Australia and United Arab Emirates: How do Peru’s potential rivals play in the playoffs? | ANALYSIS

The jubilation for qualifying for the intercontinental playoff will last until at least June. This last week, the peruvian national team managed to secure fifth place in the South American Qualifiers and the joy has inevitably spread throughout the country. There are plenty of reasons to celebrate. However, the quota Qatar 2022 has not yet been finalized. On the horizon awaits the decisive duel against Australia o United Arab Emirates (UAE), two teams to take into account in these months.

Australians like the Emiratis are the ones who define the pass to face Peru in the playoffs.

Now, between our country and these two nations there are thousands of kilometers apart, but that does not prevent us from knowing how they play and what proposal both handle on the field. In this note we make an exhaustive analysis of the game of Australia and the United Arab Emirates, the protagonists of the Asian playoffs.

For this, we have the support of Ienzo Duartemember of AlterFootball, a portal that focuses on analyzing and disseminating football from little-followed latitudes in our region such as Asia, Africa, Oceania and the Caribbean. Also, we add the voice of jerry tamashiroPeruvian former soccer player who worked in the UAE technical command with Jorge Luis Pinto briefly in 2020.

Australia

System: . Although, in his last presentations he has used the 4-4-2 as a test, with the group already defined and based on the players he had available.

“It seems to me that he prefers the 4-2-3-1 because it gives him more defensive balance, and allows him to open the floor offensively”points out Ienzo Duarte.

Essence: Australia is a compact and direct team. He maintains the same style – old-fashioned English – that has allowed him to qualify for the last four World Cups.

“It is a slightly older English game than the one played now. Now everyone tries to play to have possession, but the one from Australia that we could see in the videos was a fast, direct game, with many centers, a football of physical corpulence, they win the second ball. They have a lot of dynamics, yes.”says Jerry Tamashiro.

“In general, Australia continues to have the same scheme: direct play, crosses, stopped ball, physical power, and one or another individual imbalance. There is not too much game of association. It’s more vertical, if anything.” complements Duarte.

Figures: Now, just because he doesn’t have much association in his game doesn’t mean the Socceros don’t have technique. In fact, “Australia have a lot of players in Europe. They are the base of the team.”Tamashiro points out.

Of course, but they are not the only ones that rivals should have mapped.

“There are several players with technical virtues, among which (Mathew) Leckie stands out, who overflows well and takes good crosses; Hrustic, who is a good offensive midfielder, (Aaron) Mooy at the defensive midfielder, or (Tom) Rogic as another offensive link.”indicates Duarte. “The offensive trident formed by Hrustic, Leckie and the striker —be it (Jamie) McLaren, (Mitchell) Duke or (Adam) Taggart— It’s what you have to watch out for.”Add.

although the vast majority (5) converted them in Round 2. Duke, meanwhile, had five goals overall, celebrating three goals in the final phase of the qualifier, one more than MacLaren.

Vulnerabilities: Although Australia can boast of being a goalscorer – they were the team that scored the most goals in their group, ahead of Saudi Arabia and Japan with 15 goals – they cannot boast of the same on a defensive level.

Graham Arnold’s side conceded nine goals in the last round of the Asian Qualifiers and a large part of those goals are due to a fairly weak record, both inside the box and outside it.

“The deficiencies are associated with the lack of a collective game scheme and they are criticized for their lack of defensive solidity. Of the games that I saw, when you play them at touch, at field level, and with collective plays, you can get them into trouble. In addition, sometimes they are vehement and that can cost them warnings and set pieces against “Duarte warns.

United Arab Emirates

System: In most of the Asian Qualifiers, the United Arab Emirates was managed by the Dutchman Bert van Marwijk, who used the same tactical system as Australia. However, in February 2022, the Argentine Rodolfo Arruabarrena took command of the team and has already led two games with two different formations.

First, Arruabarrena opted for a line of three on the back, four on the midfield and three on offense against Iraq, which did not work for him after losing 1-0.

Surely, Rodolfo Arruabarrena’s idea will be to repeat the formula —without taking many risks— against Australia in the Asian playoff, as well as against Peru if he manages to beat the ‘Socceroos’. Although, in these two months, the Emiratis will be able to test other tactical systems depending on what their new coach asks for. For now the scenario is imprecise.

Essence: With only two parties in charge, it is difficult to know the style and strategy that Arruabarrena proposes to implement in the United Arab Emirates.

“On offense, the three attacking midfielders alternate positions, and play triangle between them. who plays attacking center —usually (Ali) Mabkhout, but can also be (Caio) Canedo—tends to get between the central defenders and look for the filtered pass or wait for the pumped center ”points out Ienzo Duarte.

It is important to point out that the UAE has players with great technique and exquisite speed, who tend to overflow down the flanks and attack diagonally when the situation warrants it.

“Emirati football is more technical, he has players with good footing but the biotype is a small middle player and with more possession, more combinative game”says Jerry.

Figures: The United Arab Emirates does not have any footballer playing for a European club. In fact, absolutely all of them play in the local league. . Both have more than a hundred presences with the selection.

In fact, . Without a doubt, he is a dangerous player who cannot be neglected.

“He knows how to play very well with the ball at his feet. He controls passes behind the defense very well. And he is quick on the counter. He usually hits him from the right, but he has also scored good goals with his left foot. Inside the area he is not a denied; if he has space, he can break a defender and set the ball well. He doesn’t go into the air so much, but with space he has headed goals. He also hits it well from the edge of the area”Duarte describes.

It is also necessary to highlight the presence of Caio Canedo, who is one of the team’s main attack cards. And we can’t forget emerging figures like Harib Abdallah (19 years old), Mohamed Abbas (19 years old) and Ali Saleh (22 years old), who have added important minutes in recent games.

Vulnerabilities: According to what has been noticed in their last meetings,

“It seems to me a team that is not so strong physically (although they can be strong in the brand), with little international contact and that gives the ball a lot to rivals. His defense, despite grouping many men, seems vulnerable, so his goalkeeper sometimes becomes a figure “says Duarte.

In the same way, the UAE has a hard time scoring goals against higher-ranking teams. . Precisely, their only celebration was on the last date against the Koreans, who beyond the result (1-0) were the dominant players in the match, but many opportunities were lost.

In that sense, the rivals of the Arab team will have to be quite effective in front of goal to stay with the victory. AND

“I think you can attack him by opening the pitch, because the full-backs —or those who come to cover— They tend to make mistakes. The defense doesn’t seem very focused on set pieces. Another possibility is to try medium-distance shots (…) I would not recommend trying to pass until you enter the area, because that’s where a lot of people are grouped “points out Ienzo Duarte.

Which team is the favorite to face Peru?

The momentous meeting between Australia and United Arab Emirates It is scheduled to be played on June 7. Until then, there will be plenty of fine-tuning on both teams. The truth is that, at this point, either of them could win the duel and measure forces with Peru in the intercontinental playoff.

Of course, for Jerry Tamashiro, the ‘Socceroos’ have the forecasts in their favor. “Analyzing players, Australia it’s better, it’s the favourite”, value. For his part, Ienzo Duarte keeps more discretion and considers that no team has more options than another. That yes, he emphasizes that the fact that the scene of the meeting can influence, since “the climate and the public can play a little in favor of UAE”.

“In October of last year I could say that the favorite was Australia for the experience and competitiveness of its players, a squad that was known and that was also fighting inch by inch for direct classification. But today I do not dare to say who is the favourite”it says.