Australia v Switzerland
Australia (6) v Switzerland (1)
Austrailia began the match by relentlessly pushing forward to find the first goal of the game. It took them a minute to find the back of the net through their number 11, after which the game became quite physical between the two teams. They added a second from a great counter attack that was finished with a one-touch volly by the energetic number 9. The Socceroo's number 10 treated the crowd to some tight skillful dribbling in front of his own goalmouth, sliding past 2 Swiss attackers in the process. The Aussies went 4-0 up thanks to a hat trick by their crafty number 9, before Switzerland made their mark with a well taken shot from the left hand side. Score at half time; 4-1 to Austrailia.
The start of the second half was disrupted by a dog on the field who managed to get himself tangled in one of the goalmouths. Some may wonder how security let him on the pitch, but in his defence he did have the appropriate pass around his neck. Soon afterwards Switzerland missed a penalty but they stepped up their game with some tough tackles and impressive defending to deny the Aussies the space they wanted. The Austrailian number 9 grabbed his forth of the game and another was driven in to make the final score 6-1 to Austrailia.
A tense game but a relatively comfortable victory for Austrailia. A far cry from their 13-0 defeat at the hands of Scotland on day 1. Read Austrailia's blog on the Homeless World Cup website for their surprisingly positive reaction to that defeat.
Matthew Simpson and Signe Ramskov Hansen