Qantas Socceroos player ratings

It was a tough night for the Socceroos in Sydney and with the pressure on, we'll need more than spirit to book a place in Brazil 2014.

It was a tough night for the Socceroos in Sydney and with the pressure on, we'll need more than spirit to book a place in Brazil 2014.

Mark Schwarzer: The veteran had little to do most of the night but could do little about Abdul Aziz-s sharply taken opener or Mile Jedinak-s own goal. 6

Matt McKay: A strangely anonymous performance from the usually reliable McKay, but that was probably the result of Oman playing mostly through the middle. Tried to get forward to support the attack but often found it too congested in the final third. 6

Michael Thwaite: At fault for the first goal, Thwaite was caught ball-watching and then wasn-t strong enough to compete. Settled after that but not a great performance. 5

Robbie Cornthwaite: Solid and not afraid to get physical when required but lacks the experience, positional sense and class of more senior players. 6

Luke Wilkshire: Another subdued fullback performance, Wilkshire was invisible in the first half but improved in the second as his set piece deliveries started to get through to Tim Cahill. 6

Mile Jedinak: The own goal was tough on the Crystal Palace midfielder, who had been perhaps one of the better performers in the Australia midfield. Did his job of trying to break up the Oman attack and spread the play but the lack of movement in front of him meant he had few options available to him to play into attack. 6

James Holland: A tough night for the youngster, perhaps a victim of the oddly conservative selection. Too similar to Jedinak in style and the lack of creativity stifled the Socceroos. 5

Brett Holman: Brought his Aston Villa form with him, probably one of Holman-s worst night-s for the green and gold. But his well taken goal made up for it all. 6

Robbie Kruse: Deprived of service and space, Kruse struggled to make an impact. 6

Tim Cahill: What can you say? A giant who led by example. 8

Alex Brosque: Toiled all night but had zero service from the midfield. If you can give your strikers the ball on the ground, they can-t score goals. 6

Subs Mark Bresciano: Looked a little off the pace but his class shone through. Injury cut short his time on the field. 6

Archie Thompson: Full of the usual energy and running but was too far away from goal to really hurt Oman. 7

Tommy Oar: Finally, the creative energy the Socceroos had needed all night. But it was too little to late. 7