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Hard decisions indeed. I’ll dismiss you for now, but Paul Williams has a match report on the road that will expand the state of the game between now and the World Cup. Fifty-six days left.
Updated at 06.05 BST
Mitch Duke, currently playing in Japan with Fagiano Okayama, says “Graham Arnold has some tough decisions to make now”.
“I’m 31 now and this is my only chance to be on the plane for a World Cup and play a role,” he says. “That was my motivation. I feel I did well to earn more opportunities and I hope to get the final selection.”
I wonder what Arnold will take from these two matches. From two completely different lineups, he has to decide which 26 players he will take to Qatar 2022.
Captain Mat Leckie is speaking to Network 10.
“In general, the player group is a very inexperienced team in terms of caps,” he says. “But you see how much energy these guys have, and we need them to perform at this level because they are the type of players who are going to be the future for us.
“I’m sure he did [Arnold] he has a lot to think about in the coming months. I think this camp has been fantastic. Lots of new guys. And they have been very professional and have shown that they want to be here.”
Full time! New Zealand 0-2 Australia
90+3 min. Duke tries one last assault but the referee blows his whistle and that’s it for the two-game international series. Duke and Cummings had the goals at Eden Park and despite that flat first half, what we saw in the second half was really nice.
90+2 min As I’ve written Ben Old is in Australia’s danger zone and circling, looking to finish with a flourish, he steals a consolation as the time-out ticks down. Deng is the author.
91 min. Bell takes a free-kick from halfway to a third Australian with numbers behind the ball. Now it’s the Kiwis who can’t seem to create an opening. Redmayne again tries to calm his team. He flicks the ball upfield, Kuol finds Cummings in space and dribbles down the left for another cut-back and another decent chance.
88 min Kuol makes another raid, down the left and with sublime ease. The substitutions have upset the All Whites, they have shaken the rhythm of the game. Kuol is at the top of the box and moves the ball away from King, who makes a cut that his teammates can’t finish. And now Kuol creates another opportunity out of nowhere and shoots at the goal but from an acute angle. It takes a little too long to pull the trigger and Michael Boxall has it covered.
In the 84th minute Tuiloma takes a free-kick on the halfway line and Australia hits the ball into the corner near the Kiwi goal. Leckie is on the run and his first touch is excellent but the ball is going back and forth down the right side and neither team can keep possession.
Goal! New Zealand 0-2 Australia
80 minutes Can he score on debut? Yes, he can. It’s also punchy, slightly to the right while Sail dips to the left. This was a game passage, a bit of a goal-mouth. This second part is much more fun.
79 mins Everyone is everywhere in midfield at the moment. Cummings gets into promising areas but NZ pounce on the counter courtesy of Grieve. And now Kuol is off. He’s on his own and with a fantastic turn of pace, he effortlessly eludes Storm Roux and plays the ball back into play before unleashing a delicious ball that McGree reaches but takes a deflection. Cummings has another crack and crashes into Cacace’s hand before McGree takes another shot that rattles the inside of the crossbar and goes wide. But the Socceroos have a penalty and Cummings will do the honours.
Updated at 05.43 BST
75 mins Applause as Reid bids farewell, in his final international appearance after a fruitful career. A tifo offers thanks. For some reason, my lasting memory of him is of a visit to Wembley for West Ham’s 2012 Championship play-off final against Blackpool, which they won at the death.
73 mins A decent chat from the Kiwi crowd behind the Australia goal as does Kuol. He is 18 years old. He has not started an A-League game for Central Coast but has scored four goals in nine substitute appearances. His attractive display against Barcelona has fueled intense speculation about a move to Newcastle United, among other clubs, and this could be his chance to become a World Cup player.
70 minutes of opportunity! NZ almost equalize when Delbridge, in possession, knocks the ball past Waine. It rebounds to Grieve, who shoots and almost scores. Tilio enters the book for a crunching challenge on Waine, and fair enough.
And here you have it, the man you’ve been waiting for. Jason Cummings. The Scottish born forward known to himself as ‘Cumdog’.
67 min. The pressure goes straight to Cacace and eventually a foul is called, just before Redmayne is faced with a very long ball. Redders is echoing the words of Alex Greive, who has just been replaced by Just.
64 min. Genreau’s pass is picked off by Garbett and Deng has to go back to intervene. But the Socceroos hold their line high and keep the All Whites at bay. The subs are coming! Ryan Strain, Cam Devlin and Jason Cummings are ready and waiting for their triple international debut. Genreau, Atkinson and Duke say goodbye.
60 minutes The Socceroos are already in the thick of things. Tilio is becoming readily available, suddenly more like the real Tilio. He engages in a one-two with Duke before McGree climbs to Leckie.
Minute 57 Tilio finds Metcalfe behind him and little by little they return the ball to the defensive line, ready for the next attack. King wants a piece of this and runs into the overlap for a half chance.
Goal! New Zealand – Australia 0-1
54 mins This is much better from Australia. More intention I wonder what Arnold said at halftime. Joel King has the ball on the left flank and Connor Metcalfe is quick. Duke’s head is perfectly met with a pinpoint cross. It’s Duke’s eighth international goal and gives his team the lead they need.
52 min Genreau advances again, in a different way, dodging Bell who shuffles his feet. He only takes one pass but the Socceroos regain possession. McGree pushes the ball to Tilio with his left foot and Tilio, at the top of the box, fires it towards the goal in a much more convincing way than that shot in the first half.
Second half, let’s go!
48 min New Zealand start straight away in the first attack of the second 45. When will the first substitutions be made? Who will they be? Genreau has a foul and takes it with his boots replaced. It floats in and is spat back in and Australia recycle until Sail collects the ball.
That was… interesting. A couple of bright spots for Australia, but mistakes abound and attrition like the one we just witnessed won’t do the team any favors against World Cup group stage opponents like France and Denmark. Moments must be capitalized, opportunities must be taken. If this friendly is a training camp for younger players, we see Garang Kuol getting a chance to come off the bench before long.
Half time! New Zealand – Australia 0-0
45+1 min It was an inexplicable failure. Tilio is a talented player and he won’t be happy about that as both teams head to the sheds as a square at the break.
45 min Metcalfe does brilliant work in the middle with an interception before heading the ball to Duke, who runs into the right of the box. He was able to shoot himself, but instead brings Tilio closer to the penalty spot. He has to bury this from here. But he erases his line and, oh, that’s hard to watch. There will be one minute of added time.
43 mins Wayne is up, and a deep ball almost lands perfectly for him in the box only to be taken out on the spot. But Just is the man who could decide this game. And here he has an opportunity on the plate when the ball falls to him in front of the goal. He takes a shot and sends it well over the crossbar. Redmayne is giving the signal to his colleagues to calm down.
39 min As it stands, says Andy Harper on commentary, the All Whites are better prepared for the World Cup than the Socceroos, and they’re not the ones who have qualified. In the middle of the field it was difficult for him to mark his mark and defense to reach the break without conceding.
35 min Wood has made an early exit with an injury sustained in a previous match, in a blow to the Newcastle United striker. Ben Wayne takes his place and slips during a challenge in pursuit of an All Whites ball thrown into the Socceroos half.
Updated at 04.38 BST
33 mins This is a challenge for Australia. Apart from Leckie’s early half-chance, traffic has been mostly one-way. Visitors are forced to retreat to advance, but space is at a minimum. Genreau, Duke, Leckie, all stop in their tracks just as Genreau sits down to assess the boot, which appears to have snapped in half (or so).
29 mins They move the ball around for a while before a huge long ball across the field has Matthew Garbett chasing. Deng times his entry perfectly. It’s a big one, though, and Garbett hits the turf with some force.
26 mins Atkinson is back on the field, which is a relief for the Hearts defender not far from the start of the Scottish Premiership season. Denis Genreau and Connor Metcalfe are running some yards in midfield trying to cut off NZ’s supply. Australia have a throw-in but Marco Tilio is quickly closed down by Reid and Marko Stamenic has possession.
23 minutes After that, you might already be looking at some disconnection time in this first half. Los Blancos are having fun on the break so far, and that foray ends with the ball at the feet of Just, who flicks a speculative cross into the box. There are numbers to make it a goal, but Redmayne is there like I was at Mars Bars yesterday and smothered the ball…