Australia fell 1-0 to Jordan, who to their credit played excellently and remained focused for the full 90 minutes. But what went wrong for the Asian champions as they defend their crown and what can they change? Let’s have another look at the game.

What went wrong?

Crossing shouldn’t be the Plan A

From early on, you could see that Graham Arnold wanted his wide forwards to move inwards and the fullbacks overlapping to play as auxiliary wingers. Stretching out a compact and narrow defence is a good start, however it’s the next move once the ball was wide that prompted issues.

Rather than looking for late runs into the box or taking on their man and cutting back into the box, the fullbacks, especially on the right, crossed the ball to one of the Socceroos’ shortest players and unconvincing in the air, Jamie Maclaren.

Perhaps this would’ve worked if the Australian icon and constant saviour, Tim Cahill was a few years younger, or if Tomi Juric were in the squad, but they weren’t. Crossing isn’t a bad move to make — it can create a lot of mayhem in the box if it’s not dealt with properly — but it was clear by at least the end of the first half that this was not going to pay off.

By replacing right-back Josh Risdon for the similarly skilled Rhyan Grant, Arnold was basically doubling down on this method of attack rather than making changes further forward. Although Grant did create a bit more of a threat by getting into better attacking positions, his crosses were often over-hit or didn’t meet their target.

Kruse was anonymous

Robbie Kruse has been a constant lightning rod during his time with the Socceroos, but this performance was not one to shut up the cynics.

The statistics are damning. Robbie Kruse had 5 successful passes out of 8 and 0 successful or even unsuccessful dribbles and only one shot which was hit from long range and blocked.

His replacement, Christopher Ikonomidis, was on the pitch for 20 minutes less, yet had 18/24 passes, 3 shots on target and all round looked far better than his compatriot.

The Queenslander looks devoid of any confidence and rarely tries to make moves deep to receive the ball or runs in behind the defence. It really begs the question on whether it is worth persisting with a man who makes it feel like there are really 10 players on their team.

Socceroos were sloppy in possession

Australia had 77% possession but the Jordanians were still able to threaten when they regained possession high up the field and quickly threw men forward for a counter attack.

With their opposition defensive line so deep, it offered centre-backs Trent Sainsbury and Milos Degenek, as well as central midfielders Massimo Luongo and Mark Milligan time on the ball to penetrate the defence from deep in their half. But, they were rarely able to offer a good ball for their teammates further forward.

This was due to the hardworking doggedness of the Jordanian front line as soon the ball moved into their half, usually in possession of Luongo or Milligan, and were snapping at their feet, barely giving them a second to breathe.

At one stage, a Trent Sainsbury mistake when receiving the ball meant he was forced into a foul, which can be seen in the gif below. From that free kick Australia’s best player at the moment, Mat Ryan, was forced into another heroic save.

What needs to change?

I have pointed some of the major problems with how Australia played against a compact defence like they are likely to face against Palestine on Friday and Syria next week. But what should Graham Arnold’s focus be when setting up his tactics? Let’s have a look.

Ikonimidis and Nabbout in, Kruse and Maclaren out

Ikonimidis’ arrival was the catalyst for a string of decent chances for Australia. It helped that he replaced Kruse who was offering next to nothing, but the in form Perth forward showed a far greater desire to make things happen, coming in deep to offer options as well as late runs into the box.

Unfortunately, Maclaren was a last resort for Arnold as his other options found themselves injured, and the Hibernian striker didn’t provide a strong case for him to start against Palestine. Although, it wasn’t all his fault as the tactics didn’t suit his play-style and he might find himself back on the teamsheet if Nabbout remains unfit to start.

Jackson Irvine came on in the 75th minute and offered another option when moving forward, however Massimo Luongo will be needed to link play between defence and attack as he did against Jordan. The Hull City midfielder might be able to offer something similar as a number but it is an unnecessary change where too much might disrupt a team already in trouble.

The Socceroos captain Milligan as well, will be needed as a number 6 where he shields his defence from counters as well as being alternative receiver for any passes from the back.

More movement off the ball

Instead of taking the ball wide and crossing it in, the first plan of attack should involve quick interchanges so that the opposition defenders follow their man, which can create an opening in behind them.

If the defence chooses not to follow the person they are marking, this can lead to opportunities for the Socceroos forwards to overload one side of the pitch, which was evident in the 12th minute when Mabil ditches his marker and creates a numbers advantage on the left side.

Against Jordan, the players were waiting for someone else to make to make the run as they stood still on the edge of a deep defence line, which will require a perfectly weighted and accurate pass to be successful.

Tom Rogic needs to be more accurate

The Celtic man received a lot of flak from the fans, myself included, after his poor display against Jordan. Especially after all the controversy surrounding the timing of his arrival to the squad.

However, looking back, his intention was right in this game, it was just that his execution was abysmal. Although Rogic likes to play as a number 10, behind the striker, his options will be limited when the opposition line up narrow and compact.

So, it is best that he retrieves the ball deep and tries to penetrate the defence from there – he just needs to be more incisive with it than he was against Jordan.

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