Asian Cup: Australia v India, Group B – live | Australia
Key events
11 min Australia’s first set-piece leads to a quarter-chance. Duke gets across Chhetri at the near post but heads over from 15 yards.
10 min The pacy Chhangte hurtles down the left and crosses low to the near post. Manvir Singh gets to the ball first but is shepherded away from danger by Souttar (I think). The cheers when Chhangte got moving were quite something; goodness know what it’ll be like if India score.
9 min I thought Australia would make a faster start than this, but it’s been a bit cagey. I suppose they’re playing the long game by trying to wear the Indian defence down.
7 min Behich seizes on a loose ball and finds Goodwin on the left. His cross is headed away to huge cheers by Bheke.
6 min After a long passing move, Behich drags a long-range shot well wide.
5 min India are letting Australia have the ball in the middle third, which has meant plenty of low-risk possession as they probe for an opening.
3 min Nothing to report yet. India have started confidently, though, and certainly don’t look nervous.
1 min Peep peep! The Socceroos’ Asian Cup 2023* campaign is under way.
* Yes, I know.
“I predict 6-0 Australia (Souttar 2, Duke 2, Boyle, Fornaroli),” writes James Paraskevas. “Cheers and beers all round for Arnie and the boys.”
“G’Day Rob,” writes Chris Paraskevas. “Graham Arnold will be desperate to improve on his record at the Asian Cup. The 2007 tournament saw us embarassed despite our favourites tag, with whispers about player power and a complete breakdown of authority.
“Arnold spent the subsequent years rebuilding his coaching career in the A-League, but he hasn’t quite cracked the continentental code at club or international level – the Socceroos also unceremoniously dumped out of the last Asian Cup, with Arnie again at the helm.
“The performance at the World Cup put Arnold right up there on the list of Australia’s greatest managers, but he really needs to win this tournament to stand alone. Plan A: Lump It Up To ‘Arry (Souttar).”
Here come the players, to a huge cheer from a crowd largely made up of Indian supporters. They’re led out by Yoshimi Yamashita, who is about to become the first woman to referee a match at the men’s Asian Cup.
Joey Lynch talks to Harry Souttar, the Socceroos’ unlikely goal machine who has had a frustration season on the sidelines at Leicester.
Knowing that the Asian Cup was always around the corner … it was always kind of just try and get yourself as fit as you can. Even though you’re not going to be playing a lot, do extra sessions here and there and keep yourself as top fit as best you can. I’ve worked so hard to get here, so my full concentration is on the next month and a half.
John Duerden’s Asian Cup preview
If Australia and Japan win their groups, they could potentially met in a humdinger of a semi-final.
A PFA Player of the Year and two other fellas wish India well
The Socceroos have played India only once at the Asian Cup before, a 4-0 victory in 2011. Tim Cahill got two, Harry Kewell thrashed a fine goal and Brett Holman also troubled the scorers. I can’t embed the highlights because the AFC have blocked that particular rush of dopamine, but there’s a link below. It says ‘highlights’.
A reminder of the teams
Australia (possible 4-2-1-3) Ryan; Jones, Souttar, Rowles, Behich; Baccus, Irvine; Metcalfe; Boyle, Duke, Goodwin.
Substitutes: Deng, Atkinson, Bos, Silvera, Fornarou, Yengi, Tilio, Thomas, O’Neill, McGree, Gauci, Burgess.
India (possible 4-3-3) Singh Sandhu; Poojary, Jhingan, Bheke, Bose; Tangri, Ralte, Wangjam; Manvir Singh, Chhetri, Chhangte.
Substitutes: A Singh, Kaith, Lalchungnunga, Mishra, Thapa, Fernandes, Colaco, N Singh, Kannoly Praveen, Kotal, Mehtab Singh, Partap Singh.
Referee Yoshimi Yamashita (Japan).
Australia have won this tournament once, back in 2015. Whatever happened to the bloke who was in charge back then.
Tonight’s match is the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, where Australia performed so bravely in losing to the eventual World Cup winners Argentina.
Every time I watch this replay, a small part of me thinks Aziz Behich is going to score.
So, how good are Australia?
The teams in full
Australia (possible 4-2-1-3) Ryan; Jones, Souttar, Rowles, Behich; Baccus, Irvine; Metcalfe; Boyle, Duke, Goodwin.
Substitutes: Deng, Atkinson, Bos, Silvera, Fornarou, Yengi, Tilio, Thomas, O’Neill, McGree, Gauci, Burgess.
India (possible 4-3-3) Singh Sandhu; Poojary, Jhingan, Bheke, Bose; Tangri, Ralte, Wangjam; Manvir Singh, Chhetri, Chhangte.
Substitutes: A Singh, Kaith, Lalchungnunga, Mishra, Thapa, Fernandes, Colaco, N Singh, Kannoly Praveen, Kotal, Mehtab Singh, Partap Singh.
India team news
The captain Sunil Chhetri, who has scored 93 goals for his country, played against Australia at the 2011 Asian Cup. He was 26 then.
Deepak Tangri, who is 24 now, makes his international debut.
Socceroos team news
No big surprises in Graham Arnold’s team. Aziz Behich and Kye Rowles are preferred to Jordy Bos and Cameron Burgess in defence. Maty Ryan has recovered from a fractured cheekbone and captains the side, and Gethin Jones – a former Wales youth international – makes his competitive debut at right-back.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to live, minute-by-minute coverage of the Socceroos’ opening match of the Asian Cup. Australia are playing India again, but this time it’s men’s football rather than women’s cricket. And with all due respect to the team ranked 102nd in the world, you’d expect a comfortable night for Australia.
Then again, we thought the same four years ago before the holders Australia lost stunningly to Jordan in their opening game. It set the tone for a dreary campaign that ended in the quarter-finals.
The tournament format – six groups of four, top two and the four best third-placed teams go through – makes it unimaginable that Australia won’t reach the last 16. Their ambition is to top a group that also includes Uzbekistan and Syria; if they do so they should have a smoother route to the business end of the competition.
India had a good 2023, keeping eight consecutive clean sheets at one stage, but all those games were against relatively weak opposition. Their most recent match, a 3-0 defeat to Qatar in a World Cup qualifier, feels more indicative of the challenge that faces the Aussies tonight. They’re coached by Igor Stimac, who Derby and West Ham fans of the 1990s will remember as a quality, unsentimental defender.
The hosts Qatar got the competition under way by beating Lebanon 3-0 last night. Now it’s Australia’s chance to make a statement of intent.
Kick off 2.30pm local/10.30pm AEDT/11.30am GMT.
