DOHA —
Coach Graham Arnold is counting on
“Aussie mental strength” to see his side to victory over the UAE on Tuesday and
through to another playoff battle for a place in the World Cup finals.
اضافة اعلان
Arnold said that Australia seem to like qualifying
the “hard way” but insisted that they are ready for the showdown in the Ahmad
bin Ali Stadium in Doha.
The winner will take on Peru in the same
air-conditioned stadium on June 13 for a place in the finals that start in
Qatar in November.
New Zealand will play
Costa Rica a day later to
decide the final qualifying spot.
Arnold said that, because of coronavirus travel
restrictions, Australia have played 14 of their 18 qualifying round games in
the Middle East and also acknowledged the team’s record of scraping into the
finals through playoffs.
“
Australia is pretty much used to doing it the hard
way. This is the fifth time in the playoffs and it is an experience that we are
used to,” the coach told a press conference before their final training session
on Monday.
He admitted his
team can struggle after conceding first, so his main task had been to prepare
the players mentally as they look to reach the World Cup for the fifth time in
a row.
“We have got a very strong group of players at the
moment that have a strong belief in themselves. Physically we are really ready
for this game.
“In the past we have had a lot of players that have
missed games because of COVID-19 and international travel. But now all those
type of things have been removed,” he said.
“Mentally the boys are in great spirits and I
believe with that mental Aussie strength that we will come through.”
Forward Mitchell Duke, who plays in
Japan’s second
division, said the game would be “a great occasion. All the boys know what’s at
stake.
“There has been a good atmosphere around training
and all the boys can’t wait to get on that pitch and do the job.”
A few hundred Australian fans are expected to be in
the stadium against several thousand
UAE fans who are flying in hoping to see
their side qualify for only the second time since their debut in 1990.
“We are playing the most important match in the
history of our country,” said the UAE’s Brazilian-born striker Caio Canedo.
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