Australia "Self-Destructs", Asian Teams All Eliminated

Written by Han Bing Regular time 1-1, penalty shootout 2-4, Australia lost to Egypt, stopping in the round of 32. This marks their third time reaching the World Cup knockout stages, all ending in defeat. Australia's elimination also signals the complete exit of all Asian teams.

In the 2014 World Cup Round of 16, Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal took a risk by substituting backup goalkeeper Tim Krul just before the penalty shootout. The gamble paid off as Krul saved two penalties, helping the Netherlands advance to the semi-finals. Four years ago in the intercontinental playoffs for World Cup qualification, Australia also changed goalkeepers before the penalty shootout and won. However, this morning, Australia once again changed goalkeepers before the penalties, but the substituted "penalty specialist" Ryan failed to save any, and the team missed two spot-kicks, ultimately being eliminated.

Coach Popovic's bold move was inspired by the intercontinental playoffs four years ago. Then-coach Arnold substituted Ryan before the penalty shootout, bringing on the "dancing goalkeeper" Redmayne, known for his constant jumping, arm-waving, and even spinning to distract opponents. Although Ryan was also a good penalty saver, opponents had some understanding of his habits. Arnold aimed to catch them off guard, preparing the secret switch for six weeks without even Ryan knowing.

Redmayne not only danced around to disrupt Peru's penalty takers' mindset but also secretly threw away Peru goalkeeper Gallese's water bottle, which had notes on Australian players' penalty habits taped to it. As a result, Peru's Advíncula missed a penalty, and Barrella's spot-kick was saved by Redmayne, allowing Australia to qualify for the World Cup for the fifth consecutive time.

This morning in Arlington, the Socceroos conceded a goal in the 14th minute. In the 54th minute, they forced an own goal from Egyptian defender Hany through a free-kick to equalize. Neither team scored in extra time, leading to a penalty shootout.

Popovic emulated Van Gaal and Arnold by substituting Ryan just before the penalties. Since 2012, Ryan has faced 30 penalties in his career, saving 12, a success rate of 40%. In June last year, during a World Cup qualifying match against Saudi Arabia, he saved a penalty from Salem Al-Dawsari in stoppage time to secure three points. In the 2019 Asian Cup Round of 16 against Uzbekistan, he saved two penalties in the shootout to help Australia advance to the quarter-finals. Earlier this year in La Liga, he also saved penalties from Mbappé and Romero.

Ryan's sudden appearance caught the Egyptian coaching staff off guard. They could only hastily find a video of Ryan saving Mbappé's penalty for the players to "cram." Psychologically, Australia had the upper hand, but Popovic overlooked another decisive factor in penalty shootouts: his own takers. Twelve years ago, besides Krul's heroics, the Netherlands' first four penalty takers—Van Persie, Robben, Sneijder, and Kuyt—were all experienced finishers, scoring all four. Four years ago, when Australia defeated Peru, the first six penalty takers, except midfielder Mooy, were also forwards with better shooting skills.

However, this time Popovic's first four penalty takers included only one forward, Mabil. The first taker, defender Souttar, missed the target. Most baffling was the fourth taker: 18-year-old defender Herrington. Herrington, of Finnish, German, and Zimbabwean descent, only made his national team debut this year. Inexperience and immense pressure led to his penalty hitting the post, ending Australia's hopes of reaching the Round of 16. Ryan failed to save a single penalty and was even fooled by Salah's Panenka kick.

Unlike Van Gaal and Arnold's meticulous planning, Popovic admitted after the match that the goalkeeper substitution was a spontaneous decision. He only realized during the final moments of extra time that a substitution was still possible, and Ryan's penalty-saving ability was stronger than starter Gauci's.

Like Ryan four years ago, Gauci only learned he would miss the penalty shootout when he saw the substitution notice on the big screen, just moments after he had made a crucial save to deny Egypt a goal. Popovic is known for frequent substitutions, but this match was the first time in his 22 games as coach that he kept the same starting lineup. Yet he made the most unexpected substitution just before the penalties, bringing on a player who had not played a single minute.

Although midfielder Irvine revealed after the game that the list of penalty takers was decided long before and they had practiced penalties, Australian media and fans still demanded Popovic explain such a hasty arrangement. Former Australian women's national team star Walsh expressed bewilderment at having two defenders take penalties. Australian media viewed such an important tactical change without prior planning as amateurish. The illogical arrangement of penalty takers, combined with the poor execution, constituted a double error that led to Australia's elimination.

With Australia's exit, all nine Asian teams at the World Cup in the US, Canada, and Mexico are eliminated from the Round of 16. Four years ago in Qatar, Japan, South Korea, and Australia advanced. The last time no Asian team reached the Round of 16 was the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Thirty-two years ago, when the US last hosted the World Cup, only two Asian teams participated, and Saudi Arabia made the Round of 16. Now, with nine teams, all have failed to advance, a stark and regrettable outcome.