Chapter 80 - Australia (2)

"Hello everyone, I'm Hoshino Sakamaki and Mr. Shimura Izunomiya will accompany you to this event. This time we bring you the 2014 world cup qualifier fourth round group b between Japan and Australia," Hoshino Sakamaki, the presenter of sports on TvTokyo greeted the audience.

Shimura Izunomiya is one of the match analyzers owned by TvTokyo. In this match, he will help Hoshino in analyzing the match between the Japanese national team against Australia.

"What do you think about this match, Mr. Shimura?"

"I think it will be a very exciting match. In the previous match, Australia was only able to draw against Oman, while our national team was able to beat Jordan with a score of 9-1. Australia has only played one game, which is different from us, who have played 2 times. To not get negative results in a row, Australia needs a win in this match. But it's not an easy thing to achieve that."

Hoshino nodded his head seriously. He then asked again, "Who do you think players from both teams will be the key to this match?"

"From the Japanese national team, I think Kazuki will be an influential player in this match. He plays in the English league, one of the toughest leagues in the world, and he has scored a lot of goals. This young man should be used to facing defenders with extraordinary physical abilities like those owned by Australian players.

Meanwhile, on the Australian side Tim Cahill will be a key player in this match, he played for Everton and once faced Kazuki. He is also a very experienced player against the Japanese national team."

"Okay, then let's see the starting lineup of the two teams.

Australia uses a 4-2-3-1 formation, a mainstay of Australia's formation.

Goalkeepers: Mathew Ryan;

Defenders: Ryan McGowan, Alex Wilkinson, Matthew Spiranović, Jason Davidson;

Defensive midfielders: Mile Jedinak, Matt McKay

Attacking midfielders: Tommy Oar, Mark Bresciano, Mathew Leckie;

Front: Tim Cahill

On the other hand, Japan uses a 4-3-3 formation.

Goalkeeper: Kawashima

Defenders: Uchida, Yoshida, Konno, Nagatomo;

Midfielders: Yamaguchi, Keisuke Honda, Hasebe;

Front: Kagawa, Okazaki, Kazuki

That's the formation and the players that both coaches fielded. Then let's see how the first half match between the two teams goes."

Australia started the first half kick-off. Cahill gave the ball to Bresciano, then Bresciano returned the ball to Cahill. After that, Cahill kicked the ball back and Australia began to adjust their position.

Japan uses a high backline, their defender line went up when the forwards pressed Australia's backline. So there is no space between the lines that Australia could take advantage of. Even so, the Australian national team tried to take advantage of their advantages in aerial duels by sending long passes. Too bad, as soon as Cahill got the ball, Yoshida immediately tackled Cahill, so Australia only got a free-kick from the middle of the field.

At the beginning of the first half, both teams were still playing at a fairly slow tempo. But as soon as the time entered the 5th minute, Japan started to have the ball. Short passes between players began to be made to dismantle the Australian defense.

In midfield, Hasebe who just got the ball suddenly fell after getting a push from Bresciano. Australia did indeed commit offense after violation to disrupt the rhythm of Japan's play. Of course, they are also smart enough to never commit a serious foul, so the referee doesn't award cards to the Australian players.

In the 8th minute, McKay snatched the ball roughly from the feet of Okazaki. The referee did not blow his whistle, so Australia immediately launched a counterattack. McKay provided a pass to Australian right-back Ryan McGowan. The player dribbled the ball forward, but Kazuki chased after him and interfered with McGowan. A distracted McGowan accidentally dropped the ball a bit into the middle. Yamaguchi immediately went up and took the ball.

McKay ran to Yamaguchi and made a tackle. Yamaguchi managed to survive the tackle by McKay. He then gave the pass forward. Okazaki dropped to pull Australian center-back Alex Wilkinson forward. He then returned the ball to Hasebe who was penetrating the Australian defense. Hasebe dribbled the ball into the Australian penalty box and then provided the pass to Kagawa. Kagawa immediately made the first time shoot, but Spiranovic managed to block the ball with his foot. The ball bounced off the field.

In the 12th minute, Wilkinson managed to snatch the ball from the Hasebe feet, He then passed the ball to Australian left-back Jason Davidson. Kagawa went up and put pressure on Davidson, so Davidson gave the ball to Jedinak. The Australian defensive midfielder then kicked the ball hard to provide a long pass forward. Bresciano stepped forward and held the ball with his chest, then he kicked the ball to the right. Tommy Oar dribbled the ball, which was blocked by Nagatomo.

Tommy Oar brought the ball to the side of the court and pushed the ball hard. Then he ran after the ball. Nagatomo also ran to catch Tommy Oar, but Tommy stretched his arms and made it difficult for Nagatomo to catch Tommy. After that, Tommy gave a cross into the penalty box. Cahill ran and headed the ball hard. The ball hit the post and bounced off the field.

Cahill held his head, he regretted missing such a good opportunity. Even so, he gave a thumbs-up to Tommy who had crossed him. The Australian national team supporters also looked disappointed by Cahill's failure, but they soon gave the Australian national team another boost.

In the 19th minute, Japan got a free-kick after Kazuki was fouled by Spiranovic in front of the penalty box. At the free-kick, this time, Kazuki would be the executor. The reason was that the position of the ball was so fitting for Kazuki's free-kick. At the free-kick, this time Kazuki wanted to try a new style.

After the Australian national team built a human wall with the tallest players, they allowed the referee to blow the whistle. The referee then blew his whistle, the Australian players who became a living wall immediately jumped, the reason, because Kazuki's free kicks were often straight and so strong that they had to immediately block the free kick with their bodies.

However, they didn't know, Kazuki had learned another style of the free-kick, he kicked the ball letting the ball roll past under the feet of the jumping Australian players. The ball went fast and went into the goalpost. Australia goalkeeper Mathew Ryan didn't react, as he didn't expect Kazuki to take such a free-kick.

The referee immediately blew the whistle, the goal was legal.. The Japanese national team players immediately celebrated in front of thousands of Australian national team supporters, who were disappointed to see their favorite team concede the first goal.