Australia belatedly started their Asian Cup defence with a 3-0 victory against Palestine after a shock loss to Jordan last week. This match was reassuring to fans, but was it a true transformation or simply papering over the cracks?

Let’s take a look at the game to decipher what Socceroos manager Graham Arnold planned to do to bounce back from their first round defeat.

What did the Socceroos get right?

Team selection: Ikonomidis, Irvine in, Rogic stays

Arnold made 3 changes to the starting lineup he sent out against Jordan, with Chris Ikonomidis coming in for the hapless Robbie Kruse, Jackson Irvine replacing Massimo Luongo in the centre of midfield as a number 8 and Rhyan Grant playing in lieu of the injured Josh Risdon. After all the furore around Tom Rogic, he retained his place and repaid the trust Arnold gave him in spades with a wonderful assist for the opening goal.

Ikonomidis was certainly the brightest of them and played with a clear impetus to make things happen in and around the box as he suggested when he came off the bench in the first match versus Jordan. He was always running around trying to give his midfield options for passes as well as becoming provider with a few excellent crosses, with Awer Mabil’s goal the pick of the bunch.

Irvine for Luongo was a change that I thought would cause a bit too much disruption but I’m happy to admit I was wrong here. With Palestine reluctant to play the ball on the ground, Irvine’s aerial superiority showed in midfield and was crucial to Palestine not gaining any advantage through the air. He also proved to be a serious threat around set pieces where he connected a few headers but didn’t score on this occasion.

A congratulatory note for Jamie Maclaren as well, who opened his account for the Socceroos by finishing off Rogic’s cross and looked far better than he did against Jordan.

Defence created a backbone for victory

In the match against Jordan, there were several times where the midfield or defence was caught in possession, opening up the opportunity for quick counter-attacks. However, there was far less sloppiness this time around which ensured that Mat Ryan had minimal work to do.

The back four, especially Milos Degenek and Trent Sainsbury, deserve plenty of plaudits as they marshalled their defensive line and swiftly dealt with any Palestinian attacks.

The best reward for them will be the clean sheet, but it’s also worth noting that they only conceded 0.21 in xG (Expected Goals), emphasising that Palestine barely had a shot that really threatened the goal.

Palestine did not replicate the blueprint Jordan provided

For all the credit that the Socceroos deserve for a well-earned victory, it is also worth noting how Palestine attempted to play as well, as it was vastly different to the previous match.

After the loss against Jordan, it seemed that there was a clear blueprint on how to restrain the defending champions and create chances themselves. Stay narrow and compact at the back with the second line of defence pressuring anyone with the ball However, it seems like Palestine manager Noureddine Ould Ali had his own ideas.

The biggest shift came from the pressing style of the Palestinian forwards. Jordan’s attackers would begin to attack as soon as the midfield duo had the ball, but the forwards of Palestine were much more happy to allow them forward.

It gave a lot of time on the ball for the Australians as well as allowing them to play relatively easier through balls from far closer. It helped that the Palestinian defence seemed less prepared to clear crosses that were well-dealt with against Jordan too.

Socceroos’ off the ball movement was far better

In my previous blog post, I called for the Asian champions attack to be far more proactive without the ball rather than wait for something to happen. They surely had a read themselves because they never stood still against the Palestinians.

This charge was definitely led by Ikonomidis who I’ve already talked about and I’ll hold myself back from repeating just how good he’s been in this tournament so far. Awer Mabil also continued to get into dangerous positions, as was best seen with his goal where he crept behind the Palestinian defence to finish from close range.

What do the Socceroos need to work on?

With a crunch clash against Syria coming up next Wednesday to confirm their progression to the knockout stages as well as determining whether they finish 2nd or 3rd — Jordan have secured 1st place with consecutive wins — there is still work to do for the Socceroos.

Selection dilemmas

Trent Sainsbury received a needless yellow card against Palestine, and his second in consecutive matches means that he will be suspended for the final match of the group. It’s a big loss as Sainsbury is definitely the best passer in the back and the Socceroos will miss his potential to put a ball in from deep.

It also raises a selection issue for Graham Arnold on whether he decides to move captain Mark Milligan back in to centre-back after playing the defensive midfield role throughout the first two games, or keep him there and introduce Matt Jurman for his first game in the most important match of the group.

In my opinion, Milligan’s role as the shield for his defence as well being the only recognised number 6 in the team should be enough reasoning to retain his midfield berth. Jurman, who currently plays for Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia, would then slot in besides Degenek.

High lines of defence

No system is perfect, and that’s the beauty of football. Each tactical structure has a weakness and it’s inevitable that the Socceroos’ preference for a possession based style of play will have points of vulnerability.

So it’s not a huge cause for concern, but one that should be raised nonetheless, that the high defensive line can lead to goal-scoring opportunities for the opposition. Especially as none of Australia’s defenders are particularly fast, a ball in behind them from deep could certainly put Ryan on the spot. Palestine tried it a few times, one of which can be seen in the GIF below, but they weren’t successful.

Against a higher quality opposition like they might face in the later stages of the tournament — should they make it — they should certainly be wary of this and Australia’s attackers should press the opposition to ensure that they don’t have time on the ball to comfortably slot a ball that pierces the Socceroos defence.

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