The 30-year-old had already contributed two goals in limited minutes during this phase of qualification, including one in the first meeting between Australia and China back in September, and boasts an impressive goals-per-game ratio at the international level.
Nominally, Duke was the obvious choice to come into the XI for a team that had failed to find the back of the net from open play in 180 minutes against Japan and Saudi Arabia.
Mat Leckie was shifted out to the left (where he will play for new club Melbourne City this season), Awer Mabil was relegated to the substitutes bench and Mitchell Duke was placed at the top of the side's attack. One of these alterations was forced - Milos Degenek replaced Harry Souttar in the heart of Australia's defence after the towering defender's devastating ACL injury against Saudi Arabia - while the other was more philosophical. The teamsheet that emerged in the hours ahead of Tuesday's game, with just two changes, reinforced that the pragmatism would continue until results improved. It was a focus on outcomes rather than process. Those words continued the refrain the Socceroo boss had taken up in the immediate aftermath of the Saudi fixture - the "draw that we should have won" - in which he reflected ruefully not on the nature of play that had proceeded a high volume of half-chances (at best), but that one of these chances hadn't found its way into the back of the net and, in doing so, changed the complexion of the game in his side's favour.
"Out of those 13 games, we're holding a world record with 11 straight wins, we've had one draw that we should have won and just one loss." "We've played 13 games," Arnold mused in his pre-game media conference on Monday. 11, ESPN's Ante Jukic took note of the increasingly outcome-dependent approach that Arnold was taking to his task of guiding Australia's men, asking the question if his "tried-and-tested system, a lack of tactical flexibility and a pragmatic ideological approach that only amplifies under duress" would, or even could, be set aside to adapt to the changing circumstances ahead of the side or doubled down on.Ĭonsidering Arnold's comments before the game, his squad decisions and, finally, the way that his side actually played Wednesday morning's draw gave the first indication that it is the latter. But given the prevailing circumstances, it also served as an important litmus test for their approach.įollowing his side's draw with Saudi Arabia on Nov. Knowing that anything less than a win would open the door for Japan to overhaul them for one of Group B's two automatic qualification spots for next year's World Cup, and coming up against what was nominally one of the weakest sides left in Asian qualifying, the contest at the Sharjah Stadium - China are still forced to stage "home" fixtures at neutral venues due to quarantine requirements in the country - bore significant real-world ramifications for the Socceroos. China puts World Cup qualification in doubtĪustralia's quest to secure a fifth straight appearance at a men's World Cup has begun to show dangerous signs of burnout, as coach Graham Arnold's side put forth their third uninspiring result in a row with a 1-1 draw with China in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Japan world cup 3 barrel horse ever win upgrade#
Toss the horse the ball and see which hoop it gets closest to and choose that name.You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browserĪustralia's pragmatism vs. You've seen those videos of horses playing with giant balls, right? Have some hoola hoops laid out around the paddock, each one designating a different name. Pop the balloon to reveal the winning name. Repeat until there is only one balloon left. Then get your horse to poke a balloon with it's nose. Blow up the balloons with helium and tie them to the fence. Write down names on strips of paper and place one in each balloon. Whichever carrot he or she crunches down on first is the winner. Tie a string with a name on it to the top of each carrot, then offer them to your horse. You'll be able to say "My horse chose his/her own name!' and will make for a great story to share! however there are some fun ways to get them involved in the naming process. Horses are smart, but they probably won't be telling you directly which name they like best.