Australia beat China 3-1 to resurrect World Cup campaign
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Craig Goodwin of Australia celebrates with teammates after scoring in the World Cup qualifier against China.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
ADELAIDE – Australia came from behind to beat China 3-1 on Oct 10 and resurrect their World Cup Asian qualifying campaign, ensuring Tony Popovic’s reign as coach got off to a winning start.
The Socceroos went into the game at Adelaide Oval in a perilous position in Group C after a shock 1-0 home loss to Bahrain and a scoreless draw in Indonesia in September.
It led to the departure of coach Graham Arnold and Popovic being installed as his successor.
Goals from Lewis Miller, Craig Goodwin and debutant Nishan Velupillay did the damage on Oct 10 after they went behind against the run of play in the 20th minute in front of 46,291 fans.
It secured three crucial points ahead of a tough away match against Japan next week and consigned China to their third straight qualifying defeat.
“We did really well even in the first half,” said Goodwin, who was the Man of the Match.
“China were very, very compact. We maybe forced it a little bit... we talked about that at half-time and we showed big character to respond in the way we did.”
Only the top two from the three six-team groups secure direct passage to the 2026 World Cup with the third- and fourth-placed sides facing another qualifying phase.
China are bottom of the group, piling more pressure on their Croatian coach Branko Ivankovic whose tenure has been under intense scrutiny after a run of poor form.
It was the second game in a row they have opened the scoring only to lose.
Popovic, who barely had two days with the bulk of his squad to prepare, notably dropped captain Mathew Ryan, with Aston Villa’s Joe Gauci preferred as goalkeeper and Jackson Irvine taking the armband.
China also made changes, with key players including long-time stalwart Wu Lei and Brazilian-born Alan Carvalho both missing through injury.
Australia started confidently and dominated early possession, winning a series of corners and free-kicks on the edge of the box. But China’s defence was resolute and the chances went begging.
Against the run of play, the visitors took the lead, with a long goal kick nudged on for Xie Wenneng who angled his left-footed strike past the outstretched arms of Gauci.
The hosts kept pressing but lacked penetration, before finally getting the breakthrough on the cusp of half-time when Hibernian defender Miller headed home his first international goal from a Goodwin free kick.
The equaliser proved to be the tonic they sought as Popovic replaced Nestory Irankunda and Thomas Deng at the break with Riley McGree and Jason Geria, sparking renewed energy.
It culminated in Goodwin bagging their second goal eight minutes after the restart with a 30-metre rocket after he was put into space by Irvine.
Substitute Velupillay added their third in stoppage time, finding the top corner.
“It does feel like a new beginning. This is a positive step in the right direction,” said Gauci.
“It wasn’t perfect by any means. We have a lot to work on and we go away to Japan for a tough game, but we are looking forward to the challenge...
“Ultimately, if we want to be in world football, we have to be coming up against the best teams and facing them head-on and ready to compete.”
Having faced heavyweights in their last four games, China travel to Indonesia on Oct 15, when Ivankovic expects the “real fight” to commence.
“We’ve played against (South) Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia and Australia in our last four games. They are all the top teams in Asia. It was a tough game, we need to be more excellent and better so we can pick up points. And we were close to a point in this game,” the Croat said through a translator.
“So what we need to do now is to carry on. Our target has always been the top four of this group so we can play in the next stage of qualification.
“So what we need to do is keep our passion and fight for our next game, which is really important. The real fighting is just about to start.”
In Group B, South Korea shrugged aside the injury-enforced absence of talismanic captain Son Heung-min to notch a 2-0 win over Jordan.
Midfielder Lee Jae-sung opened the scoring with a header in the 38th minute before Oh Hyeon-gyu netted his first international goal in the 68th minute at the Amman International Stadium in the Jordanian capital.
It was a revenge of sorts for the Koreans after Jordan knocked them out 2-0 in the Asian Cup semi-finals in February. AFP
