“It is just one game and we have time to improve,” said Thailand coach Milovan Rajevac after a surprise 4-1 loss to India in their AFC Asian Cup opener in Abu Dhabi.
Within an hour, the Serbian, who led Ghana to within a penalty of the 2010 World Cup semifinal, was gone. The stakes are getting higher in Asia.
The statement by the Thai FA announcing the axe was well-received in Bangkok but it must have sent a shiver down the spine of 23 other tacticians in the United Arab Emirates.
Thailand did not expect to lose to India and certainly did not expect to lose in such a fashion.
While it is debatable as to whether standards at the very top in Asia are rising as fast as they need to, there is no doubt that there are many further down the ladder who are starting to scramble up.
It may not feel like it but the loss to Jordan can only be good for Asian football and by extension, and eventually, Australia too.
As the teams below improve, those higher up have to do the same - if you are standing still then you are going nowhere or backwards or whatever the cliche is.
Since the Socceroos joined Asia, and especially in the earlier years, the team seemed, from the outside, to have a belief that it would be OK in the end.
It was all very un-Asian. Some of the opponents may be technically better but Australia would win through with a late goal, international experience, physical power, sheer confidence or whatever.
That mentality is still widely-admired and oft-mentioned in Asia. It also a reason why Aussie players are valued by clubs around the continent. Australia may not always play well or attractively but they had a habit of getting the result when it mattered.
That Aussie belief does sometimes come across as arrogance -with good reason back in 2007 when there was talk of winning the Asian Cup without losing a game, elsewhere in Asia.
This is a continent that is not accustomed to confidence being expressed so openly and easily.
Back in 2007 there was an ignorance about Asia and regardless of whether thay may still be the case among fans and/or media, the charge of arrogance is a harsh assumption and accusation to make against this Socceroo camp.
The difference in terms of Asian knowledge, experience and respect of the 2007 and 2019 teams is there for all to see.
There is nothing wrong with the defending champs expecting to beat Jordan on neutral territory.
South Korea and Japan would certainly expect to do so and defeat would not go down well.
The difference is the language and expressions used publicly before the game.
Australia have a different sporting culture that adds to the rich tapestry of continental football and Asian teams could learn a little from that.
But what is clear is that as other nations improve, more than belief is needed.
Jordan, almost the archetypal second to third level Asian national team, had a plan and the discipline too stick to it.
There is a new coach in Vital Borkelmans who came in last August with a remit of building for the future and changing a style of play. T
here was a fine preparation period that included two training camps and games against Croatia, Albania, Saudi Arabia, China and India.
Jordan were well-prepared tactically and looked fitter than they have been for some time.
Now comes the test for Arnold. Rightly revered in Australia for his Sydney success, that reputation does not extend much far north of Darwin.
The 2007 Asian Cup, the short and far-from-sweet stint in Japan and the relative failure in the AFC Champions League means that he has much to do in the next two games against Palestine and Syria to put things right, as do the team.
Whatever happens. The group has burst into life with Jordan’s win and the Socceroos know they are in for a fight, both here in the UAE and going forward in Asia. In the end, that can only be a good thing.
