Oman 1 - Australia 0; Saudi Arabia 3 - Thailand 0

Australia were riding high on three consecutive victories as the paid a visit to fourth-place Oman in Muscat today. However, the form that all had been expecting from an under-performing Oman side finally manifested itself today. Australia were playing their typical high offside trap, but the speed of Oman were able to break the trap. A long through ball was latched onto by speedster Amad Ali before twenty minutes had elapsed. Mark Schwarzer, Australia's goalkeeper, was more severely tested throughout the match, and the first goal was no flash in the pan. Oman took their 1-0 lead into the locker room.

The second-half was surprisingly quiet for both teams, and Australia never came that close to scoring. Perhaps the heat was too much for them. Oman achieve a one-goal shutout victory (their first victory against Australia) and look to build upon the result with a good performance in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

Saudi Arabia had a month to stew after their near victory in Bangkok in October. The scene shifted to Riyadh, and the Saudis welcomed Thailand for Matchday Four of round three. A scorless first half meant that the two teams had faced either for three halves without conceding a single goal.

In the second half, a goalmouth was finally breached. Deservedly so, it was Saudi Arabia who ended the drought after having thoroughly outplayed Thailand for two games. A lofted pass was headed home at the near post for a 1-0 lead. A second goal came for the Saudis with ten minutes left to play after Ahmed Al Fraidi gathered a pass at the eighteen-yard box and calmly slalomed through five defenders before beating the goalkeeper from six yards out. A third goal came in the way of a penalty kick with a minute to go, and Saudi Arabia win the match 3-0.

Australia 9 pts +5

Saudi Arabia 5 pts +1

Thailand 4 pts -1

Oman 4 pts -5

Goals

Oman

Amad Ali 18

Saudi Arabia

Naif Hazazi 59

Ahmed Al Fraidi 80

Mohammed Noor 89 PK

Match Reports:

http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/news/newsid=1541368/index.html

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-sport/socceroos-suffer-shock-10-loss-to-oman-20111112-1nce6.html

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/sport/socceroos-lose-1-0-to-oman-in-world-cup-asian-group-qualifier/story-e6frg7mf-1226193288515

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/sports/Passage-to-World-Cup-looks-rocky-after-debilitatin-30169798.html

Highlights:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOF9loswPuw (Oman v. Australia)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CHvqAnasl4 (Saudi Arabia v. Thailand)

Full Match Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g873er4vrbk (Oman v. Australia)