Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Chillan: Australia must wait until the end of the group stage to see if they have done enough to book a place in the Round of 16 as one of the four best third-placed teams after a 2-1 win over Argentina on Saturday put them in contention for a place in the next phase.
The Joeys went into their final Group C fixture with just a solitary point after their 4-1 opening defeat to Germany was followed by a goalless draw with Mexico.
Needing nothing less than a win to rhave any realistic chance of progress in the competition, Australia took the lead midway through the first-half at the Estadion Nelson Oyarzun Arenas when Nicholas Panetta scored the first of his double from a perfectly executed set play, side-footing past Argentina goalkeeper Franco Petroli in the 25th minute after Josh Hope had knocked Jackson Bandiera’s deep free kick into his path.
Panetta doubled Australia’s advantage seven minutes into the second half with a superb volley before Argentina reduced the deficit 15 minutes later through a cooly-converted Tomas Conechny penalty, which French referee Ruddy Buquet awarded after Lucas Pizzatti was tripped in the box by midfielder Charlie Devereux.
Argentina fought hard in an effort to avoid a hat-trick of defeats but Tony Vidmar’s side held on for the win that saw them finish in third place with four points, two behind Germany and three shy of the total set by Mexico, who took top spot in the table after defeating the Germans 2-1 in Saturday’s other Group C fixture.
“I had no doubts in my team, but I think no one expected Australia to get four points in this group and probably there were some other people in Australia thinking the same,” said former Socceroos’ defender Vidmar.
“But as I said before the beginning of the tournament, we have a lot of faith. This team has commitment and desire. Today it was the first time that many players were in a stressful situation like this, and they were a little bit nervous during the first half, but they overcame it. I have to give also credit to Argentina in the second half because they made it difficult.”
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