Australia OUT of Olympics as Olyroos are lashed for leaving out Bayern Munich signing Nestory Irankunda in goalless Asian Cup campaign

Football analysts have lashed the Olyroos decision to leave out Bayern Munich signing Nestory Irankunda for crucial Olympic qualifying matches as Australia crashed out of earning a place in Paris. 

Australia won’t be represented at this year’s Olympic Games men’s football tournament after the Olyroos’ limp AFC under-23 Asian Cup campaign came to an end with a 0-0 draw against tournament hosts Qatar.

Needing a win to have any hope of reaching of the quarter-finals and keeping their slim chance of Paris Olympics qualification alive, the Olyroos again failed to find the back of the net.

The Australians finished the tournament without scoring, having drawn 0-0 with Jordan and lost 1-0 to Indonesia in their previous two Group A matches.

The Olyroos’ failure to score a goal in three games again raises questions about the decision not to pick A-League prodigy and Bayern Munich-bound teenager Nestory Irankunda in the squad.

Olyroos captain Jacob Italiano had a golden chance two minutes before halftime but his shot flew over the crossbar.

The Olyroos have been criticised for leaving out Bayern Munich signing Nestory Irankunda who scored a goal for Adelaide in his final A-League match

Irankunda, 18, was not selected by Olyroos coach Tony Vidmar for the Asian Cup after rival A-League Men clubs had privately pushed for the young star to be stood down.

It had been reported that Irankunda was sounded out at the 11th hour as an injury replacement for Melbourne City’s Marco Tilio but turned down the opportunity.

That led clubs to believe the young star was dictating his availability, however his Adelaide coach Carl Veart denied those claims, saying Irankunda had never been picked. 

Former Socceroo and media analyst Craig Foster said the decision to leave out the Adelaide United wunderkind was part of the reason the Olyroos crashed out of contention.

‘A great shame that the Olyroos will miss Paris 2024. Failure to qualify are important moments to review performance, technical level, progression, and review the Irankunda situation. Huge congratulations to Indonesian football. Outstanding,’ he posted.

A-League commentator Teo Pellizzeri said that the stunning decision to leave Irankunda out had masked the other issues in the squad.

‘Difficult yes – did I ever imagine it would be out at the group stage without scoring difficult? Such a disappointing Olyroos campaign,’ he posted.

‘Not picking Irankunda has almost come full circle to be a PR masterstroke as it’s pulled the focus from everything else that went wrong.’

Instead, Irankunda was back home in Australia playing his final match for Adelaide United, producing another stellar goal as a goodbye present before heading to the big leagues with Bayern Munich.   

The closest the Australians came to scoring against Qatar came in the 75th minute when substitute Keegan Jelacic had a shot that was tipped on to the post by goalkeeper Ali Nader Mahmoud.

Olyroos captain Jacob Italiano also had a good chance two minutes before halftime but his shot flew over the crossbar.

Even if the Olyroos had won the match, it wouldn’t have been enough to reach the last eight, with Indonesia’s 4-1 victory against Jordan taking them to six points and locking in second spot in Group A and progression to the quarter-finals with group winners Qatar, who finished with seven points.

The Olyroos came third in group with two points, one more than Jordan.

The nations that finish the tournament in the top three will qualify for the Olympics, while the fourth-placed team will meet the fourth-ranked African nation, Guinea, in a playoff for a spot in Paris.