By Vince Rugari
Al Ain: Five games, six goals. 300 minutes of scoreless football against the might of Jordan, Uzbekistan and the United Arab Emirates.
The numbers don't look good for the Socceroos as they assess the wreckage from their Asian Cup campaign.
Big questions: Graham Arnold has a lot to think about following Australia's Asian Cup exit.Credit: AP
The same old problems have reared their ugly head again - a lack of cutting edge in the final third. The absence of a reliable line-leading striker. An inability to overcome teams who park the bus and put numbers behind the ball.
"Football can be a cruel sport," coach Graham Arnold said. "It's probably the only sport in the world that you can control possession, you can have much more possession, can have more chances on goal, you can spend more time in the opposition's half and you can still lose."
Socceroos fans have known that for years and sadly, not much has changed.
Suddenly the road to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar is looking very rocky indeed. Australia's best hope might hinge on FIFA president Gianni Infantino's crusade to expand the global showpiece tournament to 48 teams.
There's a lot to do, there's a lot of work to be done right across the whole sport in Australia. We need to better ourselves.
Graham Arnold
According to the qualification process for Russia 2018, the Socceroos were the fifth best team in Asia. On the evidence of UAE 2019, they're somewhere between fifth and eighth, and battling to maintain their status as one of the confederation's so-called powerhouse teams at a time when quality across Asia is rising fast.
The Socceroos can no longer expect to breeze through qualifying and fans must confront that stark reality. But at the same time, they are capable of much more than what they showed in the Emirates, and Arnold has some big questions to answer as the national team breaks up for an extended period, with the first round of qualifiers for Qatar not coming until much later this year.
There are, of course, mitigating circumstances around their sombre quarter-final exit from the Asian Cup. But it has to be regarded as a failure nonetheless. New to the gig, Arnold was robbed of some of his best attacking players due to injury. Tempo-setting midfielder Aaron Mooy and wing sensation Daniel Arzani were ruled out of the tournament early, while experienced forward Mathew Leckie only returned from a hamstring strain in the knockout stages. Then, on the eve of the tournament, Martin Boyle, the Scotsman-turned-Aussie who was supposed to be his wildcard, suffered a sesaon-ending knee injury.
Picture of devastation: Socceroos players confront the grim reality of their 1-0 defeat to the UAE.Credit: AP
That's not to mention Andrew Nabbout, another key player, who hurt his groin the day before their opening defeat to Jordan and did not make it onto the pitch until they were chasing the game against the UAE.
The Socceroos weren't the only team at the Asian Cup hampered by injuries but their lack of depth was brutally exposed.
"I'm not using excuses at all because the boys did fantastic but you pretty much missed Arzani and Boyle that make the difference when you play against teams with a packed defence," Arnold said.
"Barcelona, when they do it, they've got Lionel Messi - give him the key and he opens the door.
"We go home learning a lot. If there's anything for the Australian journalists here to take home is to look at how fast other countries are coming and catching up.
Highlight: Chris Ikonomidis grabbed the chance handed to him at the Asian Cup with both hands.Credit: AP
"There's a lot to do, there's a lot of work to be done right across the whole sport in Australia. We need to better ourselves."
In the absence of some big names, several players stepped up big time. Chris Ikonomidis and Awer Mabil announced themselves as potential stars of the future. Rhyan Grant overtook Josh Risdon as Australia's best right-back option.
Jackson Irvine staked a claim for a starting spot in midfield. Apostolos Giannou finally displayed the kind of form which explained why former coach Ange Postecoglou was so keen to steal him away from Greece.
And Tom Rogic, even if only for two matches, showed what fans have long known he is capable of. All of those players, and everyone else in the squad, will be better for their Asian Cup experience. It's what happens next that will ultimately define them.
"There's a lot of boys in this team who have a lot of football ahead of them," captain Mark Milligan said. "I don't think it's all doom and gloom.
"It's extremely disappointing that we've gone out at this stage, but these are the types of lessons you can't learn unless you experience them. You can't tell someone how to handle the quarter-finals in a tournament until they've experienced it.
"Everyone should let this sink in but also keep that in mind. The experience the boys have had and will take from here will definitely help. I don't think Australia is in a bad place, it just wasn't a good result."