DOHA
Graham Arnold warned his Australia team that they must be better despite launching their Asian Cup title charge with an ultimately comfortable 2-0 win over India on Saturday. In front of a vocal pro-Indian crowd of 36,253 at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Doha, Australia made hard work of the first half, squandering a few decent chances while the underdogs defended raggedly and eyed opportunities on the break.
Jackson Irvine opened the scoring just after the restart, the moustachioed midfielder driving home from 10 yards after India goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu came for a cross only to flap it back into the danger zone. And 2015 Asian champions Australia were in full control from then on, as Indian legs tired and Arnold took advantage of the depth in his squad.
Jordan Bos deservedly doubled Australia’s advantage shortly after the 70th minute.
A matter of seconds after coming off the bench, the 21-year-old slotted home from six yards after fellow substitute Riley McGree fizzed the ball hard and low across the box from the byline.
A mostly unremarkable contest offered one moment of regional football history, as Japan’s Yoshimi Yamashita became the first woman to referee at an Asian Cup.
Australia were among the pre-tournament favourites but Arnold said there was room for improvement ahead of their next Group ‘B’ match, against Syria.
The Socceroos coach was especially disappointed with their set pieces, which a physically imposing Australia have made a trademark threat.
“I can honestly say that we have got to improve a lot more than that,” said Arnold, who took Australia to the knockout phase of the World Cup in Qatar, where they lost 2-1 to eventual champions Argentina. “One disappointment was set pieces… it’s something we need to improve on, and we will.”
Later, China opened their campaign with a 0-0 draw against debutants Tajikistan, heaping more embarrassment on a country rocked by a football graft scandal at home.
Finalists in 2004, China were largely outplayed by the 106th-ranked team in the world but were left fuming after a late header from Zhu Chenjie was ruled out for offside following a VAR intervention.
