0-1

Torrent for the match recording is at the end of this post.

The chances Australia produced were mostly from outside the box. 3 dead balls from almost exactly the same spot. Bresciano has good freekick, but in term of ball distribution there were some problems with Aussie NT and they couldn't get the ball into Argentine box properly.

There were actually quite a few tries of through passes, but Kennedy just couldn't reach. He's very tall and possesses tremendous threat in the air, but in this friendly he didn't produce alot of chances, I think because the midfield could not deliver to him successfully. Australia could of focused more in the air. Playing ground game against Argentina IMO was a sluggish plan.

Luck was obviously on Argentinean side for the most part. The 2nd FK from Bresciano was saved by the back of Pato's head, that was freaky. However, Australia got away with a few fouls, 2 of them could of easily resulted in PK. The refs weren't doing too good a job, not just for the missed fouls, but also interrupting Argentine attacking sequences with stupid calls on Australia. Those calls should of only been blown if they were going to pull out cards, and by international standards, usually only when reds were shown.

Most Australian players played clean though, making the game pleasant to watch. With the exception of their left back area, but I guess it's necessary to stop Messi with technical fouls. Heinze plays dirty too, that's why he's reliable at fullback.

In the first half, before 30th minute, Messi and Tevez pulled some nice sprints, but they quickly tired after that and we saw less and less runs produced as the game went on. I think that's sign of fatigue. Those 2 aren't properly rested after all. Perhaps a little better with Messi...

We've tried quite a few winger/outside mids lately, this time with Gutierrez and Zanetti. Zanetti played obviously more defensively on the right, while Gutierrez was attacking. I actually liked Gutierrez's speed, and he has decent height, can fight a bit in the air. Haven said that, he didn't really do all that well on his touches, we could perhaps chill him off for a while then give him more chances.


The center of Argentine problems is still the lack of a proper CAM. Insua is nothing special, he barely touched the ball in the first half, and for a CAM that's horrible. I don't want to see his ass again, it's like Lucho, makes us play practically with man down. Bring back Roman, he can train in NT.

Defensively, we were ok. Mascherano was distributing more and perhaps better than he usually do, but wasn't 100% when making tackles. However, the backline did very well, and helped out Mascher disrupt Australian possession at higher positions. Australia did get a few freekicks from few yards beyond our box, but at least there weren't alot of chaotic situations inside. Burdisso and Demichelis gave pretty much no chance for Australia on our right, with the help of Zanetti of course. On the left, Milito and Heinze defended pretty well too, but weren't exactly effective support assaults. Milito tried some long distributions, all went to shit. Heinze was providing width, and was there when needed, but failed to process the chances he got, and didn't produce anything despite reaching the ball deep inside Australian box over and over.

We need a dedicated wingback for the left, and possibly have Garay rotating out Gaby Milito when necessary. Gonzalo Rodriguez will be back in action by the end of this year. Once we located a suitable left back, the defense could be considered world class.

Match Torrent

In other news, Bielsa's Chileans defeated Austria 2-0.

Next match will be the real thing. The 2 problems must be addressed immediately. On top of those, we still looked shaky against set plays and long lobs, hopefully there will be some tactical solutions. Bielsa will lob, that's what he does. We cannot just let him do what he wants. Losing to an Argentine exiles is unacceptable.