi. He takes a couple of steps before telegraphing a shot from distance. It’s goes harmlessly over the bar, though he connected fairly well with it. Are Australia...in...charge?
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62 min: But obviously as I say that, something happens. A diagonal ball comes over the top for a sprinting Robbie Kruse, but he’s just distracted enough to put him off connecting with the ball. Postecoglou gesticulates furiously afterward.
62 min: Probably the least eventful period of the match so far, which might indicate early signs of fatigue.
61 min: Substitution - Tomi Juric off, Jamie MacLaren on
Updated
Troisi’s goal earlier. It really was a nice finish.
58 min: A long, long diagonal ball results in Sanchez picking up the seconds. He shoots low and hard at Ryan but the Australian is able to get down and glove it cleanly.
Yellow card for Arturo Vidal
He brings down Luongo with a high, late, cynical tackle. He’s not complaining about the call.
Substitution: Cahill off, Leckie on
A superb performance from Cahill on the occasion of his 100th cap. It wasn’t marked by a goal, but he’s really led the way with intensity and aggression.
54 min: Troisi has a free kick on the left. It floats in (again) and could use a little more pace, but Cahill gets on the end of it anyway. His contact is solid enough but it’s always straight at the keeper at a medium pace. Bravo’s not troubled.
49 min: Vargas has a shot from a very acute angle, but it’s straight at Ryan’s breadbasket. It packed some heat and some wobble, but the Brighton’s new keeper was up to the task.
An earlier substitution
Please excuse me for not noting this earlier, alongside the introduction of Rodriguez, Pablo Hernandez has replaced Aranguiz.
47 min: Luongo with a lovely touch past Paulo Diaz on the byline there. Not quite an ‘RIP career’ moment, but pretty nice all the same. There’s a sense Australia are really growing into this.
47 min: The ref has already blown about four fouls in the opening two minutes, which suggests the bite from this game won’t disappear for a while.
The second half is underway
Australia are themselves halfway to what would amount to a major boilover. Can they maintain the rage?
The players are back...
And there’s a substitution: Rodriguez will come on for Fuenzalida at the back.
Nice summary from Alan here, too...
Says Alan: “Ripper goal and all from not allowing the Chileans time on the ball. There’ll be a lot of sore ankles in the Chilean rooms after this game.”
They’ll let you know about it, too.
On the origins of Seventh Heaven
Thanks to Glenn, who delivered when I needed it most. I wondered what the etymology of ‘Seventh Heaven’ was. It looks like he’s provided it.
“1. (especially in Islam and the cabala) the highest heaven, where God and the most exalted angels dwell. 2. a state of intense happiness; bliss: We were in seventh heaven in our new home.”
Now I/we know. Cheers again, Glenn.
Halftime thoughts
If you’ve just tuned it, I’d advise you to stay through. After a few waves of early Chilean attack, Australia have been well worth their one goal advantage as they hit the sheds in Moscow. Led by captain Cahill, they played with admirable intensity and aggression. Luongo and Irvine have won more than their fair share of ball in midfield, and they’ve been able to recycle it in a manner that’s produced some dangerous situations.
Chile, meanwhile, have still managed to challenge Australia’s goal on a couple of occasions, and even though Australians-all will be riding a wave of excitement about this half, you’d be unwise to think they won’t be back with some ferocity. Each of Vidal, Sanchez and Vargas have gone close to opening their account, and there still remain shades of that flimsy openness along Australia’s back three.
The other facet of this match worth noting is the aggression from both sides, with a few challenges bordering on snide. Australia have already registered four yellow cards, and playing at their current pace, stand a worrying chance of turning one of them into a red. There’s more than a whiff of referee frustration at the messiness within some of the tackling, so Postecoglou will have to work out how he balances that aggression and edge with caution. As ever, I suppose.
This second half should be a cracker. Back with you soon.
Halftime: Australia 1 - 0 Chile
Australia’s best half of football for a very long time. Some brief thoughts to follow.
45+2 min: It could have been two! Troisi sends a ball in that Cahill eventually heads on to Sainsbury. The centre-back has no one around him and with the keeper to beat, he volleys into row Z. The Chileans were expecting a linesman’s flag but it never came. Had that gone in, Australia would have been in seventh heaven (what does that mean, by the way?)
45+1 min: Yellow card for Behich
It was for an earlier indiscretion in Chile’s build up play, and he did crash into the Chilean attacker there. That’s four yellow cards to Australia.
44 min: Sanchez fashions some space on the left and sends the ball across goal. It comes back in through Aranguiz and Vidal’s header goes very, very close. It would have beaten Ryan but Sainsbury gets the block in.
43 min: Australia seems to have dropped deep here with half time, and why wouldn’t they? They’ve conceded in the final minutes before half time in their last three fixtures. Can they break the duck?
Goal! Australia 1 - 0 Chile (Troisi, 41')
And deserved! They’ve flooded the Chilean half. Luongo almost gets his shot away before it falls to Kruse. His blocked shot fall fortuitously to Troisi who is in acres, and he deftly chips it over the onrushing Claudio Bravo to make it 1-0. Game. On.
Updated
39 min: Cahill uses his strength to turn his opponent and find space in behind. He sends the ball across the face of the goal and Juric just misses out on getting there.
37 min: Vidal side foots the ball into that eternally open space between Australia’s centre and left back, but unlike the Cameroon scenario where Ryan unwisely rushed out, this time he stays put and Sainsbury covers the onrushing Vargas. Evolution!
35 min: Huge chance for Australia! Troisi dinks the ball over the top to Luongo, who fires a left-footed shot on the half-volley straight into keeper Bravo’s chest. The closest they’ve come.
“Don’t f-ing step back, f-ing step forward!” says captain Cahill before play restarts, to an audience of multiple millions as the audio boom catches every word.
32 min: And now a yellow for Cahill!
That looked pretty late, and the ref wants a look at the VAR! What happens here? It looks late, and it’s his trailing leg that catches Aranguiz. Everything calms down though and we play on. ‘Overexuberance rather than malice’, says John Motson. I’d agree.
29 min: Yellow card for James Troisi
He grabs a whole bunch of Vidal’s shirt and gets a yellow for his trouble.
Updated
28 min: Another possible shout for penalty? Vargas goes down in heavy traffic and it looks like there’s external contact. The referee waves play on though. It was probably a better candidate for a look at the VAR than the other one.
26 min: VAR Alert!
Sanchez reels in the ball after a successful ball over the top (exquisite touch, for the record). As he’s bringing the ball under control Milligan makes his intervention. It looks innocuous enough but the referee decides he wants a look at it. They quickly confirm that it was indeed innocuous - a pretty good tackle, all told.
Updated
25 min: Chile march downfield quickly and Vidal is able to find Sanchez’s head with a cross from deep. The Arsenal man is heavily marked though, so can’t make meaningful contact.
24 min: It’s a high, floaty corner from Troisi that doesn’t give the attackers much chance to make a mark. It evades everyone and eventually Chile get it under control.
23 min: Australia win a corner after some nice interplay down the left touchline. Cahill dropped deep to provide an extra man and the Chilean defence sends the ball behind.
20 min: Yellow card for Luongo - he’s paying the price for everyone else’s previous sins, methinks. He’s late into the back of Vidal and he takes his punishment. Not sure the pace of the game can be sustained for this long. Hard pressing, strong tackles, there’s nary a foot on the ball to be seen yet.
18 min: A free kick for Chile from about 30 yards sees Vidal hammer the ball (straight run-up, charges in, puts his laces through the ball) into the wall. It rebounds about 40 metres away from the Australian goal. Fierce hit to no avail.
Comment from Alan (g’day) via emails:
“I think the need for a two goal margin win is a bit beyond Oz, but I reckon we’ll give it a decent shake. With an altered midfield line up, maybe that’s messed a bit with Chile’s preparation.”
I hope you’re right, Alan. First goal will have a lot to do with it, I think.
14 min: There’s a good zip about these opening exchanges. The ball is pinging around and there’s been more than a few players who’ve come together. A nice little edge to proceedings.
12 min: Clear cut chance for Chile. Sanchez with a sumptuous little left-footed reverse pass on the edge of the area sees Vargas with time to place a shot, but Ryan gets down to make the save. It’s an open game, mainly near Australia’s goal.
Updated
10 min: Australia reaps some rewards for their preparedness to play out from the back. Milligan skips past a few and is eventually able to release McGowan. Behich gets a ball in but no one’s there.
7 min: Fuenzalida carries the ball into some space on Australia’s right. He sends a precise ball to the back post, where an unmarked Vidal times a volley beautifully, but it’s straight at Ryan who parries and cleans up in the nick of time. A few waves of Chilean attack already - already signs Australia might struggle to cope.
5 min: Already strong evidence that Chile are adopting similar tactics to Cameroon. Already three balls over the top to Sanchez aiming to isolate McGowan. Australia deal with it, for now.
4 min: The ball is ping-ponging around the midfield as tackles slide in on the greasy surface. Luongo eventually goes through a Chilean whose name I can’t quite catch - it’s actually pretty reckless but the ref lets him go with a talking to and nothing more.
2 min: Luongo picks the ball up in a little bit of space about ten yards from the area and has a long-range pop. It skews off the boot and is well wide, but a positive early sign.
Kick-off, and we’re away...
The commentators I have here, Motson and Danny Higginbotham, both seem to think it will be an open game too. At the risk of revealing myself as an admirer of Don Quixote myself - I really hope they’re right. What’s the merit in scrapping and scraping your way without ambition to a likely defeat anyway? Forza Ange!
A quick note, I’ve been totally played by the cameras and strategic crowd placement. The crowd is a little more scattered than I originally thought.
On the anthems
A naturally rousing rendition of Chile’s national anthem. As ever, the a cappella section to finish is a hell of a sight. The Australian players, by contrast, recite the anthem in a droning manfully low octave. There’s a very healthy crowd in to see this.
Kick-off next.
The players are out there...
Cahill leads out the Australians, and there was a tribute to his 100th cap in the warm-ups too.
For the kit aficionados ...
The Socceroos will wear a changed strip today. A bit of novelty is always nice.
1⃣ hour until kick-off in #CHIAUS! 🇨🇱🇦🇺
— #ConfedCup (@FIFAcom) June 25, 2017
Score predictions? #ConfedCup pic.twitter.com/bh9BDAKzsZ
Just on the team news
Postecoglou has rung a decent number of changes here: Gersbach, Leckie, Mooy and Rogic make way for McGowan, Irvine, Luongo and Cahill respectively. No Mooy and no Rogic might make things a little interesting...
Team News
Australia XI: Ryan; Milligan, Sainsbury, McGowan; Irvine, Luongo; Kruse, Cahill, Troisi, Behich; Juric.
Chile XI: Bravo; Isla, Jara, Paulo Díaz, Mena; F.Silva, Fuenzalida, Aránguiz; Vidal; Alexis, Vargas.
Preamble
Afternoon, morning, evening, silly o’clock to all, and welcome to our coverage of the final Confederations Cup group game between Australia and Chile, being played in Moscow - home to the Russian giants, Spartak.
For a tournament that tends to engender various views on its importance (depending on whether you’re winning or losing), today’s fixture is littered with that wonderful phenomenon for journalists: sub-plots. Let’s have a look at a few:
While both teams can technically claim that their ‘destiny is in their own hands’, the truth is that it would take a monumental performance for Australia to progress through to the knockout stage from here. They would need to win by two goals against a team ranked number four in the world, and recent form would suggest it may prove too big a stretch for Ange Postecoglou’s unit. The scenario does, however, throw up some curiosity of its own. Under Postecoglou Australia already plays an open, free-wheeling brand of football that can both fashion chances and, to the consternation of an increasing number at home, concede them. Given they need to win by two, does Postecoglou push the envelope even further? His Quixotic tendencies would suggest he will, though with the commentariat wolves howling at his door, it would require some serious courage for him to risk a heavy loss. One invites the other.
With that in mind, it’s worth noting that he’s called on Tim Cahill to start today. It raises a major milestone for the veteran, who will notch his 100th cap when the game commences. Taken in totality, you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who has been more influential in a Socceroos jersey throughout the nation’s history, and he now sits behind Mark Schwarzer (109) in total caps won. A huge achievement and one well worth celebrating.
Their opponents today, Chile, play a fast, direct style of football - and with Alexis Sanchez sitting at their apex, they’re going to be an extremely difficult prospect to keep at bay. Whichever way you look at it, it all bodes well for goals, goals, goals, as both sides look to stay live in the tournament.
I’ll have some team news and other tidbits next. If you want to reach out directly, you can get me at sam.perry.freelance@guardian.co.uk, or on the Twitter machine thing at @sjjperry.
Sam will be here shortly. Russia are out of their own tournament; here’s how they went down:
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