‘Not good enough’: Socceroos’ World Cup hopes hanging by a thread after failure in Oman

The Socceroos’ hopes of qualifying directly for the World Cup have been shattered by a dramatic 2-2 draw with Oman, which will almost certainly force Graham Arnold’s men down the arduous intercontinental play-off route.

Australia’s campaign is hanging by a thread after Wednesday morning’s result, which saw a first-half Jamie Maclaren penalty and a bright start from the visitors cancelled out by Abdullah Fawaz’s long-distance rocket nine minutes after the break at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Muscat.

Jamie Maclaren converts a penalty for Australia to go 1-0 up.Credit: Getty Images

Aaron Mooy put the Socceroos in front again with 11 minutes to go, and it looked like it’d be enough to secure the win – until a clumsy Fran Karacic fouled Muhsen Al-Ghassani in the box in the dying moments, giving away a penalty kick.

Fawaz converted to score his second goal and cap off a horror few days for Australian soccer, following the Matildas’ early elimination from the Asian Cup at the hands of South Korea in the quarter-finals.

Oman fielded a heavily weakened team missing seven regulars due to COVID-19 cases and were playing in front of an empty stadium due to a spike of positives in the country. They needed a win to stay in contention for the World Cup in Qatar but are now out of the running, which means the Socceroos cannot finish any lower than third in Group B.

Martin Boyle is fouled in the box.Credit: Getty Images

While it is still mathematically possible for Australia to finish in the top two of Group B, they’ll need to beat Japan (home) and Saudi Arabia (away) in their final two matches, which seems highly improbable on current form and recent history. The Socceroos have only beaten Japan once in 11 meetings since the 2006 World Cup, and have recorded just one prior win on Saudi soil in the national team’s history, while the Green Falcons are yet to drop any points at home this campaign.

“The players are dead silent,” Arnold said post-match.

“I just said to them, I’m a little bit disappointed with the sloppiness at times and the physical side of things, but overall we’ve just got to get on with it – pick yourselves up, get back to your clubs, work hard, get healthy and we look forward to the Japan game.

“I’ve still got a load of belief in the boys. At the end of the day, everything is still in our own hands. We have to win both games, and beating Japan and Saudi Arabia away, our goal difference is like an extra point.”

The Samurai Blue, who next play at Sydney’s Accor Stadium on March 24, did the Socceroos few favours with a 2-0 triumph over the Saudis in Saitama on Tuesday night. That pulled them to within one point of the lead in Group B when a loss might have made it easier for Australia to reach the World Cup in Qatar directly.

All signs are pointing to a third-placed finish for Australia, which means a sudden-death clash with Group A’s third team – currently the United Arab Emirates – to be played on neutral territory in May or June. The winner of that will then take on the fifth-best team from South America, likely to be one of Uruguay, Peru, Colombia or Chile, in another single-legged play-off.

It is a difficult road ahead but the Socceroos have only themselves to blame after twice letting their lead slip, with earlier failures against the Saudis at home and China away now proving even more costly.

“I’m very disappointed,” captain Mat Ryan said.

“We came here, we prepared well, and at the end of the day it’s not good enough to [not] take something away from the game.

“It’s not the first time it’s happened this campaign. We’ve got to learn from it, there’s still possibilities, and we’ll keep giving everything we’ve got. When you face a bit of hardship, it’s all about how you respond. That’s got to be the focus now.”

Arnold made only one change to the team that trounced Vietnam 4-0 in Melbourne last week, bringing in regular left-back Aziz Behich – who couldn’t fly out for that game because a snowstorm trapped him in Istanbul – for youngster Joel King. Riley McGree was ruled out after testing positive for COVID-19.

They began well, and would have taken the lead after just five minutes had Trent Sainsbury not strayed into an offside position just before he headed Mooy’s free kick into the net.

The Socceroos only had to wait another 10 minutes for the goal they were seeking as Martin Boyle was brought down in the box by Omani goalkeeper Faiz Al-Rushaidi, after the Scottish-born forward’s fantastic first touch helped him control a difficult long ball over the top from Jackson Irvine. Referee Mohammed Abdulla Hassan Mohamed pointed straight to the spot, and Maclaren made no mistake.

Fawaz’s equaliser early in the second half rocked the Socceroos, sending them on an anxious chase for a second goal. Eventually, it came through Mooy, who smacked home a ball put on a platter for him by substitute Mitch Duke’s controlling header, but there was yet another twist in the tale.

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