FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 play-off: Australia's road paved with challenges
Kuala Lumpur: Australia began their FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 qualifying campaign strongly, before a run of four straight draws halted their progress.
The Socceroos recovered, but only enough to finish third in Group B and line up a play-off date against Syria with the first leg to be played in Melaka on Thursday, before which the-AFC.com journeys back to look at how they got this far.
The perfect start
Australia started their campaign 13 months ago with a 2-0 victory over Iraq after second-half goals from Massimo Luongo and Tomi Juric in Perth secured all three points.
Five days later, the Socceroos made the long trip west to Abu Dhabi and returned with an even more impressive result as Tim Cahill tapped in with 15 minutes to play for a 1-0 win that left Australia and Saudi Arabia on top of the standings on six points apiece.
Clashes with the big guns
Next up for Ange Postecoglou’s team were the Saudis, and the game didn’t disappoint with Trent Sainsbury’s header on the stroke of half-time cancelling out Taiseer Al Jassam’s early opener.
Juric then struck 20 minutes from time, only for substitute Nassir Al Shamrani to level on 79 minutes as the tie ended 2-2.
Having recovered from an opening-day defeat to the UAE with two straight wins, Japan then took the lead in Melbourne the following week through Genki Haraguchi, but Mile Jedinak equalised from the spot as Australia came away with two points from their pair of October fixtures.
The draws continue
While the draws with Saudi Arabia and Japan were far from disastrous, the two ensuing results brought a shuddering halt to Australia’s early momentum.
Following four straight defeats, bottom side Thailand found themselves 2-1 up against Australia after Teerasil Dangda’s brace cancelled out Jedinak’s penalty, before the captain then scored his second spot-kick of the night to ensure a 2-2 draw.
A trip to Tehran to face Iraq was the first 2017 outing for Australia but the pattern remained the same as Ahmed Yasin struck 14 minutes from time after Mathew Leckie had given Postecoglou’s men a first-half lead in what was their fourth successive draw.
A welcome win
Australia’s previous win had come against the UAE back in September 2016, but when the Emiratis arrived in Sydney at the end of March the following year, the Socceroos’ need for victory was far greater.
Three points off Japan and Saudi Arabia at the top of the standings, Australia went into the game in third place and just a point ahead of their opponents with four matches remaining.
In truth, it was a contest they never looked like losing after Jackson Irvine headed them in front in the seventh minute, before Leckie rounded off proceedings 12 minutes from time as Australia returned to winning ways in the nick of time.
Pushing for automatic qualification
Still undefeated, Australia next welcomed Saudi Arabia to Adelaide and secured a result that would leave a top-two finish firmly in their own hands.
Juric’s early opener was cancelled out by Salem Al Dawsari, before Mohammed Al Sahlawi scored in first-half stoppage time after Juric had bagged his brace to leave the sides all square at the break.
But Tomas Rogic fired an unstoppable 20-yard effort beyond goalkeeper Yasser Al Mosailem in the 64th minute to make it 3-2 and this time there was no response from the Saudis as Australia made it six points from six.
Crunch time
With two games to play, Japan topped the Group B standings on 17 points while Saudi Arabia and Australia sat a point behind on 16, but with the West Asians above the Socceroos on goal difference.
A trip to Japan on Matchday Nine came next and a win ultimately would have seen them qualify for a fourth FIFA World Cup in a row.
However, it was the Samurai Blue who came out on top as goals from Takuma Asano and Yosuke Ideguchi confirmed Japan’s place in Russia next year.
Final-day permutations
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With Saudi Arabia also losing – 2-1 in the UAE – the Australians and the Saudis went into their respective Matchday 10 fixtures level pegging.
Australia’s task was simple: win and win big at home to Thailand and then hope Japan could do them a favour several hours later in Jeddah.
Bettering the Saudis’ result would have guaranteed progression, while a high-scoring victory may just have been enough to see them leapfrog Bert van Marwijk’s team into second place.
The onslaught
Australia did everything in their power to score the goals needed in Melbourne, but wave after wave of attack failed to result in a goal as the game remained scoreless at the interval.
Juric then finally headed the hosts in front in the 69th minute, only for Pakklaw Anan to level with eight minutes remaining to silence Rectangular Stadium.
Already scorer of important goals in the qualifying campaign, Leckie popped up with another four minutes from time to give Australia the win, although not by the margin they had hoped for.
And later that day Saudi Arabia did indeed get the victory they needed as a 1-0 win over the Japanese saw the Gulf nation return to the tournament for the first time since 2006.
The play-off
Postecoglou will now have to rally his troops for the double header with Syria, who have already grabbed the headlines by reaching this far.
Melaka will host the first leg on Thursday, before the teams head to Sydney five days later, with the winners to take on the fourth-placed team from CONCACAF over two legs for the right to advance to the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Photos: Lagardère Sports
Source: the-afc.com
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