Brave Socceroos succumb against England at Wembley

afr.com:

The Socceroos have once again punched well above their weight on their landmark first visit to Wembley Stadium, but were knocked out by the England heavyweights’ extra sheen of quality in a 1-0 defeat.

Graham Arnold’s visitors were left with the unmistakable feeling they’d let a golden opportunity slip away in the pouring rain at England’s national stadium after their stirring performance which, at times on Friday night (Saturday AEDT), had thousands in green and gold dreaming it might end in a memorable triumph.

The Socceroos look on as England celebrate Ollie Watkins’ goal at Wembley. AP

But after a first half in which the visitors created the lion’s share of the best chances against England’s experimental-looking XI, with the biggest names like Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham left out, a 57th minute goal from Ollie Watkins sealed victory for the often disjointed home side in front of an 81,116 sell-out crowd.

“Undoubtedly, you could feel it was flat in the dressing room afterwards,” said captain Maty Ryan. “There was maybe something there for us, it was a missed opportunity there.”

His disappointment was echoed by Arnold, who had shouted himself so hoarse from the bench that he couldn’t even talk afterwards.

“He’s devastated at the fact we lost,” said his assistant René Meulensteen. “But you have to look at the benefits, the respect we’ve earned.

“You have to give those boys enormous credit for their bravery. It showed we can go toe to toe with all the big nations. We’re just trying to find that extra bit of quality to really put teams to the sword.”

Against the team officially ranked fourth best in the game, Arnold’s 27th-ranked side, without a single player from Europe’s top-five leagues, delivered on their coach’s