The Olyroos Tokyo 2020 campaign came to an end on Wednesday night, with Egypt scoring goals in each half to run out 0-2 winners.
After a victory over Argentina started the Group Stage in such bright fashion, Australia couldn’t find a way past Spain or Egypt in the following fixtures.
Graham Arnold was forced to make a handful of changes to his starting XI due to suspensions, with over half of the line-up, plus another off the bench, having come through Melbourne City at some stage.
Tom Glover
It was a tough night out for Glover who after not putting a foot wrong early, found himself stranded just before half-time after a swift attack saw Egypt cut up the Olyroos’ defence and allowed Ahmad Ryan to tap home from close range.
Glover had a couple of strong moments in the second half to keep Australia in the fixture but with his team chasing the game, the Egyptian attackers found themselves with a little more space going forward and were able to make it two late in the match.
Connor Metcalfe
Like most of his teammates, Metcalfe struggled to get into the action in the first half as Egypt came out all guns blazing. He worked his way into the fixture as the match wore on and helped Australia wrestle back some ascendency in the middle of the park in the second half.
Marco Tilio
After providing a spark off the bench in each of the first two Group Stage fixtures, Tilio received a starting nod. Deployed as an attacking midfielder, rather than on the left as City fans grew accustomed to seeing late in the A-League season and through the Finals, he didn’t have the impact he would’ve liked early.
He came right into the game in the second half, combining with half-time substitute and City Academy graduate Daniel Arzani on a number of occasions, the two looking the most dangerous of any on the pitch in a green and gold shirt.
National Atkinson missed this fixture through suspension after picking up yellow cards in each of the two prior Group Stage games.
