Socceroos Earn Vital Point

Foxsports commentator Simon Hill coined the phrase “Pragmatic Pim Verbeek,” and that was exactly what the Australian coach delivered with the Socceroos’ battling 0-0 draw with Japan tonight.

Verbeek’s mission tonight was to come away with a point and consolidate our two point buffer over the hosts, and his troops did not fail to disappoint, repelling wave after wave of Japanese attack in the second half. While it definitely wasn’t pretty, the result is a very satisfying and vital point.

Verbeek played his hand early on by naming a starting eleven which sided on the defensive. Strikers Josh Kennedy and Scott McDonald were both left on the bench, and Everton’s Timmy Cahill was asked to lead the attack as the sole striker. Vinnie Grella and Scott Chipperfield overcame their respective injury concerns to start the game, while Brett Holman got another baffling cap under his belt. Why Pim continually chooses to play Holman is beyond me, but then again I’m not getting paid millions of dollars to coach the national side.

Japan were clearly the more technically sound side, with delicate short passes which constantly caused us concerns. They played with desperation in all aspects of the game, and looked full of energy from the first whistle. The Japanese’s intelligent running off the ball, especially the duo of Keiji Tamada and Tatsuya Tanaka, caused our wingbacks plenty of grief.

However, for all their possession and beautiful play, the Blue Samurais’ final ball was lacking, and in truth Mark Schwarzer had a fairly quiet first half. The only real moments of panic came as the hosts won several free-kicks within shooting range which the famed paring of Shunsuke Nakamura and Yasuhito Endo duly ballooned over.

Tim Cahill provide Australia’s only shot on goal in the dying moments of the first half with a powerfully struck drive which went straight at the Japanese goal keeper Ryota Tsuzuki.

Japanese coach Takeshi Okada must have lit a fire under his team during half time, because the home side came out and attacked with intent. After an initial cagey start, the Blue Samurai came to life and had a solid twenty minute spell which had the Australians scrambling.

The Japanese twice had chances to take the lead, firstly when Tamada headed over from close range from a beautifully delivered ball from Yuto Nagatomo. They came closer still five minutes from full time when Makoto Hasebe’s shot at the back post was unluckily deflected out by team mate Yoshito Okubu with Schwarzer well beaten.

With only a handful of minutes to go, Verbeek finally brought Kennedy on, and his impact was nearly instant when he met a vicious ball from Culina only to be well defended by the masterful Tulio Tanaka. One has to wonder what sort of damage Kennedy would have dealt if he played a larger role in the match.

All in all, a very good result from a Soccceroos’ point of view. We’ve come to the home turf of our biggest Asian rivals and came away with what we needed. The team selections were a little strange, but then again, Pim always knew what he wanted from this game and he delivered.

Pragmatic as always.

GP W D L GF GA Pts
Australia 4 3 1 0 6 0 10
Japan 4 2 2 0 7 3 8
Qatar 4 1 1 2 4 8 4
Bahrain 4 1 1 2 4 5 4
Uzbekistan 4 0 1 3 1 6 1

Upcoming Socceroos WCQ matches:
Vs Uzbekistan April 1st, Sydney
Vs Qatar June 6th, Doha
Vs Bahrain June 10th, Sydney
Vs Japan June 17, Melbourne

What did you think about the game? Was it a good performance? Did Pim make the right choices with team selections? Are we guranteed a place in South Africa now?