Socceroos light up a supposedly meaningless friendly with fireworks
A team that was accused of coasting has just reminded everyone what it can do.
Nobody circled this fixture on their calendar. A friendly, played on a wet Tuesday in Brussels, was expected to attract polite applause and a routine draw.
Instead, Australia scored four times in the first 27 minutes and finished the game with the highest expected-goals figure any Socceroos side has posted this decade.
The signal
The coach, previously accused of pragmatism bordering on caution, deployed a genuinely attacking system — and it worked. The next World Cup qualifying window suddenly looks a great deal more interesting.
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