Australia vs Iraq
| FIFA World Cup - 2010 Qualifiers - Asian Region - Round 3 - Group 1 - Match 3 |
| Australia vs. Iraq |
| at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane on 2008-06-01 17:00 |
| Score: 1-0 (0-0) |
| Scorers: Harry Kewell (47') |
| Official Info: FIFA Info |
| Previous Match: China vs Australia |
| Next Match: Iraq vs Australia |
Australia secured a very significant win over Iraq in Brisbane to move one step closer to qualifying for the next round. All up, we were pretty lucky to get away with the win, but the three points will be very valuable.
A wet Sunday afternoon, but the Nag's Head filled up not long after kick-off. The crowd was even better at the stadium. A sell-out and they made lots of noise.
The Iraqis played pretty well and showed no sign of the shenanigans of the expulsion / reinstatement of IFA by FIFA during the past week. They hit the cross bar after just a few minutes and created many chances thoughout the game. I thought Australia probably had the better of the first half, but not by much.
Harry Kewell scored what turned out to be the decisive goal just after half-time, with a well-taken header, one of several he got onto during the game. The Iraqis probably had the better of the second half though, particularly the latter stages when they put us under a lot of pressure. Schwarzer had another fine game and made some key saves.
Verbeek was critical of the Socceroos today. Coaches often say that to gee up the team, but I think it was fair. We didn't play great football. Still you've got be happy with our results in the qualifiers so far.
Comments
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