The Socceroos had almost everything go against them: a spate of injuries, a tough environment to play in, minimal preparation time. Ten minutes into the game, things started looking even worse, as Pim Verbeek was forced to sub Archie Thompson off after he picked up a calf injury.

But chances on both sides were few. China had several opportunities early on, but struggled to come up with the finishing touch. Australia had one excellent opportunity in the first half, Brett Holman laying up a pass for Marco Bresciano, who could do little more than kick it straight at the Chinese ‘keeper. But in all, this was a rather pedestrian match.

The second half saw China emerge stronger, although their work in the final third continued to be their downfall. Lucas Neill and Jade North were excellent in defense, and Mark Schwarzer had relatively little to do. Until the 89th minute, that is.

China’s coach, Vladimir Petrovic, had brought on three substitutes in the first half hour of the second period – undoubtedly an attempt to capitalise on any Australian players struggling with the altitude. And it looked to have paid off, with substitute Qu Bo running into the penalty area and stealing a dubious penalty. “It’s Italy all over again”, somebody at the pub said.

Not quite. A beautiful Schwarzer save brought on the biggest cheer of the game. There could have been bigger cheers a minute later when Bresciano broke free in the box and crossed it to David Carney, but Carney barely connected. A few minutes later, it was game over.

On paper, China away looked like the toughest match in the group stage, especially with the injuries and elevation working against the Socceroos. A win would have been glorious, but a 0-0 draw felt like a victory.

Views from other blogs:

• Confessions of an A-League Junkie
• The Round Ball Analyst
• The Football Tragic

Players have been dropping like flies: Tim Cahill, Josh Kennedy, Scott McDonald, Brett Emerton, Mile Sterjovski, Bruce Djite. John Aloisi was not added to the squad, apparently due to a knee injury. Not was Mark Viduka, who must have pen poised to sign his international retirement.

Harry Kewell will be available, and he will be wearing the captain’s armband. While there are still doubts about his fitness and ability to give a solid ninety minutes, Kewell will be of central importance tonight. With so many of our first team squad missing – especially up front – Kewell is China’s greatest threat.

The run of injuries has paved the way for Archie Thompson to break into the first team squad, perhaps as a sole striker. With Josh Kennedy missing, Australia lacks a strong aerial threat up front.

It all looks rather ominous, doesn’t it? After Melbourne’s loss last Wednesday against Chonburi FC, and the Socceroos’ 0-0 draw with Singapore on the weekend, I am left feeling rather pessimistic about tonight. Pim Verbeek, on the other hand, is a little more hopeful. About the run of injuries, he said yesterday:

“These things can happen… but we still have enough players to win the game and that’s what we’re going for.”

My tip: China 1, Australia 1
Your tip?

Midway through the first half, I thought one word could describe the Socceroos’ drubbing of Qatar: Clinical.

It seemed too easy. Qatar may have come out with a 5 man defense, but the Australians were finding holes with little trouble.

In the end, it was the Socceroos’ aerial assault that killed Qatar. Josh Kennedy nailed his first header in the 10th minute; 7 minutes later, Tim Cahill doubled the lead with another well-placed header. By then, it felt like the contest was over. Qatar had had minimal possession and rarely proved threatening.

Marco Bresciano’s goal in the 32nd minute only confirmed what was already obvious: Australia had its first three points in the bag.

After the break, Qatar emerged with two fresh faces and a less defensive formation. An obvious move, considering. But it turned the game into a much more even affair, as the Socceroos noticeably reduced the pressure. Qatar’s passing improved and they were able to maintain posession – but outright chances were still rare.

Qatar may have been beaten, but they’re far from gone in this World Cup qualification campaign. A 1-1 draw in the other Group A match between Iraq and China (more) keeps Qatar just a point behind 2nd place.

Australia’s next qualifier is on March 26, when they play China, a match reportedly to be played at an altitude of 1900 metres to give the Chinese an advantage.

What about the Chinese media? I’ve searched through some P2P program guides for Chinese channels and come up with nothing. As far as I can tell, the game against Tianjin Teda will also not be on TV, be it Aussie or Chinese.

That said, if you know something I don’t, feel free to leave a comment and let the rest of us know how we can follow the game on Saturday night.

It is great that Melbourne had the chance to play this match, but it is most unfortunate that the Victory could not cobble together even the most basic form of coverage. At the very least, surely it would have been feasible to get someone to SMS in some updates? After building up significant hype, it is a disappointing outcome for the die-hard fans.

But of course, if you know otherwise, please let us know by leaving a comment.

In any case, I thought it would be a fitting time for a pre-match roundup. This game is a friendly, and Merrick has pointed out that the result doesn’t matter. The Chinese are more likely to care about obtaining a win than we are: with the Asian Cup just a few days away, they will be keen to gain confidence from a solid win tonight. A loss would hurt us, but it would hurt them more.

The Victory squad is by no means its A-team. New recruits Kaz Patafta and Matthew Kemp will both get their first game, the latter buffering up the defence while Patafta will join Caceres and Allsopp up front to give Melbourne a three-pronged attack. The midfield will have to do without Brebner, who’s injured – but tall man Ljubo Milicevic, normally a central defender, will step up to support Muscat and Pantelidis in the midfield. Theoklitos keeps his spot in goals.

The fact that Milicevic is being put in midfield is somewhat telling, as it means that the Leijer/Vargas combo will once again be at the centre of the Victory defence, with Keenan and Kemp filling out the flanks. One of the questions this season will be whether Leijer and Vargas manage to keep their central spots, given the crowding of defensive players after the signings of Milicevic, Keenan and Kemp. Players are going to have to work very hard to earn their place in defence.

Well, we hope so. Victory chairman Geoff Lord has already been in touch with SBS regarding the proposal. From the Age:

“To my knowledge, this is the first time any Australian club side has organised a game like this against a national team like China,” he said. “I think it’s an absolutely outstanding promotional opportunity from the City of Melbourne’s point of view.

“They could do a trade promotion around the game and use it to generate business and advertise Victoria. The game will be shown live throughout China, and the television audience is vast. I would like it to be shown live here too.

“We would hope to make this an annual event and build on the links we establish this year.”

Fingers crossed. If football is to grow in Australia, it’s going to require much better exposure from free-to-air TV.