Dead rubber. The two most depressing words in the World Cup lexicon. But Australia leave the tournament with their heads held high.
They’ve lost both of their opening matches. They will be missing key figures as the coach seeks to blood inexperienced newcomers over old favourites. And then they’ll be catching the plane home. And so will Australia.
You really couldn’t make it up, could you? The smart money would have always have been on this being a dead rubber, but only because Australia were expected to be out at this stage, and Spain would have their eyes fixed on the second round.
Instead, Spain underperform and leave wearing the bewildered expression of someone who’s just had their pocket picked. In contrast, Australia leave with their reputation for tough resistance intact, a serious contender for goal of the tournament (Tim Cahill’s volley against Holland showing that he left the Premier League far too soon) and a justifiable claim that, but for a bit of luck, things could have been so different.
“There’s only one intent… and that’s to try and win it,” Australia coach Ange Postecoglou told the Sydney Morning Herald ahead of this, the first ever match-up between the two sides. They’ll have to win it without Cahill, who’s suspended, and they’ll have to beat a Spain side who surely can’t lose a third game on the spin. But if they do, Australia will finish ahead of the World Champions. As consolation prizes go, that’s not a bad one.
You can watch Spain v Australia live on ITV or listen on BBC Radio 5 live, kick off 5pm, Monday 23 June.
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