Another VAR moment
Maybe the Argentinians ought to borrow Mile Jedinak from Australia for tonight's match against Croatia. The Australian has scored from the spot 12 times in as many attempts for his national team. And it was his latest attempt, after a VAR-consulted penalty, that brought Australia level with Denmark who had taken a lead in the seventh minute through a superbly struck Christian Eriksen half-volley goal during the Group C match at the Samara Arena today that ended in a 1-1 draw.
The game was hinging at a balance in the opening minutes. However, that balance was disturbed when Christian Eriksen struck a phenomenal half-volley in the seventh minute after superb ball control by Jorgensen who dinked the ball into Eriksen's path who let the ball bounce once before firing it beyond the Australian goalkeeper Mat Ryan's reach.
Denmark settled nicely into the game after drawing first blood and controlled the ball from the midfield. The Australians showed urgency and tried to break but couldn't do anything concrete about it. However, the play sort of changed in the last 10-15 minutes when Australia looked better in the offence, more ordered. Their midfield, especially Rogic and Leckie offered a lot and that paid off in the 35th minute when Denmark's Poulsen left a stray hand dangling inside the penalty area. The referee consulted VAR after appeals of handball and pointed to the spot where Australia's penalty expert Jedinak rolled the ball to the bottom left corner while the goalkeeper the wrong way.
The Socceroos continued in the second half from where they left off, continuously probing Denmark's final third. Arzani was brought to the game in the 70th minute and the substitute looked to make an impact within minutes of entering the field as he looked for the top corner from outside the box but narrowly missed. In the 87th minute, Schmeichel made a fine save after Arzani cut in from the left and took a shot to his right. The ball fell to Leckie who took an awkward shot but was well dealt with by the Denmark keeper.
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First Published: Jun 21 2018 | 8:11 PM IST