There was one word from Graham Arnold’s last post-match press conference in Qatar that stuck out.
“We have great team culture and mateship,” he said. “When the energy is high and the boys are good mates, you can overachieve, and that’s what we’re doing.”
Is Graham Arnold being judged too harshly - or is all of that par for the course in a game of opinions?Credit: Getty
The word of interest, for those of you playing at home, was “overachieve”. Maybe it didn’t come out right. Maybe it did.
They haven’t overachieved already, have they?
Whatever Arnold meant, that word goes to the heart of the big debate surrounding the Socceroos, their performances at this Asian Cup and the criticism they and their coach have attracted.
Is too much being expected of them, from hard-to-please fans and pundits?
Graham Arnold on the sidelines during Australia’s clash with Uzbekistan.Credit: Getty
It is surely not too controversial to say they haven’t been playing great, especially in attack. But they did finish top of their group, they’re undefeated in three games and have conceded only one goal.
As Arnold has been eager to point out, Australia has enjoyed more time in the opposition’s half, more penalty box entries, and more touches inside the box than any other team in the tournament. But they’re also ranked 17th of 24 teams for shots on target per match, behind Tajikistan and Malaysia. And if the Socceroos beat Indonesia in the round of 16 on Sunday night (10.30pm, AEDT) to reach the quarter-finals – which they should do – they will next face either Saudi Arabia or South Korea, who are No.1 and No.2 in that department.
You don’t need statistics to prove what has been obvious to the eye: throughout Arnold’s second reign as national team coach, Australia have struggled to function as the dominant team in possession and there is a lack of variety in the final third. These are not new problems.
But if Arnold keeps finding a way to win, how much does it really matter?
The standard of football across Asia is rising at a level still not appreciated in Australia. Take Indonesia, for example, who play with a level of enterprise that belies their FIFA ranking of 146 (Australia is No.25), and whose squad, like the Socceroos, is peppered with naturalised wildcards who learnt their craft in other countries.
There are no easy games at the Asian Cup; no other team at this tournament is firing on all cylinders, and higher-regarded rivals like Japan are doing even worse than Australia. It is hard to overcome a low defensive block, no matter where you are in the world. To expect bags upon bags of goals here is unreasonable.
Plus, precious few Socceroos are plying their trade at the highest level, and there is a shortage of creatively minded players who specialise in unlocking defences, as well as structural and philosophical impediments back home that are limiting the development of new ones who could.
And as Arnold says, it’s pretty hard to bring 26 players together from throughout the world and get them playing from the same tactical whiteboard in such a tight timeframe.
Australia’s Kusini Yengi in action against Uzbekistan.Credit: Getty
However, that is not a challenge unique to the Socceroos. Every nation has its own set of shortcomings, and every nation has to find a way regardless. That is what international football is. Similarly, the Socceroos do not have a monopoly on team culture, mateship or energy. Other teams can and do have those things, and it is very likely that there are players within those other teams who are also good mates with one another.
What else have we got, besides all that?
That’s what fans are asking, and only Arnold and his troops can provide the answer. To ask it isn’t necessarily to dismiss all the challenges in their way. It is fair to question whether he is getting his tactics right, whether he is selecting the right players in the right positions, or if there are some players who he left out of his squad who could better address their deficits.
As for the idea of overachievement: if the Socceroos can reach the semi-finals, that would probably be about par, as one of Asia’s so-called “big four” nations, and one of the top 16 in the caper, according to the last World Cup.
To go further would be terrific, but it wouldn’t make the criticisms suddenly wrong. To miss out on the semis, depending on the circumstances, would be a slight underachievement.
And to lose to Indonesia, we can surely all agree, would be a disaster.
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