Football: Olyroos held to scoreless draw by Jordan

The Olyroos face a crucial clash with Indonesia at the AFC under-23 Asian Cup on Thursday night after being held to a first-up 0-0 Group A draw by Jordan.

To guarantee themselves a berth at this year’s Paris Olympics, the Australians must secure a top-three finish at the Qatar tournament.

Finishing fourth will send the Socceroos into a playoff against the fourth-placed African confederation nation, Guinea, for a spot in Paris.

The Olyroos struggled to break down Jordan’s low defensive block on Monday night and also failed to capitalise when their opponents were reduced to 10 men following the dismissal of Danial Afaneh in the 82nd minute.

“It’s a little bit of a cat and mouse game for us,” Vidmar said.

“We want to play football on the front foot, but sometimes you have teams who defend well and are well structured, and then sometimes you might have to change a little bit on the way that you try to create chances.

“We knew going into this tournament there’s not going to be any easy games.

“The first game of the tournament is always a difficult one. It’s a point, we didn’t concede, so it’s the start of our platform for the tournament.

“We look forward to Indonesia, which is going to be a really good game. We’re here to be tested against good opposition, different types of football, and it’s only going to make our players better for the experience.”

Indonesia was beaten 2-0 by Qatar on Tuesday morning (AEST).

To advance to the quarter-finals, the Olyroos must finish first or second in Group A.