Tokyo Olympics 2021: Australia bundled out of men’s football competition after loss to Egypt

What promised so much after Australia ‘shocked the world’ following the brilliant upset of Argentina, has finished in despair for Graham Arnold’s Olyroos after defeat to Egypt.

The Olyroos’ Tokyo Games campaign has come to an inglorious end at the hands of Egypt – and this time it was Graham Arnold who was left shocked.

What promised so much after Australia ‘shocked the world’ following the brilliant upset of Argentina in their opening group clash has ended in despair for Arnold’s men thanks to a 2-0 defeat to Egypt at Miyagi Stadium on Wednesday night.

The victory allowed Egypt to leapfrog Australia into second spot in Group C, securing a quarter-final spot along with group leaders Spain, who played out a 1-1 draw with Argentina.

Australia’s late lapse in their 1-0 defeat to Spain on Saturday proved incredibly costly – as did the trio of suspensions that ruled out Riley McGree, Nathaniel Atkinson and Mitch Duke from the Egypt fixture.

The Olyroos struggled to penetrate the Egyptian defence.

McGree’s explosive influence in midfield and Duke’s calm head and leadership were sorely missed, while Atkinson’s penetration from wingback has made him Australia’s best player this tournament.

All three would’ve been invaluable in a game where Egypt controlled the midfield battle and barely faced a genuine threat on goal until the final 15 minutes.

“I’m extremely proud of the players. Gave me everything they had. It’s been a fantastic experience for a lot of these young players,” said Arnold.

“In the past, the Olympics have developed and created a lot of national team players… I feel I walk away from here with much more depth now for the Socceroos.”

In the end it was a delightful piece of skill right on the stroke of halftime from Egypt’s No.10 Ramadan Sobhi which changed the match, with the classy forward nutmegging dependable Australian centreback Harry Souttar before setting up Ahmed Rayan for the game’s opening goal.

It put Australia on the backfoot and allowed Egypt, who dominated possession and attacking chances in the opening 45 minutes, to dictate the tempo of the second half.

Arnold switched things up at the break, bringing on Keanu Baccus to shore up a porous midfield, and livewire Daniel Arzani in the hope of sparking the attack to life.

Instead, it was Egypt’s substitute Amar Hamdy who claimed a late matchwinner following a VAR check, breaking Australian hearts in a cruel blow.

It was a tough night at the office for the Olyroos.

That it came moments after Olyroos skipper Thomas Deng went within inches of an equaliser with a powerful header, only to be spectacularly denied by Egypt goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shenawy, hurt even more.

“It’s been an amazing journey for the boys and the staff. It’s sad it ends tonight, but we have to be proud of ourselves for what we achieved and how far we came,” said Deng.

Knowing they needed a win to have any chance of Olympic survival, Egypt started the game with more purpose and showed all of the attacking purpose that had been missing from their previously goalless campaign.

But it’s a defeat, and an exit, that will leave a bitter taste in the mouths of Arnold and his team – their pledge to shock the world came to fruition early, but you get the sense that failing to reach the knock-out stages will be felt as a massive missed opportunity for a squad that truly believed an Olympic medal was within its reaches.