As the Kiwis deployed their off the ball intensive Squeezing, Aus struggled to play out, because it was difficult for the Aussies to open passing lanes, devoid of a Kiwi being more then a metre to 2 metres away. This is very tiring too for the teams doing it. As is usually the case the Kiwis ran out of gas at 60 mins.
It was tough for the Aussies in the back third to get a player receiving the ball with their body shape facing forwards, and having a teammate opening a passing lane in space - devoid of a Kiwi closing him down.
Outside Iran's brilliant goal and astonishing free kick, I'm not sure he did a lot? Live I thought he was outmuscled a lot. It might be different when I go over the replay compiling stats. Popa publicly said he was pleased with Iran's defending.
Toure was a huge asset. His strength and pace constantly harassed the Kiwi defence. Like Duke, Borrello and Yengi, but the difference was his clinical finishing! The first goal was brilliant! He outmuscled his marker, displaying sublime skill at pace to slot home sprinting at high speed.
I'm hearing his body is struggling though. I hadn't realised he is still only 21? If he stays fit , we've found our first choice central striker. Last year he couldn't hit the side of a barn in the U23s Olympic Qual tournament.
Live I thought Circati had a poor game, by his own lofty standards after being made captain (which I predicted in a few years time, not in his 7th game). I thought he mishit a few passes and was turned a few times. It will be interesting to look at the replay.
Live, Balard and O'N looked similar, so early in the game I wasn't sure who was who?
Live, I thought Miller had a good shift. Just before Aus scored around the 57th min, when he was blamed for fluffing a ball close to our goal, I was screaming at Metcalfe to move quicker to support him to open a passing lane in space. Metcalfe just didn't see it.
Despite that, Connor M showed some more superb touches, carrying in from game 1. He made both quality assists for Toure's 2 goals.
Although he didn't get forward as much as Miller, I thought Rowles was okay at LWB. None of Bos's searing runs, but he was a tough defender for the Kiwis to round out wide.
I just wish that commentators, Harper and Thompson had the knowledge to comment on the levels of Squeezing and Pressing. It is much harder to play out when teams gegenpress with so many players entering the opposition half, like NZ did. It was well-organised too.
Popa wants his teams to defend deeper, with only a modicum of Squeezing, enabling Aus to keep defensive shape nearly all the time. The Kiwis were stretched a lot more late in both games, as those distances between their lines increased. This enabled Aus to play more effectively with the ball.
