The Socceroos smashed a dire Oman to register a confidence-boosting 5-0 victory on Sunday in their final warm-up match before their Asian Cup defence begins.
Andrew Nabbout, Chris Ikonomidis, Awer Mabil, Milos Degenek and Jackson Irvine all found the back of the net in what proved to be little more thaan a glorified training run at the Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium in Dubai, where Australia will return for their second Group B fixture against Palestine on January 11.
Coached by former Socceroos boss Pim Verbeek, Oman were disappointing and offered very little resistance, at least early on. They had conceded just five goals in their previous 14 games but went to water in the first half, leaking three in just 14 minutes as the Socceroos enjoyed a whopping 65 per cent of possession.
Going forward, Oman didn't do nearly enough to test Australia's defence, so there was no true insight into how they might cope if and when they eventually meet some of Asia's top teams in the Asian Cup. But Graham Arnold, Verbeek's former assistant, will surely still chalk it up as a sign they are headed in the right direction.
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It was also hard to glean too much from the starting team. Arnold had foreshadowed his intent to field players who had not been as involved with their clubs and needed match minutes, but there appeared to be a hint of the spine that could be rolled out in Australia's opening match against Jordan in Al Ain next Sunday.
Jackson Irvine was one of five Socceroos to find the back of the net against Oman.Credit:AP
Europe-based regulars like Mathew Ryan, Trent Sainsbury, Robbie Kruse and Aziz Behich were there, but skipper Mark Milligan was deployed in midfield, not at centre-back where he has played in recent times, with Massimo Luongo and Irvine both on the bench and Milos Degenek next to Sainsbury at the back.
Mustafa Amini was the other holding midfielder, while Chris Ikonomidis was named in attacking midfield but rotated regularly with left winger Kruse. Rhyan Grant, meanwhile, was given the nod at right-back over Josh Risdon but had a moment to forget in the first half when he committed a foul throw.
Arnold takes no chances with Rogic
The only two names from the 23-man squad not on the teamsheet were the injured Mathew Leckie (hamstring) and Tom Rogic, whose knee flared up after his flight to Dubai and had trained lightly away from the rest of his teammates on Saturday.
Tom Rogic's injury flared on the flight to Dubai, sidelining him. His absence in Scotland for the Old Firm derby did not go unnoticed among Celtic fans.Credit:EPA
Rogic's absence riled Celtic fans on social media, who were still angry that he wasn't allowed to stay in Scotland to play in the Old Firm derby, which Rangers won 1-0. The Scottish Sun described it as 'A Kick in the Oz" but Arnold was clearly taking no risks with his star playmaker a week out from the Asian Cup.
Nabbout started at the point of attack and also opened the scoring in the 10th minute. It was an absolute gift, with Omani right-back Saad Al Mukhaini chesting a long ball ball directly to him, but it was one Nabbout accepted most gratefully.
Ikonomidis made it 2-0 four minutes later with a neat finish that went in off the post for his debut international goal, while Mabil nabbed his second in the 24th minute.
They were Australia's only three shots on target before half-time. The next was also from Mabil, who pinged a great free kick on target in the 58th minute that was tipped over the bar by Faiyz Al Rusheidi.
From the resulting corner taken by Ikonomidis, Degenek somehow guided the ball into the back of the net with a terrific no-look finish to also score his first goal for the Socceroos.
Arnold then turned to his subs, sending on Luongo, Jamie Maclaren, Martin Boyle, Irvine, Alex Gersbach and Matthew Jurman throughout the second stanza as Australia retained full command of the contest.
Irvine added the final flourish in the 89th minute, with a gentle touch allowing him to control a great firm pass from Gersbach before thumping it in.
Vince is a sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.
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