2. Occasional attacking spark, but forward line fails to convince

At times, Australia sparkled when going forward. Mathew Leckie and Tomi Juric both missed golden opportunities, while Gersbach made several marauding runs down the left side.

But for the majority of the game, the Socceroos were far too passive in attack.

After shining against Germany, Tom Rogic was largely anonymous and was withdrawn for Jackson Irvine late in the match.

Leckie created several good opportunities but struggled to stay on his feet, while Juric was again unconvincing in his attempts to lead the line. Kruse was similarly disappointing, replaced in the 65th by James Troisi.

Given Chile’s wealth of attacking riches, Australia will struggle to keep them scoreless in Moscow. If the Socceroos are going to beat the South Americans, Rogic, Juric and Kruse need to shine.

3. Cameroon outshoot the Socceroos, Australia wins possession battle

Cameroon put in a better offensive performance than Australia, Postecoglou’s three-man defence struggling to contain Bassogog, Aboubakar and Moukandjo throughout the night.

The statistics confirmed the African champions’ attacking dominance, with Cameroon recording 19 shots to the Socceroos’ five. That only three of these troubled Mat Ryan explains how Australia managed to stay in the game.

Vincent Aboubakar vies for the ball

“The statistics say everything,” said Cameroon boss Hugo Broos in the post-match press conference.

“I think we should have won the game today. Over the 90 minutes we were the best team and we had the better chances.”

Australia did control the game for large periods, finishing with 54% of the possession. But as Postecoglou well knows, possession does not win matches.