Qantas Socceroos Provisional Squad for EAFF East Asian Cup Qualifiers Terry ANTONIS Sydney FC Eli BABALJ FK Crvena Zvezda Beograd Aziz BEHICH Melbourne Heart FC Robert CORNTHWAITE Chunnam Dragons Dino DJULBIC Guizhou Renhe Ivan FRANJIC Brisbane Roar FC Brett EMERTON Sydney FC Eugene GALEKOVIC (gk) Adelaide United Richard GARCIA Melbourne Heart Rostyn GRIFFITHS Ben HALLORAN Brisbane Roar Scott JAMIESON Perth Glory Osama MALIK Adelaide United Michael MARRONE Melbourne Heart Matt McKAY Busan I Park Mark MILLIGAN Melbourne Victory Aaron MOOY Western Sydney Wanderers Tom ROGIC Central Coast Mariners Mat RYAN (gk) Central Coast Mariners Matt SMITH Brisbane Roar Adam TAGGART Newcastle Jets Archie THOMPSON Melbourne Victory Michael THWAITE Perth Glory Dario Vidosic Adelaide United Luke WILKSHIRE FK Dinamo Moscow
Is Australia still a member of the ASEAN Football Federation? I know they are coming into this competition as guests.
Australia are not members of the ASEAN Football Federation. We ere allocated to the AFC zone of the same name when we joined AFC, but are unable to join the actual Federation as we don't qualify under their constituton.
Final squad named: Terry ANTONIS - Sydney FC Eli BABALJ FK - Crvena Zvezda Beograd Aziz BEHICH - Melbourne Heart FC Robert CORNTHWAITE - Chunnam Dragons Dino DJULBIC - Guizhou Renhe Ivan FRANJIC - Brisbane Roar FC Brett EMERTON - Sydney FC Eugene GALEKOVIC (gk) - Adelaide United Richard GARCIA - Melbourne Heart Scott JAMIESON - Perth Glory Michael MARRONE - Melbourne Heart Matt McKAY - Busan I Park Mark MILLIGAN - Melbourne Victory Aaron MOOY - Western Sydney Wanderers Tom ROGIC - Central Coast Mariners Mat RYAN (gk) - Central Coast Mariners Matt SMITH - Brisbane Roar Adam TAGGART - Newcastle Jets Archie THOMPSON - Melbourne Victory Michael THWAITE - Perth Glory Read more: http://www.foxsports.com.au/football/socceroos/veteran-brett-emerton-gets-nod-to-lead-socceroos-during-east-asia-cup-qualifying-campaign/story-e6frf4l3-1226526496406#ixzz2DZkbt5Yz
Very happy for Djublic and Eugene; they're great defensive additions, given their form over the calendar year. Marrone is also a good selection as he, for me, is one of the best right backs we have at the moment. May not be the best attacking full back we have (Franjic is arguably better for that when he's in form), but he's solid defensively and it's something the Socceroos have severely lacked. He's a reliable player. Expecting Milligan to play between defence and midfield and Archie to be in the front line for every game, barring any injuries or fatigue, while Emerton is also a given, seeing as he's got the captaincy. That may be a problem for Marrone. Given the Korea Republic match, Thwaite will probably start alongside Cornthwaite. I'm a little concerned about this; not because of Thwaite, as his performance wasn't actually bad, but Cornthwaite didn't convince me as a defender. He was caught out for Lee's goal and he didn't look comfortable on the ball. Him scoring the winner seems to have erased that from a lot of peoples' minds, though, so I can only hope it was a once-off scratchy start. Left-back is perhaps still the most interesting and concerning position for an Osieck-led Socceroos, though. He's selected two who've been playing week-in-week-out in that position (Behich and Jamieson), while he's also got his trusty utility man in McKay, while he's not unknown to also use central defenders in that spot, meaning it could even be Thwaite, Smith or, to try something unusual, Franjic. Behich was praised highly after the Korea game by pundits, but he might continue to get his chances only from the bench. From a goalkeeping perspective, I still see Mat Ryan's selection as a "gaining culture/experience" thing and feel that - rightfully so, given comparisons in form over the last few months - Galekovic will be given the #1 choice. Eugene has been practically unbeatable on too many occasions over the entire year to not be considered over Mat Ryan, who's been shakier than the rest of his teammates at Central Coast. I would love to see Aaron Mooy get some solid game time with the Socceroos under his belt, and that's not without the reason of form behind that decision. Despite spending his young career as an attacking midfielder or on the wings in Scotland and for the younger Australian age groups, Poppa's decision to play him in a deep distribution role surprised me, but has come to goods. I asked Poppa after the Adelaide game whether that was always the plan, even before Ono's arrival at the Wanderers, and he said Mooy was always planned for that spot, given his passing ability. To have him there, capable of playing the ball in every direction will be invaluable for the Socceroos, so long as he continues his form. Having him and Rogic in the same team, and Milligan as a defensive option alongside Mooy, makes the potential of a 4-5-1 for this tournament a devastating one. I could go on and on about the selections. I'm not happy with all of them, but the potential for regular good performances against these teams is definitely apparent. DPR Korea will be a huge test, though, and I hope they're prepared and understand that it absolutely won't be a walk in the park.
So for a starting 11 i'm guessing you would like to see something like: -----------------------Thompson--------------------------McKay----------Rogic---------Emerton---------------------Mooy----------Milligan--------------------Behich----Thwaite----Djulbic-----Marrone-------------------------Galekovic----------------------
Anybody else wanting to watch the game vs Hong Kong on TWG stream but can't cause their flipping page won't load (presumably cause of the other people trying to simultaneously get on)?
While the first game's going, I'll take some time to respond. In all honesty? It's really hard to say yes or no. From a coach's perspective; I want to see on the pitch the best XI based on form and, following that, how they've performed in training. So, if that happened to be the best option after the weekend's training camp, then yes, absolutely. From a perspective based purely on my knowledge of their form leading into this; McKay, Emerton, Thompson out of that. Considering that, though, there are very few strikers who've been in form (and selected) and, in that respect, it's actually hard to consider a suitable replacement for Thompson in this squad. Thompson's international form does more or less warrant some recognition; he's been better over the last three/four games than anyone has really been in the past 11 months. Were Rogic to start in a squad, Babalj might be better-suited to his style, but that's really speculation at this point (though somewhat based on Mariners). Mooy, absolutely. His ability would compliment Milligan's (who has also been in some decent form for Victory) and it's something we've lacked. In that position, Mooy is somewhat like McKay, but McKay's trusty left boot is better out wide, more or less where we need him in this squad. I'll say that it's certainly a nice-looking defence, based on their respective forms and abilities. I think of this competition as a very important one. It's good to experiment - you need to, otherwise complacency ensues - but you can't take risks, either. The teams may not be the biggest names, but the likes of Hong Kong and DPR Korea can hold their own and we need to earn our points. The better we do in this competition, the more chance we have for experimentation and experience. Let's not forget that winning these games leads us to a competition with the big 3 in East Asia; China, Korea Republic and Japan.
I had that trouble initially, but it's now working and I refuse to let go of my successful achievement. I shall not be moved (or forced to close the tab)!
Yeah got there after about 25-30min lol. Dw, mine crashed once and it reloaded straight away. Australia looking average, even if it is an inexperienced side and Hong Kong are having their fair share of chances. You can tell Holger is quite nervous, not winning this and infact winning this narrowly makes the DPRK game a must-win cause DPRK are taking care of goal difference.
Match Report: Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/sport/football/booked-emerton-saves-shaky-socceroos-20121204-2arqc.html#ixzz2E1vnfib9
Apparently the locals were fired up by Osieck, even though he doesn't know why. Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/sport/football/firedup-hong-kong-gives-disrespectful-socceroos-a-fright-20121204-2arqd.html#ixzz2E1wVoYKy
Not so lucky this time. The DPRK goal looked like it was coming from the moment after Thompson scored his; they were all over Australia like a bad rash. Nothing was done to stop it. The two Australia substitutions - Rogic on for Garcia and Taggart on for Thompson - were the exact same changes made against Hong Kong. They may have thought it worked then, but this is completely different opposition and adding a little "spark" wasn't what was really needed. We've started both games so far with four recognised central defenders on the pitch; two in that actual position (Cornthwaite and Smith) and two in front of them (Milligan and Thwaite), working as defensive midfielders. When you put out a team like that with the players at your disposal, you're only ever going for a single point at best. Especially when, in your three focal attacking points, only one of them is a recognised goalscorer. In possession, the Socceroos only brought two players forward to the final third; the central striker (Thompson) and one wide player (Emerton or, with McKay tucking in often, Garcia). Once the ball traversed the halfway line, players from the defensive midfielders-back were no longer involved in play. DPRK's defence isn't the greatest in the world, but they played with a solid and flat back four, which barely moved out of position, meaning Australia was going to be outnumbered in every single challenge. The Socceroos essentially played with 8 outfielders in defence at all times. The second half improved slightly more in this respect, with Behich and Franjic (the two outside backs) becoming somewhat more involved in the attacking build-up and allowing the two wide midfielders (Emerton and McKay) to tuck inside for overlapping runs, but it was too little and too late. The lack of runners into the box outside of the usual one-top player (Thompson) were still non-existant and left too few options for a breakdown in the opposition defence. Rogic's introduction added a little bit of late running and his determination and young ruthlessness to run at his opposition added something, but it was far too little, too late, in the grand scheme of things. During DPRK's possession, of which there was plenty, Australia's defensive midfielders failed to screen the space in front of their own defenders, giving Korea's attacking players plenty of free roam. The actual defending from Australia was almost non-existant until Korea reached the final third, usually around the penalty area, giving Korea plenty of time to bring players forward (often times every midfielder and attacker were pressing Australia back by the time the ball reached the edge of the penalty area). This meant that, as Australia were forced to drop back and involve many of their players in defensive duties (only 2~3 remaining for an attack), the chances of the ball being carried over the line before DPRK regained possession were lessened severely. A simple way to counter this problem is to commit to a high pressing system in which the defending begins from the position in which the ball is lost. The higher you press, the more likely you are to win the ball in a higher area and with at least three other key benefits when possession is regained:- Having more players in front of the ball Having less of your own players pushed into a compact area Allowing for faster, more effective transitions into attack This would easily have been the national team's greatest ever counter attacking team, if the national team in question were someone like Tahiti or Eritrea. To be honest, I fear we were lucky to be playing against a relatively fatigued DPR Korea and we can only look forward to the same happening to Australia, with two more games to come in rapid succession and no real changes to the lineup so far. The fact that the only change for this game was the goalkeeper, despite the players at his disposal and the poor display against Hong Kong, is the most infuriating part. The goalkeeper wasn't even a necessary change, despite it being good for Ryan to get his first cap. Eugene Galekovic didn't have a bad game at all against Hong Kong and his form alone has absolutely warranted him wearing the #1 shirt for this tournament. There needs to be something different in the remaining two games. Something very different to what we've seen not just in this tournament, but from what we've seen in every Holger Osieck team since day dot.
So Holger now HAS to put on his attacking hat for the rest of the tourney to outscore North Korea. Which should suit us? Right?
Just run it up on everyone else American Samoa-style and let the football gods take care of the rest.
This was an amazing match. Every single decision Osieck made was a window into a strange and wonderful universe where Australia is a small, tiny footballing nation going up against world champs DPR Korea.
Best thing about the final match day is that HK vs. DPRK match is on first, so that if qualification's going to be about goal difference, Socceroos will know exactly what's required before they hit the field. And there's still the 'double chance' mentioned by Scott Macintyre, where North Korea may qualify instead of Australia, but still boycott a tournament played in South Korea (with whom they're technically still at war). And then the second-placed team sneaks in . It's happened several times before. If the Socceroos qualify for the world cup during June next year , the EAFF final will not have much meaning for us. But if we slip into 3rd place and have to play in Round 5 in early September, then the EAFF final tournament in July will be very important to keep up the match fitness and teamwork.
******** sneaking in. If we can't beat North Korea or put a shedload past Taiwan and Guam why bother? This was meant to be a good hit-out for the younger players, instead Holger's starting seniors and giving little cameos. What a joke.