Watching them play Denmark reminds me of the way most Middle East countries play against us: very defensive structure and playing for the counter attack. It's ugly but it frustrates the opposition and has worked again. We really conceded no sustained chances and were tactically superior to Denmark, who needed to win and had the superior squad. Same goes for Tunisia, and even Peru in qualifiers. I think it shows a bit of maturity and sophistication in our play that we can win this way, and we've obviously learnt something from our Asian football experience and grown from it.
Arnold has gotten results playing very defensive football and I think this goes against what Craig Foster and critics have argued for, which is attacking aggressive football. It's funny to hear them laud the coaching now when they are so critical when we don't win (ala France match). I tended to agree with the critics too, I don't like sitting back like we do, but there's no way this group of players should have made it even to the world cup, let alone the final 16 from that group, so great effort by Arnold against all the noise and criticism. It's also a victory for the A-League, despite the sloppiness of it, in that you can build a successful squad around A-League players.
It's interesting watching the level of confidence and ownership players like Mooy, Duke and Behich have. Beside Mooy, these are not very well credentialed players, and the technical quality is not that high, but there's strong belief and they execute their roles well. With the exception of Atkinson in the first match, the players have looked composed and competitive. This really highlights the positive impact of coaching imo, players playing well beyond themselves.
We performed very well against Italy 16 years ago in the round of 16, and I'm thrilled we get to play Messi and Argentina. Others wanting lesser opponents miss the great opportunity of the world cup, which is to see our plodders face the best in the world, and perhaps some of the best all time. It's magnificent and a rare privilege to see.
