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It was equal parts thrilling and frustrating, but Socceroos fans have a Tom Rogic thunderbolt to thank for keeping Australia well and truly in the World Cup qualifying mix.
A loss to the Saudis — perhaps underrated by some but certainly no footballing slouches — would have seen Australia fall six points behind the second-placed Green Falcons, and almost certainly doomed to a play-off against the Asian section's other third-placed side.
Instead, the Socceroos are now level on points (though behind on goal difference) with Saudi Arabia. The first of three hurdles has been cleared, perhaps scraping the fence slightly on the way over.
Some high-profile distractions lie in wait for Australia: the small matter of a glamour friendly against Brazil, before trying its hand in a tough group in the Confederations Cup — a warm-up event for next year's World Cup played between the world's continental champions, the defending world champions in Germany, and the tournament hosts Russia.
| Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | +9 | 16 |
| Saudi Arabia | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | +7 | 16 |
| Australia | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | +6 | 16 |
| UAE | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | -3 | 9 |
| Iraq | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | -3 | 4 |
| Thailand | 7 | 0 | 1 | 6 | -16 | 1 |
After that, in August, comes the real deal. A trip to face off against old rival Japan, in downtown Tokyo, will have the nerves jangling something chronic Down Under. A point, at the very least, will be needed if Australia is to eventually automatically qualify for Russia 2018.
A few days later, it's a long-haul flight back to Australia to face off against Thailand, where home expectations will weigh on tired legs, with the threat of a potential banana skin thrown into the mix, just in case you were getting complacent.
Indeed, complacency seemed to be the theme of the first half for Australia against the Saudis as a litany of defensive mistakes and sluggishness off the ball kept the visitors in the match.
Following a comical opener whereby Tomi Juric latched onto a terrible goalkeeping clearance to slot home from distance, Australia seemed to shut off as Saudi Arabia roared back to life.
The visitors showed why they had enjoyed such an excellent qualifying campaign so far under Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk (who took an unfancied Netherlands side to the 2010 World Cup final), stringing together a sizzling counter attack for Salem Aldawsari to apply the finish and equalise.
The move cut Australia to ribbons, asking plenty of questions of the flat-footed backline of Ryan McGowan, Trent Sainsbury and Milos Degenek.
No matter, we thought. She'll be right, as they say. So it seemed, as Juric poached his second goal of the night, guiding a firm header past the keeper following Mathew Leckie's great cross from the right.
On the stroke of half-time, that good work was undone yet again. Again, Australia lacked the presence of mind to shut down a brewing counter attack, with a frankly gorgeous passing move culminating in Mohammed al Sahlawi's rasping finish to stun the Adelaide crowd.
Saudi Arabia showcased the kind of moves Ange Postecoglou wants to see from his own charges. Instead, he witnessed Australia nearly crumble in the face of good opposition.
Thankfully, the quality Postecoglou repeatedly proselytises about did show up, with Rogic taking centre stage with an absolute peach of a goal in the second half.
Worthy of winning any match, the piledriver from distance was perfectly placed and showed why the midfielder is gaining a hero status with Scottish Premier League giants Celtic.
Yes, Australia increased in stature as the second stanza wore on. The hosts should have had a penalty when Leckie was brought down in the area, and that missed opportunity to score may come back to haunt the Socceroos if goal difference comes into the qualifying equation.
But this was another fluffed audition for Postecoglou's side, learning a new formation and gradually easing into a world where Tim Cahill can no longer be fully relied on to shoulder the goal-scoring burden.
Cahill watched on from the sidelines as an unused substitute, and grabbing three goals against the group's second-best team without the Australian hero is a very big plus on a mixed night.
But edging 'good' opposition is one thing. Doing it against the world class opponents of Brazil, the Confederations Cup, and the campaign-defining showdown in Tokyo, is quite another matter entirely.
Topics: socceroos, soccer, sport, adelaide-5000, sa, australia, saudi-arabia
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