Perth: AFC Asian Cup holders Australia proved too strong for Bangladesh as the Socceroos swept aside the 2003 South Asian champions 5-0 in their second 2018 FIFA World Cup/2019 AFC Asian Cup joint-qualifier on Thursday, with four of their goals coming in a blistering first-half.
Matthew Leckie put the Socceroos 1-0 up after just six minutes after the Germany-based forward was set up by 2015 AFC Asian Cup MVP Massimo Luongo before Celtic midfielder Tom Rogic doubled Australia’s advantage with his first international goal just two minutes later.
Rogic, whose time at the Scottish champions has been curtailed by injuries, scored his second goal for the Socceroos in the 20th minute before FC Tokyo forward Nathan Burns weighed in with the fourth nine minutes later.
Bangladesh held out for the remainder of the first half and while Australia continued to lay siege on Sahidul Alam’s goal after the interval, Aaron Mooy’s fourth international goal a minute after the hour mark was all they had to show for their efforts.
Australia, who opened their campaign with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Kyrgyzstan in Bishkek, will shoot for a hat-trick of Group B wins when they return to Central Asia to play Tajikistan on Thursday, while bottom-of-the-table Bangladesh will look to get their qualification drive back on track when they host Jordan on the same day.
The group winners and four best runners-up (total 12 teams) will advance to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup finals and the final round of qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
The next best 24 teams from the preliminary stage of the joint qualifiers will compete in a separate competition for the remaining slots (12 slots or 11 slots + 1 slot for the host) in the 24-team 2019 Asian Cup.
Tactical Analysis – Socceroos 5 Bangladesh 0
The Socceroos marked a long overdue return of competitive international football to Perth with a 5-0 defeat of Bangladesh in the second match of the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign.
Goals from Mathew Leckie, Tom Rogic, Nathan Burns and Aaron Mooy ignited Ange Postecoglou’s team to the delight of the 19,495 fans in attendance.
Australia were two ahead inside the opening 10 minutes and the game was out of reach for the visitors by the half-hour mark as the lead had increased to four. The Socceroos were sparkling in attack and as the Bengal Tigers offered nothing going forward, the score line could have gotten much more out of hand.
Bangladesh did well in the second-half to stem the flow and only conceded once more, from Mooy’s rocketing half-volley strike just outside of the 18-yard area.
Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou will be happy with the intensity of his players and how quickly they started. The performance of Rogic, back in the national team after two injury plagued seasons, was very encouraging for the boss, as was Leckie breaking his two year drought without a goal.
Formations
Australia lined up in a 4-3-3 formation with the omission of Tim Cahill from the start, meaning Leckie was the main feature through the middle. Mark Milligan began in the holding role in place of injured captain Mile Jedinak. Adam Federici replaced injured custodian Mat Ryan and there was also a return to midfield for Tom Rogic after his good form for Celtic.
The inclusion of two classic No.10 players, in the form of Massimo Luongo and Rogic, was a risk by Postecoglou and one which meant the QPR youngster spent a lot of his time outside the centre of the pitch.
Bangladesh also started in a 4-3-3 making four changes to the side that drew 1-1 in their last World Cup qualifier against Tajikistan. Jahid Hasan Ameli started at centre-forward and marked his 62nd national team cap. Captain Mamunul Islam Mamun leads the team from the middle of the park.
Success down the flanks
With a midfield consisting only of players who feed through the middle of the park, Postecoglou would have instructed his fullbacks to provide the width for his team. Jason Davidson and Tarek Elrich answered the calls and patrolled the wings admirably for the Socceroos.
Spending more time in advance of their midfield than behind, the duo combined for 142 total passes, with Elrich grabbing an assist. The lack of attacking pressure from the Bangladeshis meant that they did not need to do much defending, instead roaming free and providing Australia’s best outlet.
They also combined well with their forward counterparts and allowed Luongo to drift inside and attack from the centre.
#3 Davidson and #23 Elrich pass map. Completed passes in Green, Key Passes in Yellow and Assist in Blue
Control from the middle
While the plaudits for the goals will go to Mooy and Rogic, it was acting captain Milligan who controlled the match for the Socceroos. The Baniyas midfielder dictated the play and deputised his line with perfection in place of the injured Mile Jedinak.
Replaced in the 75th minute by Jackson Irvine, Milligan played 124 passes with a 95% success rate and as always understood his role in the team to perfection. He was involved in everything Australia did at both ends, quickly moving the ball to the more creative teammates to push the Socceroos forward.
Two lines in centre-back
Throughout the match when Australia had the ball, the centre back pairing of Bailey Wright and Matt Spiranovic held different lines of defence. Wright’s average position was five to 10 yards behind that of his partner, who was finding space to link with the midfield.
Wright acted as an old-style sweeper, playing behind the back line as the rest of his defence pushed forward. Had any quick breakaways happened, the 23-year-old would have been on hand to cut the move out, but Bangladesh offered so little going forward that he was rarely called up.
Spiranovic aided Milligan in recycling possession through the middle, recording the third highest amount of passes in the team at 92, with a pass accuracy of 91%. This only helped the Socceroos going forward, giving yet another option as they looked to hold possession.
Average Position #8 Wright #6 Spiranovic
Hold the ball and pick your moment
Australia controlled 81% of possession, certainly showing on the scoreboard, also completing an astonishing 787 passes to Bangladesh’s 192.
This was a glorified training drill for Postecoglou’s men and he will be happy that they kept the ball and did not push unnecessarily. The Socceroos had 32 shots with 10 on target, but very little seemed forced, delaying the play and waitingfor the best time to strike. Moving the ball around to near perfection and patiently picking their spots, Australia outplayed a side who had no answers other than to try and put 11 men behind the ball.
Socceroos Conclusion
A dominant display and one that pleases both the manager and the viewing public. Five goals from a variety of scorers shows that Australia have options going forward and with attacking impetus coming from all parts of the field, they will rate their chances of scoring a large amount of goals through this qualifying campaign. The squad now travel to Tajikistan where they play on Tuesday.
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