Arnold's Socceroos make a bright start but tough tests on horizon

ANALYSIS: Graham Arnold has every reason to be pleased with the Socceroos' comfortable win over Kuwait in his first match as national coach.

Australia, who will defend their AFC Asian Cup title in the United Arab Emirates in January, ran out 4-0 winners in a friendly international in Kuwait City which proved to be a mismatch.

All eyes were on the Socceroos as they sought to rebound from their 2018 FIFA World Cup campaign and to a degree the team showed a refreshing attacking intent against a team that are ranked 159th in the world.

Lining up in a well-defined 4-3-3 formation, the Australians were nearly always in control with Robbie Kruse in sparkling form and reminding us of what a great attacker he was a few years ago before serious injuries started to take a toll on his confidence.

He was here, there and everywhere although nominally he started as a left-sided striker.

Tom Rogic, who played in midfield, also showed touches of high class in the middle of the park and capped a satisfying evening by nonchalantly slotting home a late goal.

Central striker Apostolos Giannou will also cherish his first international goal after he veered in front of his marker to meet a cross from Jackson Irvine and confidently place the ball into the net. 

The most significant aspect of the match however came very late in the game when substitute Awer Mabil, the Kenya-born striker who was once a south Sudanese refugee, made his Socceroos debut and crowned his memorable moment with a well taken shot from the outside of his right foot that found the bottom corner of the Kuwaiti net.

Fellow debutant Thomas Deng - who also is a former Kenya-born south Sudanese refugee - was the first to congratulate Mabil who then made it a point to run towards Arnold to hug the man that had just given him the chance to show what he can do on the international stage.

Arnold has been in the game long enough not to get carried away with the emphatic victory.

Not necessarily because Kuwait were extremely poor, having just emerged from a two-year hibernation after being banned by FIFA due to government intervention in the sport.

But because for long periods of the match the Socceroos did not create too much in terms of scoring chances.

Much has been said about Australia's lack of finishing power but alarmingly the team this time were also guilty of playing poor final balls when goals were beckoning.

Mathew Leckie, who was by far Australia's best player in the World Cup in Russia, has only just started playing for his club after suffering a knee injury in pre-season.

He was in poor touch all night and hopefully he will regain his zip with more games for Hertha Berlin because Arnold will need him badly in the Asian Cup.

It is too early to tell if Arnold will stick with three strikers or resort to four in the middle against the tougher teams he will face in the UAE but it is probably safe to assume that he will stay with four at the back who were generally untroubled by the Kuwait attack.

All in all it was a decent performance from a coach and group of players that are keen to make the green and gold the focal point of the game in Australia, a team everybody can be proud of.

It is always heartening to be able to talk about pure football because it's what fans are really interested in.

It beats the hell out of those boring Football Federation Australia or A-League shenanigans between wealthy men in suits.

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