Group D's General Discussion Thread

Will have to catch the highlights of that Paraguay v Australia game later. Did they just agree to a draw?

 

There was plenty of physicality so I wouldn't call it as an agreed kick around. Both sides actually had their best chances in injury time. I think it was more a case that both sides have solid defence and not that much in attack.

 

Neither committed too much on the attack.

 

Wouldn’t say they agreed to a draw but not losing was far more important than winning

 

Group D Summary.

Australia and Paraguay both have solid defensive structures. The USA was good enough to break them down, Turkey wasn't.

 

I watched the match, although not always closely. From what I saw, despite a draw favoring Australia due to their better GD, the Socceroos seemed somewhat more determined to win the match than Paraguay. Although the best chances were the ones that fell to each side in injury time, before then Australia did create some half chances, had more shots and had a better showing than Paraguay. The latter seemed a lot more cautious even if neither side was going to take too many risks.

btw, if Iran defeat Egypt but finish runner up in the group with Belgium winning their match with a higher margin, Iran's next opponent would be Australia. This would be the first time we meet since Australia have joined the AFC and since our last meeting in the WCQ 98 playoffs. It would be something if that were to happen, with the two ending up facing one another not an AFC tournament but the World Cup. Of course unlike Australia, Iran still need to get the job done and qualify to the next round but I thought the possibility was pretty interesting.

 

The politics of today make a friendly match even more unlikely so this is probably the best chance of a match in the next couple of years. I had a look at the Asian Cup draw and noticed if we both win our groups (a real possibility) that we both have to make the final to play in that tournament, which is a much tougher ask.

 

I’ve been waiting for this matchup since ‘97. My brother was at the game in Melbourne. I backpacked into/ through Iran in ‘99 and going through the border from Turkiye the border guard brought up the game. He didn’t speak much English and I didn’t speak Farsi but we chatted for about 10mins, during which time he forgot to stamp my passport properly.
It is crazy that we have been in AFC for 20 years now and have yet to play you guys since then!

 

The benchers actually played better than I thought they would but Turkey was just too much a won their match of honor.

 

The US was a disjointed hodgepodge of spare parts. The comparative drop in technique and/or tactics for a large part of the subs is real. Only Berhalter and Reyna had quality although the physical drop (particularly for Reyna) is also real.

 

Its interesting that people continue to rate Turkiye no matter how bad their results have been recently. They lost 0-6 to Spain at home. Also lost to Mexico last year.

They received a very nice draw to qualify for this WC which is why they were here (along with expansion). While some had to beat Denmark or Italy, they played Kosovo.

 

Well, Conmebol and Paraguay seem to be doing okay at the tournament. I see the same players, coach, tactics and results, so I will continue to use their qualifiers as a reference.