Another Italian who somehow thinks he is above the perfect 1-0 tournament win.

What happened to all you old boys? 

We should be passing France and Denmark off the park

It's your arrogance and placing yourself above the rabble 

Absolutely. But that is only part of the story. This group (and manager), when you take into account qualifying and at the World Cup finals, the ability to change their style depending on the opponent.  

Yes, I definitely think he flopped. But lets say he wasn't offside, do we think VAR overturns it? Would have definitely been another Grosso moment I think..
The referee definitely called the penalty straight away, but seems like the AR was in his ear straight away.

As for the France 'goal' ... I have let goals stand for exactly that happening, as far as I can see, the defender heading the ball is a deliberate play that isn't a save, so it shouldn't matter that Griezmann was in an offside position.

Still reckon he's bound for great things. Doesn't always come together, but he's got the components. Only scores worldies too. 

One of the worst things on Twitter is the myopic Celtic bitters who can't let it go that he chose Boro instead. 

Now watching it with the English comma on bein 😂😎

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMaerJ2nc3o&t=2179s


Tactical analysis on how Australia kept Denmark goalless  

My first post after the game.

Absolutely brilliant by Australia. 

Arrived home from work to find the FTA station wasn't showing the match on their main station so had to frantically look for a live stream. Lost first 15 minutes of the game and 29 US Dollars. Well worth it.

You don't get 2 great results in a row like that without credit going to the coaching. I'm eating humble pie regarding Arnold now. Evidence of the potential was there with the Peru do or die game. He's proven most of us wrong.

These games should also tell us that A-League quality players can match it.

Unfortunately this ref would've checked VAR and been and absolute wanker. I've got to look again but I don't think he even saw the scene correctly. It was worse than the Syria flop at the Asian Cup.

There's a lot of discussion on how the refs haven't observed the laws with Griezmann there. He initiated nothing to affect the Tunisian defender. It's too bloody dramatic to think what might've been had our game been goalless. Dodged an absolutely shattering end with all that yesterday. 

Yes, lucky there was no dodgy business with trying to override the offside or something once he saw the flag.

Yes, I agree, apparently the conversation of why it was denied is what's considered a 'deliberate play at the ball'.
Good write up on that is here: https://www.espn.com.au/football/fifa-world-cup/story/4820758/why-var-disallowed-griezmanns-goal-for-france-for-offside
Basically, because the defender didn't perform a 'controlled header', it seems they're considering it as a deflection, and not a 'deliberate play at the ball.' Which, is weird in itself, because in that situation, we're taught to look at "player to ball" and "ball to player"

Congratulations to the players, staff, fans & the true believers of Australian football.  This one is for you, for all of us.   :)

Nope. The game is about results. Supporters only worry about style and entertainment when their team is not winning. I’ll take that 1-0 win over Tunisia over a 3-2 loss to the Netherlands Every.Single.Time.

Hear, hear.

Have always said this. 

Looks like Dollberg just ran into the back of Souttar and flopped. It's so terrible how quickly the ref blew that penalty. He won't be officiating at the WC again I think.

Interesting. 

It is no coincidence that Australia is able to play pragmatic football that wins games.

In the early part of the   Lowy FFA tenure, there was some money. We recruited world renowned KNVB trained Dutch Coaches, Rob  Baan, recommended by Guus, and then Han Berger, as Tech Directors for Aus football.

 The mild mannered Baan  didn't have the stomach to take on all the naysayers, recalcitrants and doubters in Aus football  who did not want to change coaching practices. Thankfully, Berger, a much more forceful character, totally dismissed the recalcitrants and steamrolled them. It was his  way or the highway. His biggest mistake was appointing Holger, as one of a panel of five to make the decision.

 I'm one of those coaches who trained in the old Soccer Australia coach  education and then later undertook the original Dutch KNVB methodology used in Aus in 2007, 2008 and 2009, which with Berger's recommendation became an amalgam of Dutch, Spanish, German and French methodology. I learnt a lot  about defence and organisation from the Dutch ( which is what Arnie bases his teams on) and later the Football Fed Aus, now Football Aus, National Curriculum ( which is more of Ange's coaching practice). 

It has also been a system  based on  the Van Gaal School of Dutch KNVB practice  ( team being paramount) as opposed to the Cruyff School of Dutch KNVB practice, which relies on technical superiority over opponents ( Barca Academy).

From all the courses I had attended prior, I learnt more in 2 hours of the KNVB Youth Coaching Course than  the days and days of the old practices. Then A L coaches were forced to adopt all the new methodology to gain an advantage over other A L coaches, or lose games. Frank Farina was a recalcitrant, and John Kosmina was too, but not to the same extent as FF.

So we can thank Guus, for recommending Baan, then FFA recruiting  Berger, who rewrote , with help, our coaching methodology in Australia, for progressing into the last 16 in Qatar. 

Now Football Aus has  a former  teacher,  Trevor Morgan as National Tech Dir, and Ron Smith is his assistant.

Ron is a worry. He was the former Soccer Aus TD prior to 2006. He saw no need to  update the Aus football curriculum  and establish a contemporary uniform, holistic system in Aus during this tenure as National Tech Dir.  I'm not sure what Ernie Merrick's current  role entails with Football Aus? He was also one of the old guard coaches before Berger's coach education  metamorphosis. 

We need some more  foreign  powerhouse coaching consultancy in Aus, to oversee constant updates, or one of our current successful  coaches trained in contemporary football methodology ( the Vidmars, Ange, Arnie, John Aloisi, Muscat, Popa, Stajic, Kisnorbo, Ante Milicic, Ante Jukic, Mike Edwards, et al),  to have a national  coaching role, although Morgan could be doing a decent job.

The new coaching methodology pathway has improved us immeasurably - tactically. That is how we have been able to match it with technically superior teams. It takes a long time to improve technique. It needs to be done at an early age. A much more tactically astute Socceroo team has progressed to the knockout stages of the Qatar WC - thanks to Han Berger.

It  does not  fit with the objective  of the National Curriculum coaching objective to control the  game, by dominating   possession  and territory, but we played against superior teams (France and Denmark) at playing this type football. They are better than us at it. 

They've been doing it for a lot longer. We strive to emulate them.

We had to focus on an organised, cohesive defence as the foundation against them.

Ange does not work as hard on defensive structure as a coach as Arnie. 

Looking at their World Cups, Arnie has had more success results wise, although Ange had a really tough group in Brazil. The two gallant defeats, where we played some good football against Chile and the Netherlands in Brazil, were not as good as the victories over Tunisia and  Denmark in Qatar, based on a solid defensive  structure and a game plan  focused on Ball Possession Opposition and the Defensive Transitions.

So...pragmatism then?  Verbeek was pilloried for it, yet he qualified undefeated ( apart from a meaningless game against China), second in the world to do so, and got 4 points at the WC.  Osieck took us to the Asian Cup Final (and lost 0-1 in extra time to Japan), and qualified directly for the WC with a win % of 60% in competitive fixtures. Yet his football style was also heavily criticized.

With VAR is seems  to be oriented to disallowing goals, more than  playing an advantage to the attacking team.

I thought teams could have two reviews - so they can review dodgy lines-person decisions that incorrectly  call offside, when goals scored are legal. 

The teams don’t, and never have had, the right to call for reviews of decisions by VAR. Ths only party with the ability to decide to review decisions is VAR.

Osieck digressed from a mandated national style. His appointment was predicated on the belief that most of the  national team players in that era were so unfamiliar with the new curriculum, that it did not matter as much that the coach wasn't a product of the Spanish/French/Dutch/ revamped German style that we aspired to play.Holger was a product of old school German football  - not revamped German - Klinsmann, Loew, Klopp.

Pim was very much the  style of coach Australia wanted to develop.  Triangles and diamonds were inherent in his  formations 4-3-3 and its variations and derivatives. Pim had preference for the 4-4-2 midfield diamond for  when  he wanted to attack in his game plans. Once he used a 4-3-2-1 as a more  defensive measure  against Japan. I've watched the Socceroos train under Pim. I was a big fan of him as coach. It was our most decisive WCQing campaign. We were one of the first three teams to qualify for South Africa, with the Netherlands, Japan and us - all qualifying on the same night. 

Holger didn't use these systems  much, really only using a 4-2-3-1 on occasions amongst his other formations that didn't fit with the direction Aus coaches were being trained in.   

I'd heard it mooted like  teams do in cricket.

As you probably  know from refereeing,  and being a lines-person, so many mistakes are made - usually to favour the defensive team on those hard to adjudicate decisions.

Good insight. Cheers

The joy in everyone's faces in photos. Green and gold army has some great ones of Lawrie McKinna, John Kosmina and Simon Hill who've all contributed to Australian football in some shape or form. 

got to admit my concern when the lachie rose look alike started warming up on the touchline for dennark

https://youtu.be/WHdtIGv4vQY

Here's the next commentary reaction compilation for Leckie's goal. 

https://www.foxsports.com.au/football/world-cup/fifa-world-cup-2022-denmark-note-mitch-duke-picks-up-note-video-latest/news-story/c44d43a186be9495db1dff09e7fe2943