‘We fell asleep’: Olyroos’ Paris hopes in peril after shocking defeat to Indonesia
The Olyroos’ hopes of reaching Paris 2024 are hanging by a thread after a shock 1-0 defeat to Indonesia, which leaves them needing a win in their third and final group fixture and for other results to go their way just to make the knockout phase.
Australia’s under-23s have now played 180 minutes of football without finding the back of the net at the Asian Cup in Qatar, having opened their campaign with a scoreless draw against Jordan at the weekend.
The Olyroos’ Paris hopes are hanging by a thread.
Tony Vidmar’s men were heavily favoured to beat Indonesia but despite enjoying more possession and more shots, they lacked a cutting edge – an all-too-familiar tale for Australian youth teams in Asian competitions.
“We played some really good football,” Vidmar said post-match. “We just couldn’t take our chances.”
Now bottom of Group A, they must beat host nation Qatar on Sunday (1.30am Monday AEST) to keep their Olympic ambitions alive, but if Indonesia prevail over Jordan in the other match, they will be knocked out regardless.
Only the top three teams at the tournament will qualify for Paris, with the Olyroos looking to join the Matildas for their second successive Olympic Games appearance after ending their 12-year drought at Tokyo 2020.
This result will invite further scrutiny of Vidmar’s methods and selection decisions, in particular the controversial call to leave out Adelaide United sensation Nestory Irankunda – arguably the most talented player in his age group in the entire confederation – from his initial squad on the basis that the call-up could “damage” him emotionally.
Coach Tony Vidmar vowed his side were in the Asian Cup to win it – but they might not even get out of their group.
When fellow winger Marco Tilio went down injured last weekend, Vidmar informally sounded out Irankunda’s availability only for the Bayern Munich-bound teenager to elect to stay put with Adelaide, as revealed by this masthead, sparking a mini-storm as two rival A-League clubs unsuccessfully lobbied for him to be stood down from club duties until the tournament was over.
There is little doubt a player like Irankunda, who has been in red-hot form with five goals and two assists in his last four games, would help the Olyroos break down stubborn, defensively minded teams like Indonesia.
In Vidmar’s defence, an alternative starting XI could be put together comprising players who, like Tilio and Manchester City’s Alexander Robertson, were injured, or others like Parma’s Alessandro Circati and Scotland-based pair Calem Nieuwenhof and Nectarios Triantis, who were blocked by their clubs because the Asian Cup falls outside of a FIFA window – meaning he has been, to a large degree, hamstrung by circumstances.
And the Olyroos’ lead-up form in other tournaments, which included wins over France, Mexico, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, gave little hint that such a poor performance was in the offing.
Indonesian players celebrate their goal just before half-time.
Still, there was enough talent on the pitch at the Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha for the Olyroos to be able to account for Indonesia, first-time qualifiers for this tournament who have somehow conjured their first competitive win at this level against all the odds.
Australia should have taken the lead from the penalty spot midway through the first half after the VAR picked up a handball in the box from Indonesia, but striker Mohamed Toure’s conversion attempt was saved by Indonesian goalkeeper Ernando Ari Sutaryadi. Toure’s header against the bar from a corner kick minutes later was as close as they would come to scoring.
Indonesia needed a slice of fortune to go ahead on the stroke of half-time – Komang Teguh headed in a teammate’s attempted shot, which skewed off his boot and into his path – but they defended their lead stoutly, and the introduction of Garang and Alou Kuol along with Western Sydney Wanderers star Nicolas Milanovic with a triple-substitution in the 75th minute could not change the dynamic for the Olyroos.
“We’ve got full belief in the squad that whichever team we put out there, we can play to what we are capable of, which has happened in the two games,” Vidmar said. “We just need to take our chances. That’s modern-day football, international football – if you create that many chances, and you don’t take them, and also defensively with a set piece, we fell asleep on that and it bites you. You can have all the territory advantage in the middle of the field, but the points are won inside both boxes.”
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