Australia defeated the Czech Republic 4-0 and gained confidence for the 2018 World Cup in Russia with a good performance from forwards Mathew Leckie and Andrew Nabbout, who began to put an end to the debate about the presence of veteran Tim Cahill in his fourth World Cup.
The team managed by Dutchman Bert van Marwijk, which is in Group C of the World Cup with Peru, France, and Denmark, had not played a friendly since March 27 when they drew 0-0 against Colombia in London. This match took place three months after the resignation of Ange Postercoglou, who left the Australian bench for personal reasons after qualifying for Russia 2018 through the playoffs.
Since then, with van Marwijk in charge, the Oceanian team has had to overcome some setbacks, such as the accusation of including 38-year-old Tim Cahill in the preliminary 26-man list for the World Cup for commercial reasons, instead of Jamie Maclaren, who had a good season with Hibernian in Scotland.
Van Marwijk kept the all-time leading goal scorer for Australia, with 50 goals, on the bench. Cahill had no chance to prove himself and earn a spot in the final 23-man list that his coach will announce next Sunday. His fourth World Cup appearance is in doubt, and he needed some minutes against the Czech Republic.
The Central European team, which has been going through a revamp since the 2016 European Championship, when veteran players like Tomas Rosicky, Petr Cech, David Lafata, and Jaroslav Plasil left the national team, is still trying to rebuild a squad in the midst of renewal. They will not be participating in the World Cup in Russia, so they are preparing to fight for qualification in the next one.
That's why the Czech team, eager to please, stepped onto the field with more desire than Australia, who was overwhelmed during the first half-hour and was fortunate not to be trailing due to the missed chances by their opponents in front of goal.
The best opportunity for the Czech Republic in the first half came close to the half-hour mark, when Antonín Barak sent a shot over the goal defended by Mathew Ryan even though he was practically right in front of the Australian goal.
That was the best chance in the entire first half, almost the only one with which they could confirm their dominance. And in football, when you miss, you often pay the price. Australia took advantage of this in the fifteen minutes in which they shook off the Czech Republic's pressure.
Australia only needed one attack down the left wing by Robbie Kruse that ended up at the feet of Mathew Leckie, who comfortably scored the only goal of the match in the first 45 minutes. With that goal, a reward that was excessive for the Oceanian team, a dull first half ended in which the Czechs had the upper hand, but the Australians obtained an undeserved reward.
Van Marwijk's men maintained their positive momentum in the second half and quickly regained the lead thanks to a good play by Andrew Nabbout, who fought off defenders inside the Czech box to make it 2-0.
Although the Czech Republic tried to come back and even had a couple of opportunities through Vladimir Darida, in a good play by Aaron Mooy that Leckie failed to capitalize on, the match was over with 18 minutes remaining and nothing else happened except for a unfortunate own goal by Jakob Jugas.
In the end, with effective football, Australia strengthened their squad in the first of the two friendlies they will play before the World Cup. Leckie's brace and Nabbout's goal reinforced the Australian attack, and Cahill, who did not play a single minute, has a better chance of being one of the three selected players who will not go to the World Cup.
Australia vs Czech Republic | Lineups
Australia: Ryan; Risdon (Degenek, min. 76), Miligan, Sainsbury, Behich; Luongo, Rogic (Irvine, min. 66), Mooy; Leckie (Arzani, min. 84), Nabbout (McLarena, min. 61), Kruse (Petratos, min. 73).
Czech Republic: Koubek, Boril, Kalas, Jugas, Novak; Husbauer, Barak (Sykora, min. 57), Darida; Schick (Sural, min. 76), Kopic (Horava, min. 83), and Krmencik (Jankto, min. 46).