In a tense first-round match of the World Preliminary 12, the
national soccer team
Losing to Australia by a score of 0-3. The Sydney Morning Herald, a local Australian media outlet, gave a sharp review of the match, comparing Australia's victory to the ease of a cat playing with a mouse.
The media outlet first analyzed the challenges faced by Australia in the tournament, noting that the team had to host Qatar and drop at least seven domestic players due to the epidemic. Despite this, the Aussies beat China comfortably with only two pre-tournament practices.
Muy, the center of the midfield, said in the post-match interview, "Even though we only had two days of training together, team spirit is not something that can be built overnight, but is the result of years of accumulation." Meanwhile, the article also mentions that the Chinese team had a 12-day training session before the match, which gave them a lot of confidence. Early in the match, China showed strength in the Australian half, dominating the pace of the game for a while. However, the Australian team quickly adjusted like a cheetah and began a game of "cat and mouse" against the national soccer team.
The Australian media pointed out that in the middle of the first half, the Australian team gradually found the rhythm of the game and team tacit understanding, continuous rapid attack tore apart the Chinese team's defense, creating a good opportunity to score. In the 24th minute, Mabile almost broke the goal in a long pass, although Yan Junling made a heroic save, but the ball still nearly crossed the goal line. Taggart then crossed the ball from the right side of the field, and Mabir was able to grab the ball and help his team score first. Two minutes later, China conceded again, and Rogic sent a fine direct pass to Boyle for an easy goal, extending Australia's lead to 2-0.
Despite the heroics of the Chinese goalkeeper, they were unable to stem the tide of Australian goals. In the second half, Australia's fluent play once again led to a goal for Mabile, and substitute Duke easily added a goal for his first touch on the pitch. In the next match, Australia will face Vietnam on the road. In Vietnam's first round match, they were defeated 1-3 by Saudi Arabia, while Oman made a statement with a 1-0 win over Japan.
