2019 Asian Cup: Socceroos retain faith, confidence even in wake of disappointing defeat to Jordan

It’s the wake-up call the Socceroos admit they needed, but both coach and players insist their shock capitulation to Jordan has not stripped them of belief they can go deep into the Asian Cup.

Mark Milligan needs to rally the Aussies before they face Palestine on Friday.

• Socceroos stunned in epic Asian Cup upset

Naivety and negativity.

That’s how Mark Milligan labels the Socceroos’ start against Jordan.

One too steep to climb back from on Sunday, and one that casts monumental questions over Australia’s Asian Cup campaign.

It’s still early days, and Syria’s scoreless draw with Palestine in the other opening Group B game helps matters.

But in an opening two days that saw India thrash Thailand 4-1 and Bahrain held host nation the United Arab Emirates to a 1-1 draw, there’s a sense Australia should never assume a win in Asia.

As Milligan said in an honest assessment after the 1-0 loss: “You still have to earn your right to win a match of football.”

“We hurt ourselves at the start and were maybe a little bit naive in the way we started the match,” the skipper said.

Mark Milligan needs to rally the Aussies before they face Palestine on Friday.

“We just didn’t quite move the ball quick enough. Then we were sort of a little bit negative I think.

“Look, I think we sorted it out, but by the time we sorted it out it was going to be difficult.”

Pressure may be just a word, as Arnold said in his pre-match press conference, but the Socceroos will soon start to feel it if they don’t reverse this humiliation swiftly.

There’s a fine balance between experiencing the burden of expectation and playing without fear.

And for all the relaxed vibes in camp and at training, on the competitive pitch the pendulum seemed to swing more towards the former.

In large part, the collective green and gold lacked creativity on the ball and the intensity of their opponents.

In the final 20 minutes, when they finally came to life, there arrived another stark reminder that the finishing troubles of recent times have not magically disappeared.

Mat Ryan can’t stop Anas Bani Yaseen’s powerful header.

The cruellest factor about this is that many of the faces who were supposed to fix them are absent through injury.

Jordan’s packing of the midfield meant this was a contest built for the prowess and set pieces of Aaron Mooy, and shows why national team staff went to such lengths to explore every medical avenue before ruling the Huddersfield man out.

Mat Leckie’s experience at two World Cups and an Asian Cup was also sorely missed, while Martin Boyle’s revelatory eagerness to run at defenders and, well, score, might have gone some way to moving Jordan’s iron-willed wall.

These absences up front, and the late withdrawal of Andrew Nabbout, prevented Arnold’s concept of three No.9s being put to use.

Graham Arnold has plenty to ponder after the opening defeat.

Nabbout, a winger by trade, boasted the mobility to rotate with his fellow frontmen – another strength of Boyle’s.

Replacing him with a poacher like Jamie Maclaren effectively stopped this rotation, and the young striker often found himself isolated, despite Awer Mabil’s promising moments.

Jordan, on the other hand, executed their tactics to perfection, and in doing so have provided Palestine and Syria with a blueprint on how to nullify the defending champions.

Getting on the front foot early against Palestine this Friday will be key, because this proved 77 per cent possession does not necessarily translate to any tangible benefit.

Robbie Kruse couldn’t make the difference for the Socceroos.

“Goals change that frame of mind,” Milligan said.

“If you score, what does a team do that wants to sit in against you? We need to make sure we start well and create chances, because when you’re doing that you’re able to change the mentality of the opposition as well.

“The defeat fully lies on us. In a way that’s a good thing, because we’re going to fix it.”

Arnold described it as a “wake-up call”. In a tournament where four of the top third-place finishers from six groups progress, it’s certainly not fatal.

It’s just left the Socceroos little margin for error.