Seven months out from the World Cup, the Socceroos have lost three straight games. Their 3-0 defeat to Colombia in Queens came with a better performance than their abject defeat against Venezuela last week but once they went behind, they collapsed; James Rodríguez’s 76th-minute penalty was followed by Luis Díaz pouncing on an error in the 88th-minute, before Jefferson Lerma fired home in stoppage time.
Against a strong opponent, possessing world-class attacking talent, Australia did what we’ve come to expect from them for the first 75 minutes. They defended resolutely and in numbers, and put their bodies on the line and into their opponents. Before the awarding of the penalty – a suspect decision – few would have been shocked if things had ended in a goalless stalemate. But the razor-thin margin for error that the Socceroos possess, wherein their struggles to create clear avenues to goal demand clean sheets, bore out painfully once they were placed in a deficit.
Once Australia went behind, there was never a sense that they would be able to find a way back into the contest. A calamitous mix-up that saw Camilo Vargas’s goal kick bounce all the way through for Díaz to convert added weight to this, as did the goalmouth scramble for Lerma’s sealer.
Things had started OK. The meek standoffishness that had characterised their play in Houston was replaced with a greater willingness to put bodies about and when they did get on the ball, there was a clearer emphasis on retaining possession. This manifested mostly as methodical, short and sharp passing around the backline and midfield. If something wasn’t on, going with a safe option was largely the default position, with occasional attempts to slice something through the lines coming to naught.
This didn’t create much going forward. But it also meant Colombia were largely denied opportunities to pounce and move the ball against a scrambling defence in transition. And while they would wrest control of possession soon enough, they invariably found themselves trying to break down a deeply embedded 5-4-1 block whenever they controlled the ball for extended periods
Such is the attacking firepower possessed by Néstor Lorenzo’s side, however, they didn’t need to actually get in behind the Australian lines to start to fashioning looks on goal. Yáser Asprilla found space to shoot in the 22nd minute and Luis Suárez forced a strong save from Izzo a minute later when he turned Degenek at the top of the box. With the game increasingly being played exclusively in Australia’s half, Díaz repeatedly feinted shooting in the 35th minute before flashing a shot wide, and James forced Izzo into a save from a free-kick a few minutes later. But the sometimes 11-deep Socceroos held out.
A couple of free-kicks from Riley McGree – who, alongside Jackson Irvine, was restored to the starting XI after a long-term injury layoff – offered hope at the end of the half. But Colombia began to accumulate set pieces when the second half resumed as both the South Americans and the referee started to get a frustrated with the physicality. The Socceroos, meanwhile, continued to defend in depth and as the game progressed, it increasingly appeared as though it would be decided by what was heavier: the Colombian weight of possession or the Australian weight of numbers.
after newsletter promotion
Eventually, it was the former: James’s penalty opened the floodgates and the Socceroos were unable to respond. The Australians will now have just one further window before Tony Popovic names his World Cup squad to hone an attacking edge, and just two further games after that before the footballing showpiece commences. The margins there are getting thin, too.
