Arnold praises Australia players after defeat

HANOI, July 21 (Reuters) Australia coach Graham Arnold said the Socceroos should be proud of their performance at their first Asian Cup despite falling well short of their lofty expectations.

Arnold had predicted before the tournament that the Australians could win the championship and anything less than reaching the final would be regarded as a failure.

But his bold prediction failed to materialise when they finished second in their group and were knocked out in the quarter-finals today, losing 4-3 on penalties to defending champions Japan after the teams finished locked at 1-1.

Arnold said he was disappointed at the result but not at the performance of his players after they played the last 44 minutes with 10 men following the sending-off of Vince Grella.

''The whole of Australia should be very proud of the players, they gave everything they had,'' Arnold told a news conference.

''To play against a quality team like Japan, with 10 men in these (hot) conditions is just murder.

''Japan played very well, they've got some quality players, but they didn't really dominate us. Tactically we were ready for them and we had some opportunities but it just didn't go in.'' Australia captain Mark Viduka said the Socceroos were surprised to lose the shootout because they had beaten Uruguay on penalties two years ago to reach the World Cup for the first time in 32 years.

''We were happy to get to penalties after being with 10 men for so long,'' the Newcastle United striker said.

''We were on the good end of a penalty shootout last time and this time we were on the rough end so I guess it's 1-1.'' Striker John Aloisi, who put Australia ahead in the second half, said the agony of losing would benefit the Socceroos in the long run.

''Everyone's down, everyone's upset. To lose in such a way is hard but we have to learn from this,'' Aloisi said.

''It won't be easy but I'm sure the boys will learn. You also have to remember we played the Asian champions in conditions they are more used to and we were unlucky to lose.'' Liverpool forward Harry Kewell, who missed his penalty in the shootout, said the experience had also taught the Australians that Asia was a lot harder than they expected.

''You can look at a lot of things but at the end of the day we had our chances,'' he said.

''I think we're going to take a different approach to Asia. We've got a taste of it now and we know how hard it is.'' REUTERS SSC KN2058