Australia have accomplished many things since joining the Asian Football Confederation in 2006: they have twice qualified for the World Cup, won the continent’s top club and country prize, and sent players all over the place.
But there is one thing they have yet to do – find a rival in west Asia. There is Japan in the east, an obvious candidate ever since that afternoon in Kaiserslautern a decade ago. Over in the west, it could have been Iran had the two nations met as AFC cousins but that has yet to happen and memories of 1997 are fading.
The stage was set for the United Arab Emirates to make a dramatic entrance into the psyches of Australian football fans. The conquerors of Japan in Saitama last Thursday – and home to more talented players per head of population than any other Asian nation and third-placed at the 2015 Asian Cup – seemed to fit the bill. All that was needed to forge a beautiful friendship was a hard-fought match, a show of skill from the Whites’ golden generation and no quarter asked or given. It did not quite happen – and the Socceroos had much to do with that.
The hosts had done their bit before the game. Abu Dhabi can be a sleepy football venue but the city pulled out the stops. It opened the gates, giving fans free entry into the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium. In they streamed to be told to scream at the warming-up visiting goalkeepers. Prior to kick-off, an impressive tifo spelled out “The Dream of a Nation”. Three points really would give the team great confidence of returning to the World Cup for the first time since 1990.
Australia were not about to oblige even if the early signs were good for the UAE. Mark Milligan seemed to lose his head after suffering an early nutmeg, giving the ball away and scything down Omar Abdulrahman. The bushy-haired playmaker was constantly looking for the ball behind a high defence and sleepy right-back Ryan McGowan offered some early opportunities with Mat Ryan having to come to his rescue. Trent Sainsbury and Matthew Spiranovic also chipped in with vital interceptions and blocks.
Yet Australia are Asian champions for a reason. The early passing would not have pleased coach Ange Postecoglou, his white shirt drenched in sweat long before the drinks break that the players enjoyed on the half-hour, yet after 17 minutes Robbie Kruse had the best chance. The Bayer Leverkusen man forced a good save from Khalid Eisa just moments after the goalkeeper had tipped a Spiranovic header over the bar.
That’s the way World Cup qualifiers often go, especially in the sweltering Middle East. The coach wants fast and attacking football yet conditions say otherwise. The Socceroos did however improve as the first half progressed and ended fairly comfortable.
Abdulrahman tried to do something about that but even talented strikers such as Ahmed Khalil and Ali Mabkhout – far from their best in this game – are not always on his wavelength. Still, Abdulrahman’s passing game in the final third is as smooth as ever, even if he is rather more reticent when it comes to work at the other end of the pitch.
Despite Abdulrahman’s dislike for defending, UAE stayed compact in a 4-4-2 and didn’t give their guests much space in the middle. The playmaker was active again early in the second half but Australia only looked more and more in control and almost took the lead when Aaron Mooy shook the bar with a shot from the edge of the area. Seconds later, Mabkhout was shooting over from just outside the six-yard box as UAE crafted their best chance.
There was always a hint of danger from the hosts but never any sense of pressure being built by UAE. Australia, in contrast, increasingly looked like getting the goal that would provide a win that was becoming increasingly deserved. It was almost a cliché to say that the game was set up for Tim Cahill to come off the bench and find half a yard and a goal. But it was and so he did with his first touch of the game, getting on the end of a delicious Brad Smith cross. The display was already impressive but combined with the result, it is one of Australia’s best World Cup qualification performances since joining Asia.
The UAE then do share an Australian experience with Japan then – falling prey to a winning Cahill cameo from the bench with the mercury high and the punches to the corner flag low. On Tuesday night at least, the west Asians did not seem ready to knock the impressive Asian champions off their perch and be a major barrier to Australia’s fourth successive World Cup appearance. For all their undoubted talent, Mahdi Ali’s men just were not able to put the cool visitors under enough pressure on a sweltering evening.
Perhaps Saudi Arabia can stop the Socceroos, especially as Al Hilal fans will never forget the Asian Champions League final loss at the hands of Western Sydney Wanderers in 2014. The Green Falcons came back from a goal down against Iraq to win 2-1 with two late penalties to move level top of the group with Australia. The Saudis have not been impressive so far but they have been a little lucky. The October game in Jeddah will be fascinating.
But when it comes to Asian rivals, maybe the Socceroos will be stuck with Japan. The Samurai Blue recovered from their shock home defeat last week to win 2-0 in Thailand, a victory that was more comfortable than the scoreline suggests. Japan are in Australia in November and on this form the Socceroos will fancy their chances.
