Here’s the match report …
Socceroos stumble to third draw in a row
Before the game the only question was by how many goals Asian Cup holders Australia would beat pointless Thailand by. And that faith seemed justified after Mile Jedinak’s early penalty reflected the Socceroos’ obvious ascendancy.
But after the pesky Dangda equalised midway through the half the game turned on its axis. Thailand gained in confidence, capitalising on Australia’s errors, and it was no surprise when they took a second-half lead.
Thereafter it was desperate stuff from the visitors and it took some eye-catching cameos from Nathan Burns and Mark Milligan to help snatch a late point.
It was as sluggish and off-key a performance as Ange Postecoglou has overseen in his time in control of Australia. Aaron Mooy endured his poorest game in a gold shirt and all around him players looked skittish.
Japan’s win over Saudi Arabia means after five matches Australia drop to third in Group B, and if the UAE defeat Iraq there could be four teams separated by just one point at the halfway mark of this phase. It’s not where Australia expected to find themselves after winning their opening two matches.
Updated
Full-time: Thailand 2-2 Australia
What a game! Frenetic, end-to-end, topsy-turvy stuff.
90 + 5 min: Australia clear, and the final whistle blows.
90 + 4 min: Still they come! Australia can’t retain possession and their desperate back four is again forced to rush around chasing blue runners. Corner... final seconds...
90 + 3 min: Thailand not giving up here and another burst down the left threatens Australia’s box. The crowd are adamant there was a handball too when a speculative shot flew in, but the referee decline to award a fourth penalty.
90 + 1 min: Irvine booked for hauling down a marauding Thai counterattack before it reached dangerous territory. You’ll take those every week for your team at this time of the game.
90 min: Kruse offside, again...
88 min: Australia finally enjoy some pressure after what seems like an age in defence but the likeliest source of a goal seems to be the other way with Thailand exposing the tired Socceroos on the counter.
This is a desperate end-to-end slog now.
86 min: HUGE chance for Thailand. Australia’s weary defence is cut open and Chatthong is through one on one but Ryan is up to the task, rushes out and smothers the opportunity.
85 min: Sainsbury the latest to dive in just outside the box and concede a free-kick that Ryan will not be happy about. Irvine defends superbly and repels the threat.
84 min: First substitution for Thailand, Malapun - on debut - for Promrak.
Deary me, Mooy misplaced two passes in the space of five seconds. He went half a season at Melbourne City before he gave the ball away so cheaply.
82 min: A few injuries, cramp and fouls have taken the sting out of the game, for the first time in a frenetic match.
80 min: Irvine for Spiranovic is Postecoglou’s final change. Spiranovic is another who won’t want to watch the replay of tonight’s match.
Right, let's forget the last 70 odd minutes, play some football please. I know there is a winner in this but we need to be better #THAvAUS
— Craig Moore (@CraigMoore_18) November 15, 2016
77 min: The number of seemingly avoidable offsides to Socceroo forwards this match does not reflect favourably on the Australian education system. Kruse again wanders behind Thailand’s defence. Shortly afterwards Mooy turns out of space and into trouble. This is the poorest game I’ve seen the Huddersfield Town star play in years.
Ooof! From nowhere, Burns cuts inside and leathers a left-footed howitzer that clips the Thailand crossbar. This has been a handy cameo for the substitute.
75 min: Another foul on the edge of Australia’s penalty area. Wider this time, but another dangerous situation, made more dangerous by a lack of communication almost causing Smith to concede a corner when a goal kick was inevitable.
*Ball comes central*
— Anna Harrington (@AnnaHarrington) November 15, 2016
*Brad Smith moves centrally*
*Thailand player drops out wide, receives the ball in behind*
Rinse and repeat. #THAvAUS
73 min: Thailand’s time to suffer Australian faults in the final third. Moving the ball nicely but failing to execute the killer pass when it mattered. The pitch is an increasing liability, by the way, divots and molehills all over the place.
71 min: Australia negotiate a couple of corners but Thailand have monopolised possession since the equaliser.
Now it's time to play football and start implementing our game. We have loads of time to win this game. 👊🏽👊🏽 @FOXFOOTBALL @FOXSportsNews
— TIM CAHILL (@Tim_Cahill) November 15, 2016
68 min: Out of nowhere Australia again look the likelier winners. Credit is due to Postecoglou and his reshuffle, now, can they seal the deal? Degenek fouling Chatthong on the edge of Mat Ryan’s box won’t help. But the free-kick fails to raise green and gold pulses.
GOAL! Thailand 2-2 Australia (Jedinak 65)
Phew! That was unconvincing from Jedinak who stroked it low to the keeper’s right and it just sneaked through him for the equaliser.
PENALTY! - Australia
A third penalty of the night, a second for Australia. Jedinak fouled as he attacked a deep Mooy free-kick. Lots of shirt pulling and the Aussie skipper hit the deck.
63 min: Burns is buzzing, adding some much needed energy to the Australian performance, but once again the final pass catches its intended recipient off guard and the chance fizzles out.
That early profligacy with the game at their mercy is haunting Australia.
62 min: The substitutes have helped Australia regroup and control the ball for the first time this half. Both Burns and Milligan involved to force a corner. Mooy’s delivery is then inch perfect onto the forehead of Jedinak but a diving save from the keeper keeps Thailand ahead.
Trying to figure out the Socceroos’ new formation. It’ll be a variation of a 4-4-2, presumably a diamond, with Kruse and Burns up front.
60 min: Australia are shellshocked. Maclaren and Leckie have been sacrificed for Milligan and Burns.
GOAL! Thailand 2-1 Australia (Dangda 58)
Dangda calmly sends Ryan the wrong way and sends Thailand into a deserved lead.
Well well well...
PENALTY - Thailand
Thailand swarming all over Australia and one attack finally provokes a fault. Leckie, diving into an unnecessary challenge on Bunmathan, and a penalty had to be awarded.
56 min: One-way traffic in Bangkok and it’s all in favour of the pointless locals. Songkrasin dribbles like George Best down the left and his cross causes chaos but Australia survive, just.
53 min: The three defensive midfield screeners are now a strategic factor for Thailand. In the first half they were bypassed at will but since the break they’ve remained behind the ball throughout and Australia’s midfield looks unsure how to respond. Gold is ceding to blue around halfway often and these turnovers are dictating play Thailand’s way.
51 min: This has been a poor start to the half from Australia. Sloppy in possession and outfought by Thailand all over the pitch. It might need some lateral thinking from Postecoglou to regain control.
49 min: All Thailand so far who are first to every contested ball and making Mooy in particular look like his head’s still in the sheds.
47 min: Early chance for Thailand after Spiranovic is again penalised for going into a tackle too strongly but the free-kick from a dangerous position cannons into the wall.
46 min: Second half underway, and there are no changes from either side.
Everyone relax, we'll be fine. #THAvAUS #GoSocceroos
— Steve Horvat (@Steve_Horvat) November 15, 2016
I’m inclined to agree with the former Socceroo, so long as an effort’s been made a half-time to figure out that broken link in the chain in the final third.
@JPHowcroft I wonder if Australia's recent issues come down to the lack of a big name player in the side like Viduka, Cahill, Kewell before?
— Simon Boendermaker (@sibo373) November 15, 2016
Perhaps. Australia have improved collectively in recent years but there isn’t the forceful personality to grab a game by the scruff of the neck or sprinkle that little bit of magic just when it’s needed. Peak Viduka would transform a night like this.
Brining you up to speed elsewhere in the group - Japan held on to defeat Saudi Arabia 2-1, meaning as things stand, Australia drop to third.
So, what does Ange Postecoglou say to his team at the break?
That 45 in full:
— Kevin Airs (@KevinAirs442) November 15, 2016
Arrogance >complacency > panic >incompetence > mediocre > In need of a kick up the arse at half-time. #THAIvAUS
Half time
— The-AFC.com (@theafcdotcom) November 15, 2016
Thailand 1:1 Australia#THAvAUS #WCQ2018 #RoadToRussiahttps://t.co/D3DKoio0RP pic.twitter.com/EiKqYQh42V
Half-time: Thailand 1-1 Australia
A thoroughly entertaining half of football ends 1-1.
Both teams were committed to attack, Australia more often than Thailand but without the penetration Postecoglou would have hoped for. Jedinak’s early penalty was cancelled out midway through the half after Dangda finished off a lovely passage of play for the hosts.
45 min: The game stretches when Thailand attack but Australia can’t capitalise on the counter, preferring to slow play down and look for the cute release. So far that pass has eluded them with the home side getting enough bodies behind the ball when it counts.
43 min: The pitch is starting to resemble a firing range after a series of heavy artillery tests, making it impossible for either team to attack the ball with any confidence. Thailand continue their brief resurgence though, forcing Brad Smith into a desperate saving tackle.
41 min: The Socceroos have dominated the last 10 minutes but the killer pass remains elusive. Mooy this time fails to time his through-ball to Kruse when there was ample opportunity to feed his forward. Thailand respond with customary attacking elan - they really are lovely to watch - and Ryan had to be on his toes a couple of times.
39 min: Australia keep plugging away, looking for the ball to bobble in their favour near the Thai box. It almost does for Maclaren, whose penalty appeals are waved away. A Mooy corner comes to nought.
37 min: Rogic lets fly from range, but it flies over the crossbar.
Updated
35 min: Australia’s front five just aren’t on the same wavelength. The Socceroos have settled again, regaining and retaining possession comfortably but failing to use it with purpose in the final third. The body language of a few in gold makes you think that heat and humidity is getting to them. The pitch, which looked fine at kick off, is now cutting up pretty badly too, which isn’t helping Australia move the ball nimbly.
33 min: More patient build-up from Australia, but where in the opening 15 minutes there was space and runners all over the place, those options have narrowed and the ball is again turned over cheaply. Spiranovic has conceded a couple of clumsy fouls in defence and you fancy his name might be taken soon.
30 min: Case in point - Australia slow the tempo down and circulate the ball for a minute or so but Kruse concedes a cheap turnover and Thailand’s counterattack is lightning. Australia defend the resulting corner but again relinquished the ascendancy.
28 min: Australia have enough players giving the air of not being switched on to be of concern. Simple passes are going astray, balls are being miscontrolled, runs are not being tracked, Postecoglou will have plenty on his mind.
24 min: the War Elephants have their trunks up and they’re dacking the Socceroos defence with regularity. Teerasil unleashes a rasping drive from distance that Ryan has to parry back into play. The crowd is now very much involved in this match and its feeding the Thai players.
21 min: Thailand converted their first couple of minutes of possession into a goal with worrying ease. The hosts circulated the ball neatly from one side of the pitch to the other before Mooy was exposed with a through-ball behind him to allow a simple cross to be bundled in at the near post by Teerasil.
GOAL! Thailand 1-1 Australia (Dangda 20)
Out of nothing, Thailand are level.
18 min: Twice now Rogic has glided down the Rajamangala pitch like a visiting dignitary with diplomatic immunity. Again, a despairing tackle prevents a clear chance, but you sense it’s only a matter of time. Leckie, Kruse and Maclaren all fail to capitalise on half chances.
16 min: It’s all about the timing of the pass and the run. A defensive toe or forehead has been enough to repel a few through-balls so far, but that can’t last long with the volume of possession Australia are enjoying.
14 min: There are more goals here for Australia if they want them, quite a few more. Every attack now is scything through Thailand with Mooy pulling strings from the centre of the park and Leckie, Kruse and Rogic finding space in front of him. Clear chances remain in short supply though but Maclaren almost fashions a shot on the turn and Kruse should do better with a left-footed curler.
11 min: Before the penalty Australia had started to link more effectively in midfield with Leckie on the right the preferred outlet. One such attack led to a series of opportunities inside the Thai penalty area before Prathum Chutong’s arm got in the way of a goalbound effort.
GOAL! Thailand 0-1 Australia (Jedinak 9)
Jedinak nerveless from the spot, drills it hard to the keeper’s right. Just the start Australia wanted.
PENALTY - Australia
Good spell of pressure for Australia results in a shot blocked on the edge of the six-yard box, with the hand of the Thai defender.
6 min: Thailand are working hard all over the pitch and Australia have yet to settle into a rhythm. A couple of robust challenges indicate the War Elephants aren’t here just to make up the numbers.
4 min: There will be much more space for Australia than they’ve been accustomed to in recent matches but it might not matter unless they switch on in defence. On a few occasions early the back four and goalkeeper have looked jittery reading the bounce of the ball with the Thai crowd howling their excitement.
1 min: Australia immediately on the attack with Rogic cruising through the midfield like a Russian aircraft carrier along the English Channel. He feeds Leckie in the inside-right channel who powers into the box but his shot is well saved. Good start.
Peeeeeepppppp!
Underway in Bangkok!
The teams are out for the anthems, Australia in gold shirts, gold shorts and hideous green socks. Thailand are head to toe in blue. During the home team’s anthem a massive Thai flag was unfurled along one side of the Rajamangala pitch. A pitch, by the way, that looks pretty good from what I can tell.
Always a tough game against Thailand 🇹🇭 Think we just need to be patient and then the goals will come once we settle into the game pic.twitter.com/V4JdQoZkV9
— TIM CAHILL (@Tim_Cahill) November 15, 2016
Tonight’s match is huge for Australia but takes second billing in the group behind Saudi Arabia’s visit to Japan. That match is now an hour old and Japan are 1-0 up. If this result holds for another 30 minutes an Australia win tonight would put them top of Group B.
@JPHowcroft What's the weather like for tonight's game?
— MikeW (@LordOfTheCrawf) November 15, 2016
Warm (high 20s) and humid I’m told. No wind, no rain.
My Thai’s a little rusty, but I’m presuming this is the players of the national team forming a beautiful tribute to their late king.
ทำเพื่อพ่อของเรานะสู้เพื่อคนไทยทุกคน #บอลไทย #THAvAUS #ทีมชาติไทย #ขอพระองค์เสด็จสู่สวรรคาลัย เป็นภาพที่ประทับใจมากๆ pic.twitter.com/6Oq2PBrKLj
— SongSo (@nareenok1) November 15, 2016
Here are my top three things to keep an eye out for, from an Australian perspective.
Playing out from the back - Australia struggled to move the ball efficiently out of defence last time out against Japan. I’m surprised Mark Milligan hasn’t been recalled as a centre-half to resolve that issue. If Thailand concede territory and invite Australia to come at them from deep, Spiranovic and Sainsbury will need to be more decisive. Expect to see Mooy playing much closer to Jedinak than Rogic to keep the ball circulating.
Width - The 4-3-3 shapes Australia to play with genuine width for the first time in a while. Against Iraq and Japan at home the first halves were stunted by Australia playing far too narrow and putting too much responsibility on the overlapping fullbacks. With Leckie and Kruse stationed out wide the Socceroos should have a greater range of attacking options and offer a more direct threat when required.
Cutting edge - The longer this match goes without an Australian goal the more the pressure will ramp up on Jamie Maclaren. There’s not a surplus of strikers for Postecoglou to go to on the bench if Plan A doesn’t work so he’ll be hoping his team doesn’t waste the opportunities they fashion. In addition, these are the kinds of matches that confident, expressive teams can use to assert themselves and rack up a few goals. If Australia do bag an early goal, it would be nice to see them follow through and press home their superiority, not retreat to safeguard the three points.
Ange Postecoglou has spoken to the press prematch and delivered his usual message. The objective is to “impose our game and our tempo on the contest,” acknowledging moving Thailand around will be the best way to deal with the emotion the hosts will take into the game.
Updated
The death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej provides a sombre backdrop to this match. There were suggestions shortly after the king’s death that the game could be postponed, or played behind closed doors while the country embarked on a significant period of mourning. The game is going ahead as planned but fans are unlikely to behave as exuberantly as they otherwise might and the team will doubtless pay its respects at the appropriate time.
The Thailand team enter the Rajamangala carrying a picture of the late King #thaivaus 🇹🇭🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/453Y2atG8r
— Daniel Garb (@DanielGarb) November 15, 2016
Australia XI
As expected, Jamie Maclaren leads the line for Australia tonight, a huge responsibility in just his second start for the Socceroos. Let’s hope he plays like a number 9, and not the number 4 that will be on his back.
This is how we line up for our final fixture of 2016.
— Caltex Socceroos (@Socceroos) November 15, 2016
Let's do this.
📺 @FoxFootball 505, @9Go
⏰ Kickoff 11.00pm pic.twitter.com/GbIPu8Ya2e
Postecoglou will send his team out in a 4-3-3. This is good news for fans of attacking width and means the starting 11 pretty much picks itself with perhaps Milos Degenek’s return at right back the only standout. I would not be averse to seeing Craig Goodwin make an appearance off the bench.
Thailand XI
START LIST | @FAThailand vs @Socceroos #RoadToRussia #WCQ2018 #THAvAUS pic.twitter.com/yqvS8sbbEV
— The-AFC.com (@theafcdotcom) November 15, 2016
Don’t forget you can join in the fun by emailing jonathan.howcroft.freelance@theguardian.com or tweeting @JPHowcroft. The occasional nudge at the very least would be welcomed, as it will be past midnight by the time this thing ends and I’m normally in my jim-jams by now dreaming about scoring the winner in an FA Cup final.
Preamble
Evening all, and welcome to The Guardian’s live coverage of Australia’s visit to Thailand as the Socceroos continue their quest to reach the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Kick off tonight is 11pm AEST, plenty of time to grab some final glimpses of the supermoon, pour yourself a caffeinated beverage, and thank your lucky stars you’re not Simon Hill and responsible for pronouncing a squad full of polysyllabic War Elephants in real time.
This is matchday five of the third qualifying phase in the Asian Football Confederation. 12 teams remain, split into two groups of six, with the top pair in each guaranteed a trip to Putinville. The third-placed team in each group will be put through a playoff.
Australia currently lie second in Group B, two points behind Saudi Arabia, one ahead of Japan, and two ahead of the UAE. Realistically, these are the only four teams in contention with Iraq gaining just three points from four matches and Thailand none.
All of which means tonight is a must-win game for Ange Postecoglou. As promising as Thailand are, this stage of qualifying is a new frontier for this generation and four consecutive defeats indicates they should be no match for the Asian Cup holders.
Proclaiming such confidence and expectation in the Socceroos might feel unfamiliar, but it’s a natural development of the status of the team on the world stage under Postecoglou. There should be no false modesty or jinx risking by stating Australia should take the field at the Rajamangala Stadium unburdened by favouritism. Postecoglou has set high standards since he took over the reins, reinforcing that he’s not trying to qualify simply to make up the numbers in Russia but to win the whole shebang. We all need to adjust our horizons accordingly.
The trip to Bangkok has been affected by the recent death of Thailand’s King Bhumibol. The country remains in a state of mourning but the game will go ahead as planned although with Thai supporters expected to be in muted tones.
Australia’s squad lacks some familiar names, especially in the forward line, with much expected of Brisbane Roar’s Jamie Maclaren in the absence of Tim Cahill and Tomi Juric.
These teams have met five times in the past, with Australia winning each at an aggregate of 13-1. They last met exactly five years ago when a late Brett Holman winner spared Holger Osieck’s blushes.
Updated
Jonathan will be here shortly. Here’s John Duerden’s preview to have a look at in the meantime:
