DOHA, Qatar — Australia's so-called golden generation of footballers have been reflecting on a split-second lapse of concentration against Japan that cost them victory in the Asian Cup final and a rare chance to lift an international trophy.
Substitute Tadanari Lee was left completely unmarked in the box to volley past Mark Schwarzer in extra time and earn Japan its fourth Asian Cup title. Captain Lucas Neill says a "moment of fatigue" was to blame.
Neill, Schwarzer, Harry Kewell and Tim Cahill have been Australia's leading lights for a decade, and the country's switch to the Asian confederation in 2006 offered them a chance to win a major title. But all are in their 30s, and may not be playing for Australia when it hosts the Asian Cup in 2015.